1) Today is Protect Your Groundwater Day!
Big deal, right? Yes, it is - even Rodney Dangerfield would agree that groundwater doesn't get much respect so we need to work harder to see that it is not polluted or overused.
Here is what the National Ground Water Association says about PYGD:
Everyone can and should do something to protect groundwater. Why? We all have a stake in maintaining its quality and quantity.
- For starters, 99 percent of all available freshwater comes from aquifers underground. Being a good steward of groundwater just makes sense.
- Not only that, most surface water bodies are connected to groundwater so how you impact groundwater matters.
- Furthermore, many public water systems draw all or part of their supply from groundwater, so protecting the resource protects the public water supply and impacts treatment costs.
- If you own a well to provide water for your family, farm, or business, groundwater protection is doubly important. As a well owner, you are the manager of your own water system. Protecting groundwater will help reduce risks to your water supply.
Read more here.
2) California (Still) Dreamin'
What't with this? Yesterday was California Admission Day - yes, on 9 September 1850, the Golden State became part of the Union. Yesterday, Gov Jerry Brown announced a proclamation, as I assume every California governor does on 9 September.
What I was 'halfway' hoping for from Gov. Brown was a proclamation naming a commission (OMG!) to develop a statewide plan for groundwater oversight. On that commission would be people like Sarah Raker (a former student), President of the Groundwater Resources Association and Gary Mickelson, President of the California Groundwater Association. Brown would also appoint some people from ag/irrigator groups, municipalities, NGOs, rural users, the legislature, private citizens, environmental groups, federal agencies, DWR, private industry, et al. Keep it at no more than 25.
Why is this needed? Read some of my previous posts on California and related groundwater topics:
GRACE Guru: Groundwater's Going...Going... - 17 June 2013
USGS Report: 'Groundwater Depletion in the United States (1900-2008)' Plus More! - 26 May 2013
California Dreamin' Again? Gleick on California Groundwater - 16 February 2012
California (Groundwater Management) Dreamin' - 22 December 2011
Groundwater Mining in the Central Valley: Something New? - 20 December 2009
The commission would not discard California's vaunted local groundwater management; I am not advocating such a Draconian measure. What I do want to see is some statewide oversight, simply because groundwater, the quintessential 'hidden resource', does not necessarily follow the boundaries of surface watersheds or political subdivisions. What one groundwater agency does or doesn't do can affect other groundwater users far outside the boundaries of that agency.
Will statewide oversight 'produce' more water? No. But it can ensure that California's groundwater resources are managed in a coordinated fashion. It can actually recognize those agencies that do a good management job and promote their approaches. And perhaps it can lobby for a statewide assessment of the state's groundwater supply. Does California know how much it has?
And, from The Desert Sun, read this excellent, detailed discussion of the Coachella Valley's declining groundwater by Ian James. It is quite an effort, with lots of exceptional visuals. One of the best such articles I have ever read. Kudos to Mr. James!
Groundwater overdraft/depletion in California is nothing new. In some parts of the state, especially the Central Valley, we've known about it since 1935. Almost 80 years!
Time to do something, California!
"The diminishing water levels in the aquifer during the past half-century illustrate how heavy water use in the Coachella Valley has long outstripped available water supplies. And while public officials have made some progress in recent years, their efforts to reverse the trend have lagged behind the declines in water levels and haven’t fully addressed the problem." - Ian James, first paragraph of his article
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