Sustainable Groundwater Management Act

The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), a collection of three bills (AB 1739, SB 1168, and SB 1319), provides local agencies with the framework necessary to sustainably manage medium and high priority groundwater basins, as described by the act, with the goal to bring the basins into balance in 20 years.

Department of Water Resources (DWR) identifies groundwater basins in California that are subject to the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (Act). The Act provides local agencies or counties ability to establish a Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) and develop and implement a Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) that considers all beneficial uses and users of groundwater in the basin. High and medium priority basins must develop GSPs. Adjudicated areas in basins are not required to form a GSA.

The Act provides for a tailored approach to planning, and puts responsibilities at the local level for managing a basin’s groundwater resources. Minimum standards are established for sustainable groundwater management by improving coordination between land use and groundwater planning.

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