Understanding Groundwater Data Collection, Use, and Sharing Practices for Sustainable Groundwater Management in California

Abstract:

Enactment of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) in January 1, 2015 marks a historic transition in groundwater management in California. The new legislation requires all high- and medium-priority groundwater basins (as defined by the California Statewide Groundwater Elevation Monitoring [CASGEM] Program) in the State to develop and implement science-based groundwater sustainability plans (GSPs) by January 2020 or 2022. GSP development will be undertaken by Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) and must include interim milestones and measurable objectives to achieve sustainable groundwater management within 20 years of GSP implementation. Achieving these goals will require GSAs to: (1) develop a comprehensive understanding of their respective groundwater basin(s) (or subbasin(s)); (2) create and implement a comprehensive groundwater monitoring network that is tied to quantifiable groundwater management objectives; and (3) to coordinate these data and efforts across an entire groundwater (sub)basin.

Achieving these legislative requirements will be particularly challenging given that groundwater in California is currently managed by approximately 2,300 local agencies all collecting varying degrees of information about their respective groundwater subbasin(s). In many cases, groundwater monitoring programs are not consistent or coordinated across a (sub)basin or with adjoining (sub)basins. We conducted a survey in the summer and fall of 2015, targeting local agencies and groundwater consultants in California, to develop a more informed understanding of current agency-level data collection, use, and sharing practices. The results of this survey will lay the foundation for the development of information and tools to help managers overcome the challenges of decentralized management and facilitate data sharing and integration.