The Central Valley developed into an agriculture wonderland through the use of irrigation. Water from rivers and creeks makes up some of that irrigation supply, but water extracted from the ground comprises a substantial share of the water necessary for creating the bounty here in the Valley.  Groundwater extraction remained unregulated in California for more than 160 years. In certain places there was a lot of groundwater and in other places, not so much. There was no restriction on where you could drill a well and how much you could pump. That all changed in 2014 with the State Legislature’s passage of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). The term SGMA generally stirs up a lot of anxiety in people’s hearts. That is understandable because access to water is critical for sustaining our lives and our livelihoods.
-Written by Geoff Vanden Heuvel, the San Joaquin Valley water policy representative for the Milk Producers Council.