Cuyama Valley residents say water fight casts pall over community
The Cuyama Valley north of Santa Barbara is one of the areas of California where groundwater levels have been rapidly dropping, and where water continues to be heavily pumped to irrigate thousands of acres of farmland. Like other regions, the Cuyama Valley has developed a state-mandated plan to address overpumping under California’s groundwater law, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. But while that plan is just starting to be implemented, disagreements over addressing the water deficit have led to a bitter legal fight.