As California enters a new water year and eyes look to the skies for the next rains, groundwater recharge is on the minds of many. Concerns over the pace of permitting filled much of the discussion at a recent ag water summit hosted by The Maddy Institute and the California Water Institute at Fresno State. State Food and Agriculture Board Chair Don Cameron described obtaining permits from the State Water Resources Control Board to divert water for recharge as being expensive, time consuming and taking a lot of energy. “We definitely need change,” he said, describing the board’s sluggish process. “Everything hits there and just gets stuck. It’s like a black hole we can’t get out of.” That description is “wildly inaccurate, according to Erik Ekdahl, the board’s deputy director for water rights.