On Wednesday, various proposals to strengthen groundwater management throughout the state were presented at workshop in Sacramento. Administration officials from the State Water Resources Control Board, the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, CalEPA, the Department of Food and Agriculture, and the Department of Water Resources followed each presentation with comments and questions. The purpose of the workshop was to inform the Administration as they consider the content of groundwater management legislation.
The Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) presented their recently released groundwater management recommendations at the workshop, and Lester Snow, Executive Director of the California Water Foundation (CWF), gave a preview of what will be contained in the CWF recommendations, which will be finalized on April 25. Robert Reeb, Executive Director of the Valley Ag Water Coalition, presented highlights of his coalition's legislative proposal regarding groundwater management, and Jonas Minton, Water Policy Advisor for the Planning and Conservation League, discussed a set of principles and an implementation framework. The National Heritage Institute was not present at the workshop, but did submit a written proposal.
The various proposals can be accessed here. RCRC’s comments presented at the workshop can be accessed here.
For additional information, please contact RCRC Legislative Advocate Kathy Mannion at (916) 447-4806 orkmannion@rcrcnet.org.