Local agencies have organized in the Sacramento Valley through Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) and they are poised to advance the next generation of groundwater management in California. The recent fact sheet shows The State of Sacramento Valley Groundwater and the collaboration across the entire Sacramento Valley floor, which includes ten counties and nearly 100 special water districts and companies working together with landowners.
The GSAs are building upon the foundation that local agencies have developed over the past several decades, working with the Department of Water Resources (DWR) and others, to better understand and sustainably manage surface and groundwater resources in the Sacramento Valley. Local agencies will be making major investments over the next five years to advance sustainable groundwater management as they develop Groundwater Sustainability Plans that will be completed by 2022. Successful groundwater management is largely dependent upon the availability of affordable and reliable surface supplies. Active conjunctive management of surface and groundwater has been essential to keeping the region in balance. Continuing this active management will be increasingly important in the Sacramento Valley to effectively serve high quality water for multiple beneficial uses, including farms, cities and rural communities, fish, birds and recreation.
Groundwater is a vital part of the Sacramento Valley’s water supply. The recent consecutive dry years in Northern California have illuminated the pressures on Sacramento Valley’s water resources and the challenges we face in providing reliable and affordable water supplies for various beneficial purposes in the Valley, including farms, cities and rural communities, fish, birds, and recreation. Groundwater provides nearly 30% of the region’s water supplies, with this percentage greatly increasing during dry years and during sustained droughts.
