The new website, which can be found at http://sgma.water.ca.gov/basinmod/, allows the public to access information about California’s increasingly important use of water basins during this time of drought and the boundary modifications that could determine how much water is used, and where.
“SGMA established a road map of goals and milestones for the next several years that will eventually lead to sustainable management of groundwater,” said DWR director Mark Cowen in a press release. The DWR will accept requests through the new website for basin boundary modifications through the first three months of 2016.
Additional information on the website includes information about the existing DWR Bulletin 118 groundwater basins and other relevant boundaries, such as those that are geologic and geographical, in an interactive map.
The user can zoom in on all of California’s groundwater basins to see where lines are drawn to gain specific information about much of the state’s dwindling water supply. While the website is public and available for use to anyone, the requests to change the basin boundaries are limited to local agencies only, in accordance with Basin Boundary emergency regulations. All submitted notifications and modification requests are available for public viewing on the site and can also be viewed on the interactive map.
According to the High Country News, California’s groundwater regulations require the Department of Water Resources “to identify ‘high’ and ‘medium’ priority basins, which then must establish local groundwater sustainability agencies and develop monitoring plans. With the new regulations, California became the last state in the U.S. to manage its groundwater in a statewide manner.
This article was originally published on TechWire.
