San Luis Obispo County has designed a new program to support farmers who wish to stop irrigating their land. The goal: To reduce overpumping in the Paso Robles Area Groundwater Basin. It’s one of 21 basins in the state considered “critically overdrafted” by the California Department of Water Resources, which means more water is pumped from the basin than is returned. On Tuesday, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 to create a registry for farmers who voluntarily decide to fallow their land. … Farmers who enroll in the program will maintain county property tax benefits related to their status as agricultural producers. Meanwhile, contrary to county law, they also will be allowed to resume irrigating their land when they want to, even if it is fallowed for more than five years.

Other groundwater news across the West:

• KJZZ (Phoenix): Alfalfa may be the solution to the looming water crisis in the West, a new study suggests
• California Department of Water Resources: News release: Public comment period opens for groundwater sustainability plans for the Kern Subbasin