California's Groundwater Crackdown
Clarity for a changing planet — SustainabilityAwakening.com
Unprecedented State Action
Regulators are taking historic steps to halt excessive agricultural groundwater extraction.
The 2014 SGMA Mandate
The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act requires local basins to achieve balance by 2040.
Decades of Over-Pumping
Relentless aquifer depletion in the Central Valley has dried up thousands of rural wells.
The Drought Dilemma
When surface water allocations vanish during dry years, farmers rely heavily on deep aquifers.
Sinking Landscapes
Severe depletion causes land subsidence, permanently damaging roads and critical aqueducts.
Probationary Status
The State Water Board is now seizing control of regional basins that lack sustainable plans.
Mandatory Pumping Fees
Probation imposes strict state monitoring, extraction limits, and new fees on well usage.
Focus on Tulare Lake
The Tulare Lake subbasin became the first major agricultural region to face this intervention.
The Agricultural Shift
Balancing the aquifers may require fallowing up to 1 million acres of farmland by 2040.
The Future of Farming
Read our full analysis on California's water policy and agricultural transition. Tap to learn more.