… Eastern San Joaquin County, like the rest of the Central Valley, is facing an uncertain future due to the looming state groundwater mandate that requires basins not to pump more water from an aquifer than is replenished in a given year. It is safe to say Milton will feel the pain when it comes big time. To prevent a similar fate, the SSJID has developed a long range water plan critical in its fight to keep the state from ignoring historical front-of-the-line legally adjudicated water rights to commandeer water from the Stanislaus River basin to use as they see fit. That, coupled with the groundwater mandate, would have a major negative impact on Manteca, Ripon, Escalon and the surrounding countryside as well as Lathrop and Tracy. While it wouldn’t send the South County back to the 1880s, it would still be devastating. And if you think this is only a problem for farmers, guess again. Choke off the water supply based on average or above average precipitation years, and you will devalue existing homes.
–Written by Manteca Bulletin editor Dennis Wyatt.

Other groundwater news:

• Science of the Total Environment: Report: Assessing risk of groundwater pollution exposure from sea level rise in California
• The Arizona Republic: Arizona will monitor 4 more groundwater pollutants, enforce stricter limits on 3 others
• Eos: Blog: Fallowed fields are fueling California’s dust problem