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SACRAMENTO, Calif. – On the heels of the 10-year anniversary of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) last month and the start of the new water year, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) today released its Fall Semi-Annual Groundwater Conditions update.
The recent update, using the most current data and information on groundwater conditions, describes the accomplishments made towards a sustainable groundwater future under SGMA – including rebounding groundwater levels and fewer dry wells reported – as well as the challenges posed by climate extremes, especially extended periods of drought when groundwater is heavily used.
Groundwater is an important resource that helps sustain communities, households, agriculture, ecosystems and businesses across the state. Nearly 85 percent of Californians depend on groundwater for some portion of their water needs, but managing groundwater is difficult because it is out of sight, beneath our feet. Better data improves our understanding and ability to manage groundwater and prepare for extreme weather events such as droughts and floods. DWR’s Semi-Annual Groundwater Conditions Updates include the latest information on statewide groundwater levels, land subsidence, well infrastructure and the status of California’s groundwater basins.
“With a better understanding of groundwater conditions, state and local agencies can make more informed management decisions that will lead to a sustainable groundwater future under SGMA,” said Paul Gosselin, DWR Deputy Director of Sustainable Water Management. “One of the most significant accomplishments in the first ten years of SGMA has been a great improvement in groundwater data collection and sharing.”
The latest update includes data collected through August 31, 2024. A few of the highlights from the report are provided below:
Sustainable Groundwater Management Act
- SGMA has improved groundwater planning and data collection, enhanced groundwater recharge activities, and fostered local collaboration, positioning the state on a path toward sustainable water management, despite ongoing challenges such as extreme climate fluctuations.
- SGMA has profoundly improved public awareness about groundwater and has fostered proactive and collaborative groundwater management that is addressing long-term challenges of our changing climate and water supply reliability.
Groundwater Levels
- In Water Year 2023, groundwater levels began to rebound from the prior drought years, but only partially. In Water Year 2024, groundwater levels continued to stabilize, but it will likely require several more wet years, along with focused efforts to increase groundwater recharge and reduce pumping, to recover from the most recent and past droughts and decades of overpumping.
Land Subsidence
- Active land subsidence is observed in the Sacramento River, San Joaquin River, and Tulare Lake Hydrologic Regions, as described in the report. (Find the latest land subsidence information: California's Groundwater Live).
- Similar to what was observed during the 2012–2016 drought, increased groundwater extraction during the most recent drought (2020-2022) resulted in accelerated land subsidence in parts of the Central Valley. The wet spring in 2023 has decreased land subsidence rates for now.
- Like previous dry-wet-dry climate cycles, land subsidence rates are likely to increase again during future dry periods unless long-term groundwater extraction is reduced as part of ongoing sustainable groundwater management.
Well Infrastructure and Groundwater Monitoring Enhancements
- With favorable conditions over the last two years, fewer domestic and irrigation wells were installed in 2024 than any year in the past 10 years since SGMA was passed, and fewer dry wells were reported in Water Year 2024 compared to 2021, 2022, and 2023.
- GSAs are now submitting data from almost 6,000 groundwater monitoring wells. Over 2,300 of those were not previously included in DWR’s database.
- DWR, in coordination with GSAs, has installed 221 monitoring wells at 85 sites, providing essential data about groundwater conditions for more informed decision-making.
California’s water year runs from October 1 through September 31. After a very wet 2023, Water Year 2024 delivered average precipitation to California along with one of the hottest summers on record and a recent fall heatwave that dried the landscape and erased some of the benefits of the past two years. Despite favorable conditions over the past two years, some areas of the state continue to experience groundwater level declines, and over the long-term, groundwater storage remains in a deficit.
With a high level of uncertainty about the season ahead, it’s important to be prepared for the possibility of extreme weather events including drier than average conditions punctuated by flashy, wet storms. DWR is working with our partner agencies throughout the season to assess, adjust and adapt to changing hydrology conditions in real-time. The State and local agencies will continue monitoring and tracking groundwater conditions and collecting new data allowing locals to better manage water resources including implementing groundwater recharge during average and wet years to ensure groundwater will be available as a buffer for future dry and drought times when it is needed most.
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