Earlier this month, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) released the draft California’s Groundwater – Update 2020. According to DWR’s website:

“This version of California’s Groundwater provides a comprehensive look at statewide groundwater activities, compiling technical information and data from 2003 to 2020. This bulletin recognizes the historic passage of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) in 2014 and builds a statewide framework to share new information and progress made by locals who are managing groundwater basins across the state. It also highlights emerging topics such as water markets and the impacts of climate change on groundwater and summarizes groundwater information for each of the state’s 10 hydrologic regions.”

DWR is seeking public review and comment on the draft and a 45-day public comment period is now open. Comments can be emailed to CalGW@water.ca.gov and will be accepted through April 26, 2021. Additionally, DWR will hold a webinar to present an overview of California’s Groundwater on March 30, 2021, from noon to 1:30 p.m. PT. Those interested in attending the webinar may RSVP here. The final version of California’s Groundwater is expected to be released in summer 2021. For further details on the draft and DWR’s groundwater initiatives, please visit their website here.