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California Drought

California is experiencing the worst drought in its history, and the effects are being felt nationwide. Thus water issues have taken center stage in much of our reporting and the nation's.As the New York Times says, "Water has long been a precious resource in California, the subject of battles pitting farmer against city-dweller and northern communities against southern ones; books and movies have been made about its scarcity and plunder. Water is central to the state’s identity and economy, and a symbol of how wealth and ingenuity have tamed nature ..."As we continue through a fourth year of extreme drought conditions, you'll find all of our reporting on the related issues (and that of NPR and other member stations) in this centralized place.

Butte County To Help Craft Groundwater Rules

North State Public Radio

Published October 14, 2015 at 9:44 AM PDT

When meetings eventually get underway to regulate Butte County’s underground aquifers, county elected officials will have a prime seat at the table.

The Butte County Board of Supervisors Tuesday unanimously voted to form a groundwater sustainability agency.

It’s all part of sweeping statewide legislation aimed at reversing the retreat of the state’s giant invisible reservoir: its groundwater.

With drought conditions worsening last year, California joined every other state in the west in ending unregulated use of ground water. Eventually. That’s because the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act doesn’t actually require ending the overdraft of ground water until the year 2042. Plans for achieving that balance are required by 2022.

The county likely won’t be acting alone. Under the legislation, a number of agencies may form a so-called Groundwater Sustainability Agency, or GSA. Several local bodies, the Richvale Irrigation District, Butte Water District, Biggs-West Gridley Water District and Western Canal Water District, have each expressed interest.

The districts will likely wind up co-managing the water beneath their respective areas with the county. The state Department of Water Resources will have the ultimate decision over the makeup of the panels.