ECONEWS
Reporting on Environmental Issues Since 1971
Drill Baby, Drill: Groundwater Conservation in a Thirsty World Although California’s groundwater aquifers have already suffered from a century of pumping and surface water diversion, water districts are now calling for increases in groundwater extraction to offset demand for in-stream flows. Because above ground and underground water are part of the same cycle, this would only be a short-sighted, short-term fix and exacerbate a very long term problem. It is widely understood by scientists, legislators and the State and Regional Water Boards that surface water and groundwater are hydrologically unified and therefore should be adjudicated together. The Boards, under the direction of the State Water Board’s Executive Officer, are working on a statewide strategic work plan for groundwater, but they may have limited success in isolating and enforcing groundwater conservation measures. Their strategic work plan for groundwater will address three major problems: groundwater quality degradation due to discharged and naturally-occuring pollutants; loss of volume and
Rain Ananael
Water: Arguably our most vital resource. Among the many challenges in water conservation across the state and around the country, the importance of conservation of groundwater is not well understood. Groundwater refers to a complex system of water found below the earth’s surface, in the interstitial spaces between layers of soil and rock. Surface water percolates downward through pores, faults, fissures and fractures. The process of water moving through the soil and water table, repleneshing deeper aquifers (groundwater recharge), is hydrologically slow, moving only inches per year. California’s most significant source of groundwater recharge comes from surface flows from upland mountains though perennial, intermittent and seasonal flows of rivers, streams, and wetlands. When groundwater tables are fully charged and aquifers are full, the overflow seeps and rises through springs to feed cold water to rivers and lakes, providing vital cold water habitat. More than 40% of California’s drinking water is derived from groundwater sources. With regulatory restrictions on surface and groundwater withdrawals increasing throughout the state, and projections of decreased snowpack reaching 25-40% less than historic levels by 2050, clearly groundwater is one of our most pressing regulatory issues in the state. In most of California, evapotranspiration exceeds precipitation— resulting in a net annual moisture deficit. Groundwater recharge only occurs during seasonal periods where precipitation exceeds evapotranspiration, such that not sign of the future? Photo: woodleywonderworks, all areas having a net water surplus are AFlickr Creative Commons. groundwater recharge areas. Northern storage capacity, and the spread of contamination; coastal California and the northern and eastand, reduced groundwater recharge due to increases central mountains are the only areas that do not in man-made impermeable surface areas, generally experience a moisture deficit. channelization, and onsite water retention. About 80% of California’s annual Thirty-five percent of California’s water precipitation falls between October and April, supply comes from groundwater. In some regions, making water conservation measures very such as the agricultural Central Valley and the important even for regions where a moisture dense urban areas of the south and central coasts, surplus exists for part of the year. Given the that figure is as high as 80%. Rapidly increasing severity of our water crisis, it is surprising that population levels and subsequent agriculture California is one of only two states that do not and economic development have put intense have groundwater monitoring programs in place demands on already scarce water supplies. (the other being Texas). Managing groundwater resources in California leads the nation in agricultural California is complicated, to say the least. In and municipal uses of water. The demand, part, this is due to the limitations of the State however, exceeds the natural supply of water in Water Board’s permitting authority, which does almost every agricultural and urban sector of not specify percolating groundwater. Only the state. In terms of water diversions, irrigated surface water and subterranean flow in “known agriculture represents the greatest usage of and definite channels” is subject to a water right groundwater in California. permitting authority. Permitting is also a lengthy Prior to European settlement and irrigated process—delineating percolating groundwater agriculture, California rivers overflowed their versus flowing underground channels is an banks during the wet season, contributing to vast arduous task. The distinction itself makes the stretches of seasonal wetlands and marshes. With regulatory process almost impossible in regions massive river modifications and water diversions that do not have a clearly defined aquifer or for irrigation and urban water demands, rivers subterranean channel, often resulting in illegal now seldom exceed or fill their banks, resulting in diversions of groundwater. a substantial reduction in groundwater recharge.
Pumping of groundwater is also a contributing factor in the reduction of surface water flow and, in turn, negative impacts on public trust resources such as fisheries, as well as water available for authorized beneficial public uses. Tackling the extensive issues related to groundwater contamination and pollution will likely require a movement away from strictly point source management to a more broadly landscape-scale management plan for pollution control actions, particularly agricultural and irrigation activities associated with nitrate and salt pollution. Likewise, the management of impaired water tables may require either a statewide groundwater ordinance or several regional ordinances. To improve insufficient groundwater recharge, adequate measures will have to be developed addressing road surface runoff, soil permeability issues and surface permeabilty standards for new structures. Unpermitted and unstable pumping resulting in groundwater depletion, land subsidence and permanent loss of storage capacity, as well as seawater intrusion and reductions in surface flows, will be among the most critical and difficult issues to address at the State level. In 2004, USGS estimated that in the previous 40 years, almost 60 million acre-feet of groundwater was depleted in the Central Valley, and that over 30 feet of subsidence— compaction of earth resulting in permanent aquifer storage loss—occured in the San Joaquin Valley. In the North Coast region, even in areas of heightened rainfall, many of our watersheds are impaired for temperature, nutrients, dissolved oxygen and sediment, as well as for excessive diversions of groundwater and surface flows. A Scott Valley Community Groundwater Study Plan was approved in 2008 to address potential impacts to surface flows, riparian vegetation, and elevated stream temperatures. However, as previously stated, one of the challenges to protecting groundwater is the lack of jurisdiction for water rights permits. Despite the obvious negative consequences to the public of groundwater depletion, application of the pubic trust doctrine to groundwater is still legally uncertain. There are many precedents for the application of the public trust to surface flows, including a landmark Mono Lake case which emphasized the state’s role in affirming the public trust for the allocation and management of water resources whenever feasible. However, in Scott Valley groundwater lawsuits, the defendent (Siskiyou County) simply stated that the SWRCB does not have jurisdiction over groundwater and the public trust doctrine does not apply. This, more than any other issue, seems to be at the heart of the problem for the protection of sub-surface flows, and as a result, of all of California’s watersheds and water resources.
Rain Ananael is the Executive Director of the NEC.
Inside This Issue
All About the Ball.....................................3 An oppulent evening of of species celebration!
GPU Water Resources Update................9 Planning Commission supports strong protections.
Coastal Cleanup Roundup.......................4 Legislation to Watch..............................14 Tons of trash and reams of recycling!
U.S. Congressional bills HR 302 and HR 758
Kin to the Earth........................................6 EcoMania.................................................15 Peter Douglas retires from the Coastal Commission.
A Melange of Salient Sillies.
Water quality protections need better enforcement.
Canary in the coal mine for the Klamath?
Shasta TMDL............................................7 Suckerfish................................................18 Avatar Grove.............................................7 Creature Feature.....................................18 Protecting stunning old growth in B.C.
MLPA Update...........................................8 Proactive protection for the California Coast.
The six-rayed sea star.
Kids’ Page................................................19 Ecosystems around us.
A boat to nowhere. Photo: Vladimer Shioshvili. Flickr Creative Commons.