In 2014, Gov. Jerry Brown signed historic legislation establishing a framework for California to begin managing groundwater in an effort to curb widespread overpumping, which had sent aquifer levels into rapid decline, left hundreds of wells dry, and caused the ground to sink in parts of the Central Valley. The law was based on the idea that groundwater could best be managed at the local level, and it called for newly formed local agencies to gradually adopt measures to address chronic declines in groundwater levels. The legislation laid out an implementation timeline stretching more than a quarter-century, giving many areas until 2040 to address their depletion problems. Today, experts and state officials say implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, or SGMA, is unfolding largely as expected. But while California has made some preliminary progress toward safeguarding groundwater, the hardest tests loom ahead.

Related groundwater articles and news releases:

• CalMatters: ‘Unlawful regulation’: State suffers big setback in water lawsuit filed by growers
• Western Water Rewind: Making groundwater sustainability a reality in California
• Gov. Gavin Newsom: California marks 10 years of safeguarding vital groundwater supplies
• California Department of Water Resources: Improving the lives of Californians: DWR marks 10 years of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act and progress made to protect water supplies