CLIMATECHANGEANDWATERSUPPLYSECURITY:ReconfiguringGroundwaterManagementtoReduceDroughtVulnerability

AWhitePaperfromtheCaliforniaEnergyCommissionsCaliforniaClimateChangeCenter

Preparedfor: CaliforniaEnergyCommission

Preparedby: UniversityofCalifornia,SantaCruz

JULY 2012

CEC 500 2012 017

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RuthLangridgePI,LegalStudiesProgram,CenterforGlobal,InternationalandRegionalStudiesUniversityofCalifornia,SantaCruzAndrewFisher,CoPI,Dept.ofEarthandPlanetarySciencesUniversityofCalifornia,SantaCruzAndrewRacz,BruceDaniels,andKirstenRudestamGraduateStudentsUniversityofCalifornia,SantaCruzBlakeHihara,Jr.SpecialistUniversityofCalifornia,SantaCruz

DISCLAIMER

This paper was prepared as the result of work sponsored by the California Energy Commission. It does not necessarily represent the views of the Energy Commission, its employees or the State of California. The Energy Commission, the State of California, its employees, contractors and subcontractors make no warrant, express or implied, and assume no legal liability for the information in this paper; nor does any party represent that the uses of this information will not infringe upon privately owned rights. This paper has not been approved or disapproved by the California Energy Commission nor has the California Energy Commission passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of the information in this paper.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thank you to Guido Franco and his staff at the California Energy Commission for guidance and assistance with our project; to our reviewers for their helpful comments on this paper; and to Mark Wilson for his skillful editing of the paper. This project was supported in-part by an additional grant from the NOAA Sectoral Applications Research Program. Thank you to Nancy Beller-Simms for her assistance. A special thank you to the staff at each of our study sites for their generous time and assistance with the project.

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ABSTRACT Periodic droughts, projected to become more frequent and severe with climate change, present a significant planning challenge for Californias water agencies. This research examined approaches to reducing drought vulnerability, focusing on five water agencies on Californias north and central coast that rely on local and regional sources of water. Curtailing water use is the principal response to drought. In contrast, this project highlights an important but underutilized proactive adaptation to improve water supply security during drought: the development of locally based groundwater drought reserves. While this approach represents an obvious solution in principle, it is uncommon to find it in practice, and this research provides insight into (1) motivating factors, (2) legal barriers and opportunities, (3) tools, and (4) policy options to support increased drought resilience and the development of drought reserves. Motivating Factors: The hydro-geophysical elements, water management policies, and socio-legal characteristics that motivate an agency to initiate proactive adaptation strategies to increase drought resilience and establish drought reserves. This research points to the following as significant:

Severely limited access to water during a drought Regulatory constraints, e.g., under the Endangered Species Act or a growth moratorium Strong leadership and stakeholder commitment to sustainable water management

Legal Opportunities and Constraints: The legal rules and institutional structures affecting groundwater management in California, and the opportunities and constraints they provide to establish drought reserves. Tools

Decision support mechanisms that can assist water agencies in the calculation of metrics to establish a local groundwater drought reserve: estimation of a basins storage capacity and calculation of groundwater levels to bring a basin into hydrologic balance and to sustain a reserve

Determination of criteria to access a drought reserve

Policy Options: Policy options to support the establishment of proactive drought adaptation strategies, including drought reserves. Keywords: drought, water supply, groundwater, reserve, resilience

Please use the following citation for this paper: Langridge, Ruth, Andrew Fisher, Andrew Racz, Bruce Daniels, Kirsten Rudestam, and Blake

Hihara. 2012. Climate Change and Water Supply Security: Reconfiguring Groundwater Management to Reduce Drought Vulnerability. California Energy Commission. Publication Number: CEC-500-2012-017.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................... i

ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................... ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ......................................................................................................................... iii

LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................................. vi

LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................................... vi

Section 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1

1.1 The Problem ...................................................................................................................................... 1

1.2 Our Proposition ................................................................................................................................ 2

1.3 Project Goal ....................................................................................................................................... 3

1.4 Project Objectives ............................................................................................................................. 3

1.5 Paper Roadmap ................................................................................................................................ 4

Section 2: Study Elements: Physical Dynamics ................................................................................... 5

2.1 Hydro-geologic Characteristics ...................................................................................................... 5

2.2 Potential Sources of Water to Reduce Overdraft and Build a Reserve ..................................... 6

Stormwater Capture .......................................................................................................................... 6

Recycled Water ................................................................................................................................... 8

Desalination ........................................................................................................................................ 9

Conservation ....................................................................................................................................... 9

2.3 General Considerations in Establishing a Drought Reserve ...................................................... 9

Section 3: Study Elements: Legal-Institutional Dynamics .............................................................. 11

3.1 Legal Authority to Manage Groundwater ................................................................................. 11

Local Regulation ............................................................................................................................... 11

County Regulation ........................................................................................................................... 12

State Statutory Requirements ......................................................................................................... 12

California Water Code ..................................................................................................................... 14

State Public Interest Doctrines ....................................................................................................... 14

Federal Legal Authority .................................................................................................................. 15

Water Quality and Public Health Regulation .............................................................................. 15

3.2 Unsettled Legal Issues ................................................................................................................... 16

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Definition of Groundwater ............................................................................................................. 16

The Public Trust Doctrine and Groundwater Regulation .......................................................... 18

The Reasonable and Beneficial Use Doctrine and the Regulation of Groundwater ............... 19

Federal Issues in the Regulation of Groundwater ....................................................................... 20

Fifth Amendment Takings and the Regulation of Groundwater .............................................. 20

Discussion ......................................................................................................................................... 21

Section 4: Study Sites ............................................................................................................................. 22

4.1 Pajaro