The Environment Needs Groundwater: Guidance for SGMA Implementation

On April 20th, 2017 The Nature Conservancy  discussed the technical guide and maps they developed to identify and assess Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems (GDEs). Groundwater dependent ecosystems can support native fish, birds and other wildlife.

The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) requires Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) to create Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs) that avoid undesirable results in the future. One of those undesirable results is the depletion of interconnected surface water that has significant and unreasonable adverse impacts on beneficial uses of the surface water.

The Nature Conservancy will provide a better understanding of the interconnectedness of surface water and groundwater, and how to use the GDE Map tool to assess if GDEs require consideration in certain basins when setting measurable objectives and minimum thresholds in GSPs.