California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) is entering a critical phase as the focus shifts from planning to implementation and measurable outcomes. State agencies are taking a more assertive role, with the Department of Water Resources continuing to evaluate the adequacy of Groundwater Sustainability Plans and the State Water Resources Control Board increasingly exercising its enforcement authority—particularly in critically overdrafted basins. As a result, Groundwater Sustainability Agencies are facing heightened scrutiny, new reporting ...
On March 12, 2026, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced via press release and bulletin the release of its California Groundwater: Bulletin 118 – Update 2025 (2025 Update). Bulletin 118 represents “the State’s official and most comprehensive report of groundwater monitoring, conditions, and management across California.”
The 2025 Update is the third Bulletin 118 issued by DWR under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), with DWR publishing an interim update in 2016 and the first full update under SGMA in 2020. Pursuant to Water Code § 12924, DWR ...
On March 12, 2026, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) issued a bulletin announcing that the State Water Resources Control Board’s (State Water Board) Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) reporting system is now open. That system is called the Groundwater Extraction Annual Reporting System (GEARS) and is available online. The deadline for the initial submission of groundwater extraction reports is May 1, 2026. The reporting requirements only apply to groundwater extractors in the Tulare Lake and Tule subbasins, as those are the only two basins currently under ...
The 2024 legislative session ended on August 31, 2024, meaning the legislature passed all bills for this year. All of the bills are currently with Governor Newsom. He has until September 30 to sign or veto any bills. Any bills not signed by September 30 will be vetoed through a ‘pocket veto.’
This session was a busy one for bills affecting the water sector with at least nine bills passed impacting water and sewer systems in California. The bills cover a wide range of topics, including fines for violating State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) orders, Proposition 26 and 218 requirements for water-related fees, Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) requirements, and the California Water Plan. …
The past few weeks have been active ones for California in assessing the severity of its current drought and how it plans to manage its water during the third year of that drought. On top of other, more localized action, California released its report on 2021 groundwater conditions, evaluated current snowpack conditions and Governor Newsom issued an executive order directing action affecting 2022 water usage.
2021 Groundwater Conditions Report
On April 4, 2022, the California Department of Water Resources (“DWR”) issued its Groundwater Conditions Report for Water Year 2021 ...
As the clock slowly ticks forward on California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) deadlines, earlier this month, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) issued its first assessments of groundwater sustainability plans (GSPs). Two groundwater sustainability agencies’ (GSAs) plans were approved: Santa Cruz Mid-County Basin in Santa Cruz County and 180/400 Foot Aquifer Subbasin in Monterey County. GSPs from the Cuyama Valley Basin and Paso Robles Subbasin were deemed to “lack specific details” and were not approved.
According to the DWR’s ...
California Water Views provides timely and insightful updates on the water sector in the state. We relay information on how water legislation and policy from the nation’s capital, Sacramento, and around the U.S. affect California’s water utilities, agencies, practitioners, and consumers. We also write about important events, conferences, legal cases, and other key happenings involving all things water in and around California.
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