By Andrew Park | US Environmental Policy Student
California adopted the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in 2014, promising that every aquifer would reach sustainability by 2040 and that the less‑stressed basins would do so by 2042. A decade later, relentless pumping has lowered parts of the San Joaquin Valley by several feet, twisting the Friant‑Kern Canal and forcing a $292 million reconstruction that is still unfinished, while new satellite surveys show the land is sinking faster today than at any time on record[1]. Thousands of families in small valley towns now rely on trucked or bottled water because their household wells have gone dry. Yet despite these worsening conditions, the State Water Resources Control Board did not issue its first probation order, a formal declaration that local agencies have failed to adequately manage groundwater (triggering possible direct state intervention), until the end of 2024[2].
I grew up in California, and I feel the consequences of SGMA’s slow implementation firsthand every time neighbors gather to talk about rising water bills or when news spreads that yet another community has begun hauling in drinking water. It is not just a bureaucratic delay; it is a daily reality. Chronic overdraft has pushed groundwater levels so low that domestic wells, especially those serving rural and working-class families, can no longer reach the water table. Many households are now forced to spend thousands of dollars they do not have to deepen their wells or rely indefinitely on trucked and bottled water, straining their finances and mental health. The emotional burden is harder to quantify but no less real: the stress of not knowing whether a faucet will work tomorrow, the anger and helplessness at seeing generations-old farms wither, and the slow unraveling of once tight-knit rural communities as families move away or fall into deeper hardship.
The ecological toll mirrors the human one. Shrinking aquifers have devastated the Central Valley’s once-vast wetland ecosystems. The lush marshes that once blanketed the valley floor, supporting an extraordinary diversity of life, are now very depleted. According to Audubon, more than ninety percent of these wetlands have disappeared, leaving migratory birds, including millions of ducks, geese, and shorebirds traveling the Pacific Flyway, with only a handful of shrinking ponds to rest and feed[3]. Crowded into these few remaining habitats, the birds face greater risks of starvation, disease, and population collapse. The loss of wetlands also harms water quality, carbon storage, and local climate regulation, compounding the crisis beyond just wildlife.
Unless SGMA shifts decisively from planning documents and advisory meetings to enforceable, on-the-ground pumping limits, both my community and the landscapes we cherish will continue to suffer[4]. The costs of inaction are not abstract or future threats. They are unfolding around us right now in dry taps, cracked soils, and silent, empty skies where flocks once darkened the horizon. Without stronger enforcement, we risk losing not only a sustainable water future but also the cultural and ecological identity of California’s heartland.
In April 2024, the State Water Resources Control Board took an unprecedented step by placing the Tulare Lake subbasin in Kings County on “probation” due to persistent groundwater overpumping[5]. This marked the first time California exercised its enforcement authority under SGMA, signaling a shift from advisory oversight to direct regulatory action. The decision mandates that large water users install meters, report their groundwater usage, and pay extraction fees, aiming to stop the current severe land subsidence. While some agricultural stakeholders expressed concerns about economic impacts, state officials emphasized that such measures are essential to prevent further degradation of both human and ecological systems in California’s agricultural heartland.
Part of the slow progress lies in the way the law splits power between local and state government. This law, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), prioritizes local control, requiring local agencies to lead groundwater management efforts before the state can intervene. More than two hundred sixty local Groundwater Sustainability Agencies in California, spread across over one hundred forty basins, must negotiate pumping allocations, pay for recharge projects, and submit joint plans before the state will act. Many of these agencies run on shoestring budgets, and although the Department of Water Resources has awarded more than five hundred million dollars in SGMA grants, the agency itself warns that full implementation will cost several billion
When other dry-state neighbors adopt rules like SGMA, it actually makes California’s job easier. When neighboring states manage their groundwater more sustainably, it reduces pressure on shared water resources, discourages over pumping near state borders. Therefore, it creates a more consistent regional approach to water conservation. It also helps prevent “race to the bottom” dynamics, where one state’s weak regulations could undermine efforts in another. Arizona, for instance, stopped approving new subdivisions around Phoenix that would rely only on groundwater and proposed steep pumping cuts in the Willcox Basin[6]. State officials say this was partially inspired in part by California’s approach. Each time another state tightens its own pumping rules, California farmers worry less about losing a competitive edge, and local groundwater agencies gain fresh data, legal precedents, and shared tools. In short, the wider these ideas spread across the West, the smoother the path becomes for Sacramento and its local partners to enforce firm limits at home.
Looking ahead, 2025 is shaping up to be an extremely important year for the future of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). After a decade of planning, deadlines, and missed opportunities, this year represents a critical crossroads. If the State Water Resources Control Board exercises its newly strengthened enforcement powers with confidence, stepping in where local plans fall short and setting clear consequences for chronic overdraft, it could finally signal a shift from slow negotiation to real action. Local Groundwater Sustainability Agencies also have a major role to play. If they are able to accelerate the construction of recharge basins, which capture and store floodwaters during wet years, and if they can streamline systems for water trading between farmers, cities, and conservation groups, there is still a path toward achieving the SGMA’s original promise: bringing California’s groundwater basins into long-term balance without breaking the back of rural economies or sacrificing critical ecosystems.
[1] Capital Press. “California Water Agency Funds Repairs at Friant-Kern Canal.” (2022). https://capitalpress.com/2022/04/01/california-water-agency-funds-repairs-at-friant-kern-canal
[2] Legislative Analyst’s Office. “An Overview of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).” (2024). https://lao.ca.gov/handouts/resources/2024/SGMA-Overview-022124.pdf
[3] Garrison Frost, “Attempt to Defund Water for Refuges in House Is an Attack on California’s Migratory Birds,” Audubon California, June 10, 2014, https://ca.audubon.org/news/attempt-defund-water-refuges-house-attack-californias-migratory-birds
[4] “Governor Newsom Overrides State Legislature to Deny Groundwater Protections for Disadvantaged Communities,” Audubon California, accessed April 25, 2025, https://ca.audubon.org/es/press-release/governor-newsom-overrides-state-legislature-deny-groundwater-protections-disadvantaged.
[5] Maanvi Singh, “California Acts to Slow Groundwater Crisis amid Worst Land Subsidence Rates in Years,” The Guardian, April 17, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/17/california-water-drought-farm-ground-sinking-tulare-lake.
[6] Brandon Loomis, “Arizona Seeks Steep Cuts to Groundwater Use in Willcox Basin,” The Arizona Republic, April 10, 2025, https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-water/2025/04/10/arizona-seeks-cuts-willcox-basin-groundwater-use/83008218007/.