Its been said that “as goes California, so goes the rest of the country”. Well, we don’t know about the entire country; but, when considering the impact of climate change, drought and water shortages in the Western U.S., what happens in California will almost certainly happen in other states. California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, has an impact, not only throughout the state, but may serve as a template for other states as they wrestle with the challenge of managing their precious water resources.
With its passage, the SGMA set forth the mission that groundwater resources be managed sustainable for long-term reliability and multiple economic, social and environmental benefits. Further, it deems that groundwater management is best achieved through the creation of local Groundwater Sustainability Agencies. Said agencies have been tasked with the creation, implementation and updating of plans and programs to manage those areas which have been deemed as Medium or High Priority Basins (virtually every agricultural area in the state).
Each agency has been given the mandate to manage toward avoiding significant and undesirable results in the following areas:
- Chronic lowering of groundwater levels
- Reduction in groundwater storage
- Seawater intrusion
- Degraded water quality
- Land subsidence
- Surface water depletion
Regulations will be fully implemented throughout the state by 2022. But in those basins designated as Critically Overdrafted, the rules come into effect in just one year; 2020.
There is little doubt that regulations already on the books, as well as those which are being considered by some of the Sustainability Agencies, will have a major impact on agriculture. Farmers who pump water from their own wells may be required to install flow meters and report the total amount of water withdrawn. And, in some areas (such as the Southern San Joaquin Valley) there is even the probability that farmers will be required to adhere to a plan designed to recharge the aquifer 1:1 for each gallon of water used in irrigation. There are still a lot of details we don’t know and many changes about to take place. But, what we do know is the days of inexpensive water and laissez faire irrigation policies are at an end.
“Smart farms”, with Precision Irrigation Systems are the future and we at Vinduino are at the leading edge of this change. For more information and a free, no obligation consultation please give us a call.
For more information about the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act click on the following link:
http://calag.ucanr.edu/Archive/?article=ca.2018a0012#R2https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuUqLj-rmtY
