The California Water Foundation (CWF) released a report late last week evaluating California groundwater management planning. The report assesses the current condition of groundwater management planning in the state, and makes recommendations to support sustainable management.
CWF reviewed 120 groundwater management plans adopted by local water agencies to manage their groundwater basins, and concludes that current state groundwater management laws are inadequate. The report found significant limitations to the overall quality of groundwater management plans in all parts of the state, with many plans lacking basic basin management objectives or an implementation strategy for ensuring objectives will be met. Additionally, 28 percent of the plans examined were written in 2002 or earlier, and have not been updated.
The CWF report can be accessed here.