Ian James

TDS

Groundwater levels are hitting record lows across much of California, and the drought is compounding the problem by leading to heavier pumping from aquifers, the state Department of Water Resources said in a report released Wednesday.

DOCUMENT:Groundwater report by the California Department of Water Resources

The report details a dilemma that has become increasingly apparent in recent years. With groundwater levels plummeting in many parts of the state, the situation has increasingly generated concern in Sacramento and has prompted lawmakers to propose giving state water regulators more authority to prevent wells from going dry.

Gov. Jerry Brown ordered the Department of Water Resources to prepare the groundwater report when he declared a drought emergency in January, and the findings could lend weight to proposals to tighten the state’s approach to groundwater.

“We must work together to control groundwater overdraft to avoid impacts such as land subsidence, seawater intrusion, and migration of poor quality water,” DWR Director Mark Cowin said in a statement. “Being good stewards of our groundwater basins is essential for ensuring that we can turn to them during dry years when these resources are critically needed.”

MORE:Water coverage from The Desert Sun

The agency said groundwater accounts for about 40 percent of California’s water use in a normal year, and reliance on groundwater rises sharply during droughts.

“Groundwater levels have decreased in nearly all areas of the state since spring 2013, and more notably since spring 2010,” the Department of Water Resources said in the report. “Since spring 2008, groundwater levels have experienced all-time historical lows in most areas of the state.”

Maps in the report pinpoint areas where some of the biggest declines in groundwater have been recorded, including the southern San Joaquin Valley, parts of Southern California and other areas.

The report says that in many areas of the San Joaquin Valley, “recent groundwater levels are more than 100 feet below previous historical lows.”

Officials counted 353 wells across the state that had to be deepened between 2010 and early 2014 due to receding aquifers.

The report also detailed gaps in the state’s efforts to monitor groundwater levels.

It said that of 515 groundwater basins across the state, only 169 are being fully or partially monitored through the California Statewide Groundwater Elevation Monitoring program, or CASGEM, which was created in 2009. DWR Deputy Director Gary Bardini has said that boosting funding for the program would enable it to accomplish more.

Aside from Texas, California is the only western state that doesn’t have statewide groundwater management. Arizona has a state groundwater management program that applies to certain areas.

Brown and other state officials have recently put new emphasis on the issue. The governor’s drought legislation, for example, included $1.8 million to hire 10 new state regulators who will focus on addressing “unsustainable groundwater pumping.”

Lawmakers have introduced groundwater regulation bills, and a host of proposals from water agencies and other entities emphasize continuing local control of groundwater, while granting local officials more funding and enforcement authority.

Many have proposed that the state take on a larger role as a “backstop,” with new authority to step in when aquifers are dropping and local officials can’t or won’t do something about it.

Ian James can be reached by email at ian.james@desertsun.com.