For First Time Since It Entered The Union As A State, California Threatens To Limit Groundwater Pumping

For the first time in California history, state officials are poised to crack down on overpumping of groundwater in the agricultural heartland. The State Water Resources Control Board on Tuesday will weigh whether to put Kings County groundwater agencies on probation for failing to rein in growers’ overdrafting of the underground water supply.

Probation — which would levy state fees that could total millions of dollars — is the first step that could allow California regulators to eventually take over management of the region’s groundwater. State officials have issued multiple warnings to Kings County growers, irrigation districts and local officials that their groundwater plan has serious deficiencies and won’t stem the region’s dried-up wells, water contamination and sinking land, all caused by overpumping.

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If the state puts the local water agencies on probation, it’ll be the first time that California imposes penalties under the landmark Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which was enacted 10 years ago during a prolonged, severe drought when growers ramped up pumping and thousands of household wells in the San Joaquin Valley went dry. The law gave local groundwater agencies in critically overdrafted basins until 2040 to reach sustainable levels of pumping. In the meantime, the local agencies must have plans in place to halt overuse.

Tuesday’s decision could foreshadow how the state will handle five other overdrafted San Joaquin Valley basins that also may face probation. In all, 21 basins in California are considered critically overdrafted. “This is the first time you really see the state play such an explicit role in groundwater management,” said Tien Tran, a policy advocate with the Community Water Center. If the state doesn’t order improvements to protect household and community supplies, disadvantaged communities in the San Joaquin Valley will suffer, said Jasmine Rivera, a community development specialist with Self-Help Enterprises, which provides emergency water to households.

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https://calmatters.org/environment/water/2024/04/california-farmers-groundwater-probation-kings-county/