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To help Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) address the depletion of interconnected surface water (ISW) in their Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs), the Department of Water Resources (DWR) released the second and third in a series of three draft papers that discuss the technical aspects of ISW and quantification of depletions of ISW caused by groundwater pumping. DWR previously released the first paper in the series in February 2024. Included with this release is a letter from Deputy Director Paul Gosselin highlighting a few key concepts related to the papers.
The first paper (Paper 1), Depletions of Interconnected Surface Water: An Introduction, introduced concepts associated with ISW, including approaches for identifying ISW and defining depletion of ISW from groundwater pumping. The second paper (Paper 2), Techniques for Estimating Interconnected Surface Water Depletion Caused by Groundwater Use, continues the foundational concepts presented in Paper 1 by discussing the data requirements, methods, and general implementation process to consider for ISW depletion analyses. The final paper (Paper 3), Examples for Estimating Interconnected Surface Water Depletion Caused by Groundwater Use, continues and expands upon the topics presented in Paper 2 by providing detailed examples of using numerical models to evaluate depletion of ISW.
The release of Papers 2 and 3 opens a forty-five (45)-day public comment period. Comments can be submitted for each of the three papers (Paper 1, Paper 2, and/or Paper 3) by emailing sgmps@water.ca.gov.
In mid-October, DWR will release a pre-recorded webinar that summarizes the contents of the three papers and describes the next steps in the development of the guidance document. Notification of the release of the recorded webinar will be provided via this email subscription list.
The cover letter, three-paper series, and subsequent ISW guidance document will be posted on DWR’s Best Management Practices and Guidance Documents webpage under the heading Guidance Documents. The webpage will continue to be updated with the latest information on DWR’s progress on ISW guidance. Direct links to download each of the papers is as follows:
- Paper 1, Depletions of Interconnected Surface Water: An Introduction
- Paper 2, Techniques for Estimating Interconnected Surface Water Depletion Caused by Groundwater Use
- Paper 3, Examples for Estimating Interconnected Surface Water Depletion Caused By Groundwater Use
- Cover Letter, Paper 2 and Paper 3 Release Cover Letter
For questions or comments pertaining to the three papers, please email sgmps@water.ca.gov.
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