In the Summer 2017 issue of Western Water, “Now Comes the Hard Part: Building Sustainable Groundwater Management in California,” Writer Gary Pitzer looks into the efforts of agencies beginning the task of bringing their basins to a level of sustainability in accordance with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). California’s landmark 2014 law aims to repair the effects of decades of unmanaged groundwater pumping, which have left some parts of the state in “critical” overdraft.

Under SGMA, nearly 300 Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) have formed around the state to begin the process of bringing overdrafted basins into balance.

Pitzer writes: “Forming the GSAs was one thing; establishing a GSP takes time and money. GSAs will need a long-term, stable funding source to support their mission of keeping basins from falling into overdraft. How that occurs is a work in progress.”

The article explores the challenges of implementing SGMA, including observations by groundwater experts and those involved with the GSA/GSP process.

Click here to read the free excerpt from this issue.

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