The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 (SGMA) is comprehensive legislation that governs the management and use of groundwater in California. SGMA’s intent is to provide for sustainable management of groundwater basins and to locally manage groundwater basins while minimizing state intervention to only when necessary.

The preservation of local management of the region’s groundwater is a fundamental principal for implementing SGMA in the Kings River region.

SGMA defines sustainable groundwater management as the management and use of groundwater in a manner that does not cause undesirable results including:

• Chronic lowering of groundwater levels
• Reductions in groundwater storage
• Seawater intrusion
• Degraded water quality
• Land subsidence
• Surface water depletion that has adverse impacts on beneficial uses

In accordance with SGMA there are several agencies in the region leading efforts to develop Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) and Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs). For information about how you and/or your organization can get involved in one or more of these efforts please contact us.