BAKERSFIELD, CA - Two bills are moving through the California legislature right now that would mandate the creation of local agencies that would establish a water budget to sustain our precious underground water resources.
And if they become law, these bills would make California the last state in the western U.S. to impose limits on how much water we take out of the ground for people and crops.
A groundwater aquifer is like a savings account. You draw on a savings account when money's tight. You make deposits when times are good.
It's the same for a groundwater aquifer. In years of plentiful rain and snowfall, the groundwater basin is recharged. In dry years, with low surface water supplies, we draw off our groundwater bank account to make up for the difference.
Problem is, our account here on Kern County's valley floor is way out of balance and has been for years.
"Our initial estimates are we're about 700,000 to 750,000 acre feet short on long-term average water supply in Kern County", said Eric Averett, general manager for the Rosedale Rio Bravo Water Storage District.
That's 750,000 acre feet of water being withdrawn from the groundwater basin that's not being replaced.
It represents roughly one-third of the county's annual irrigation needs.
Ironically, Averett points to a state study released in 1980 that said Kern County's perennial groundwater overdraft problem would be resolved if it were to receive its full allocation from the State Water Project.
But due to pumping restrictions on the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and growing urban demand for water, that hasn't happened.
"And, we find ourselves here again primarily as the result of reductions with the amount of water we're able to import from the State Water Project," Averett said.
Our groundwater basin, like hundreds of others in the state, is in trouble.
Now, two state lawmakers are treading where no others have gone before, setting up a framework for new regulations to bring groundwater budgets into balance.
Democratic Assemblyman Roger Dickinson and southland Senator Fran Pavley are leading the charge.
"Water is a property right under California law. We understand that. We're not changing that. We understand local governance is the best solution," said Pavley, the Democratic senator from Agoura Hills.
It's a solution that by all accounts will require reduced reliance on groundwater in the future, less pumping, perhaps reduced crop production, and a multi-faceted enforcement plan to make sure people with rights to pump groundwater aren't exceeding their regulated limits.
When asked how the new Kern County Groundwater Management Authority will get its hands around the enforcement issue, Averett said, "That's the million dollar question and one that we're struggling with. The current draft legislation requires all groundwater extraction to be metered, something that's new. Something that's being done already on the urban or retail side. But, certainly it's a costly requirement and ultimately at the end of the day we do need to qualify how much water's being used."
Senator Fran Pavley, in an interview with 17"s Jim Scott said, " I think we're facing a real test of our fortitude here. Just because we've always done something the same way since the gold rush days, does that make sense in the 21st century? I don't think that whomever has the most money and can drill the deepest, should have all the water at the expense of everyone else who's a property owner with overlying rights to that water."
The two bills being considered in Sacramento require that a written groundwater management agency be established by 2017, for every water basin in the state considered at-risk, with a groundwater management plan in place by 2020.
The costs will be in the tens of millions of dollars.
And no one is sure how the state will pay for it, if these bills become law.
And if they become law, these bills would make California the last state in the western U.S. to impose limits on how much water we take out of the ground for people and crops.
A groundwater aquifer is like a savings account. You draw on a savings account when money's tight. You make deposits when times are good.
It's the same for a groundwater aquifer. In years of plentiful rain and snowfall, the groundwater basin is recharged. In dry years, with low surface water supplies, we draw off our groundwater bank account to make up for the difference.
Problem is, our account here on Kern County's valley floor is way out of balance and has been for years.
"Our initial estimates are we're about 700,000 to 750,000 acre feet short on long-term average water supply in Kern County", said Eric Averett, general manager for the Rosedale Rio Bravo Water Storage District.
That's 750,000 acre feet of water being withdrawn from the groundwater basin that's not being replaced.
It represents roughly one-third of the county's annual irrigation needs.
Ironically, Averett points to a state study released in 1980 that said Kern County's perennial groundwater overdraft problem would be resolved if it were to receive its full allocation from the State Water Project.
But due to pumping restrictions on the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and growing urban demand for water, that hasn't happened.
"And, we find ourselves here again primarily as the result of reductions with the amount of water we're able to import from the State Water Project," Averett said.
Our groundwater basin, like hundreds of others in the state, is in trouble.
Now, two state lawmakers are treading where no others have gone before, setting up a framework for new regulations to bring groundwater budgets into balance.
Democratic Assemblyman Roger Dickinson and southland Senator Fran Pavley are leading the charge.
"Water is a property right under California law. We understand that. We're not changing that. We understand local governance is the best solution," said Pavley, the Democratic senator from Agoura Hills.
It's a solution that by all accounts will require reduced reliance on groundwater in the future, less pumping, perhaps reduced crop production, and a multi-faceted enforcement plan to make sure people with rights to pump groundwater aren't exceeding their regulated limits.
When asked how the new Kern County Groundwater Management Authority will get its hands around the enforcement issue, Averett said, "That's the million dollar question and one that we're struggling with. The current draft legislation requires all groundwater extraction to be metered, something that's new. Something that's being done already on the urban or retail side. But, certainly it's a costly requirement and ultimately at the end of the day we do need to qualify how much water's being used."
Senator Fran Pavley, in an interview with 17"s Jim Scott said, " I think we're facing a real test of our fortitude here. Just because we've always done something the same way since the gold rush days, does that make sense in the 21st century? I don't think that whomever has the most money and can drill the deepest, should have all the water at the expense of everyone else who's a property owner with overlying rights to that water."
The two bills being considered in Sacramento require that a written groundwater management agency be established by 2017, for every water basin in the state considered at-risk, with a groundwater management plan in place by 2020.
The costs will be in the tens of millions of dollars.
And no one is sure how the state will pay for it, if these bills become law.