Local trading offers tool in managing groundwater
By JustinFredrickson For groundwater sustainability agencies, landowners and pumpers in California’s designated “critical overdraft basins,” the hard work of pre- paring and sub- mi t t i ng i n i t i a l groundwater sus- tainability plans by 2020 is past. For these same areas, thismarks the start of the even harder workof actually im- plementingsubmit- ted GSPs to bring groundwater additions and withdrawals intobalanceduring thenext 20years. Justin Fredrickson Rules todivvyupandallowtradingof set shares inthe total supplyof availablewater inabasinaffordonepotentially important way to balance a basin. California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act gives the California Department ofWater Resources up to two years either to approve, return for correc- tions or reject submitted 2020GSPs. The completed plans now before the DWR represent the local areas’ best thoughts on a path to long-term sustain- ability, and local agencieshavebegunact- ing on the plans, pending DWR approval. But another dry year—or more extended dry spell—could put initial implementa- tion of the plans to an early test. GSPs are required to identify “projects and management actions” that can in- crease supply. However, physical infra- structure to implement such measures may facepermittingand legal barriers, can be expensive and can take many years to carryout. Even then, inheavilygroundwa- ter-dependent basins in significant over-
necessarily needed, appropriate, locally acceptable or even possible in all basins. Furthermore, thegrosslyoversimplifiedex- planationofferedheremakes theprocess to arriveatsuchasystemsoundfareasier than it is. Inreality, suchasystemrequiresantici- patingmyriad,complexlegal,economicand equitabilityconsiderationsthat, inanadver- sarialadjudicationofcompetingclaimsand rights inabasin, can takeyears. No matter what a local GSA does, un- happy parties may take to the courts anyway. An interesting feature of current California law, however, is that itprovidesa new, streamlinedpathknownas “statutory adjudication.”Withsuchaprocess, SGMA implementation can and, in fact, must move forward in parallel with an adjudi- cation. There is potential, though, for the adjudicationtoproceedmorequickly, and for disputes in the adjudication to meet upwith ongoingmanagement efforts in a basin in theend, aroundacourt-approved workout known as a “physical solution.” Aswithanadjudication, an interimplan and set of rules to allow local trading is a fraught approach where no one is likely to come out with everything they want. Without such a plan, however, “getting what you want” may be harder still. A well-thought-out process to arrive at local trading has potential to begin to work out details that can reduce uncertainty, pro- videameasureof equity, andperhaps save years of legal and expert fees in litigation. It’s hardly a slamdunk, nor is it without downsides and risks. In the difficult post- SGMA era, however, local water trading is at least one tool in the groundwater man- agement toolbox. (JustinFredricksonisenvironmentalpolicy analyst for the California FarmBureau. He maybe contactedat jef@cfbf.com.)
A groundwater-recharge pond in Fresno County. Along with recharge, water trading within a basin could be among strategies local districts use to comply with state groundwater-sustainability law.
draft, such projectsmay fill only a portion of the total water supply gap. In contrast, so-called “demand side” actions may be quicker, but also harsher in that theymay only restrict use or reduce acreage. SGMA grants local groundwater agen- ciesarangeof regulatoryandotherauthor- ities tomanagegroundwater, includingau- thorities to impose allocations, extraction limits, pumping charges, etc., consistent with existing groundwater rights. At this stage, however,many such authorities are merearrows inthequiver, not yet fullyacti- vated, existing localmanagement options. Without clear, established rules for allo- cating a limited supply over an extended area of land, users in times of crisis may face great uncertainty, insufficient wa- ter to meet all demands, and the risk of
abruptly imposedcontrols that afford little advance time to plan, prepare or adapt. If problems persist, local areas canalso face dangersof state intervention, local conflict and basin adjudication. Under SGMA, trading water within a basin does not amount to a “final deter- mination” of the underlying water rights in the basin—the legal process known as adjudication—but does provide one pos- sibleway to reducemassive uncertainty. In theory, users in such a systemwould knowbetterhowmuchwater theyandoth- ers inabasinare likely tohave year toyear, thus making it possible to better project andmake a calculated choice in deciding how one is going to make do and adjust over time. Tobeclear, suchlocalwater tradingisnot
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