Blog: Drought and groundwater sustainability in California’s farming regions
As the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) approaches its tenth anniversary, California is making progress towards implementation—but the 2020–22 drought shows that much work still lies ahead. Drought poses a particular challenge for SGMA compliance in many farming regions. Increased groundwater use keeps crops irrigated when surface water is scarce, but it can cause undesirable impacts such as dry wells, infrastructure damage from land subsidence (sinking lands), and increased rates of seawater intrusion. While SGMA allows some flexibility for extra groundwater pumping during droughts, it also requires local agencies to guard against these undesirable impacts.
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