Building and maintaining a healthy water supply for Butte County happens quite literally from the ground up. … Maintaining and planning for water storage and water usage is a sizable task that is overseen not only by the Butte County Department of Water Resource Conservation, but also individual agencies that work in tandem on local water management. Kamie Loeser, director of Butte County’s Water and Resource Conservation Department, said the majority of groundwater within the county is used both for agriculture and by municipalities such as the city of Chico. … Loeser and her team of hydrologists spend a significant amount of time every year checking water levels at different points of the three subbasins. The department recently provided an annual report on groundwater conditions to the Butte County Board of Supervisors.

Other groundwater news:

• The Valley Citizen (Modesto, Calif.): “I run my deep well pumps almost daily,” says MID Director
• Arizona Mirror: Opinion: ‘Ag-to-Urban’ sacrifices Arizona’s water future for development profits