State rethinking groundwater regulation
The governor’s drought legislation included $1.8 million to hire 10 new state regulators who will focus on unsustainable groundwater pumping
The Desert Sun reports – With water tables plummeting in places from the wine country of Paso Robles to the almond orchards of the San Joaquin Valley, the state Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown could soon adopt measures to retool California’s approach to groundwater.
Water agencies, experts and academics have offered a growing list of recommendations for policymakers in Sacramento, and one of the worst droughts in California history has given new urgency to the prescriptions for preventing more wells from running dry.
Unlike other Western states, California has left the pumping of groundwater largely unregulated. The lack of statewide oversight, which has been described by some as laissez-faire or even a “Wild West” approach, has meant that owners of private wells can often pump as much as they wish, while some local water districts have permitted their aquifers to decline dramatically.
Brown and other state officials have recently put new emphasis on the issue of protecting groundwater supplies. The governor’s drought legislation, for example, included $1.8 million to hire 10 new state regulators who will focus on addressing “unsustainable groundwater pumping.” Lawmakers have introduced groundwater bills, and the governor’s Office of Planning and Research convened two workshops in Sacramento in the past month to explore how the state can combat declining water levels.
Read the full story at The Desert Sun
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