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Nine Years in, California’s Groundwater Sustainability Overhaul is Becoming a Reality

/in , , /by /KVPRby Kerry Klein

For years, conversations about the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act – known commonly as SGMA – have largely taken a tone of speculation and even apprehension.

The 2014 law, which aims to slow California’s unlimited tapping of underground aquifers, gives locally organized groundwater sustainability agencies until 2042 to overhaul pumping practices for the spectrum of groundwater users — from cities and rural communities to dairies, small farms and agricultural conglomerates.

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Evolution of Drought Response and Resilience in California’s Cities

/in , , /by /California WaterBlog by Erik Porse

Drought is a regular event in California. In recent decades, California has experienced five prolonged drought periods (1976-77, 1987-1992, 2007-09, 2011-16, 2020-22). Urban water agencies have responded with investments in supply and demand management measures, which have made California’s cities more resilient to drought effects. What motivated these investments?

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California Regional Water Usage Declines as Statewide Water Stores Remain Above Average

/in , , /by /California Globe by Evan Symon

According to new data released by the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB),  average monthly residential water use sharply declined in the first half of 2023, with water stores in reservoirs and other places continuing to remain well above average.

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Solar Farms Are Booming in the California Desert—but They Could Make the Drought Much Worse

/in , , /by /Fast Companyby Wyatt Myskow

Solar farms stretch out mile after mile along Interstate 10 around Palm Springs, creating one of the densest areas of solar development in North America in the heart of California’s Colorado Desert. But the area’s success in meeting the state and the nation’s renewable energy goals is running up against the Southwest’s biggest climate challenge: having enough water.

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California Offers to Reduce Imports of Colorado River Water

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Rachel Becker

Facing demands from the federal government, California water agencies offered today to cut back the amount of water they import from the Colorado River starting in 2023.

After months of negotiations, water agencies wrote to federal agencies today offering to reduce California’s water use by 400,000 acre-feet every year through 2026. That amounts to 9% of the river’s water that California is entitled to under its senior rights.

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