A new but little-known change in California law designating aquifers as “natural infrastructure” promises to unleash a flood of public funding for projects that increase the state’s supply of groundwater, according to the Water Education Foundation.
The change is buried in a sweeping state budget-related law enacted in July that also makes it easier for property owners and water managers to divert floodwater for storage underground, also known as managed aquifer recharge (MAR).
The classification of aquifers could have a far-reaching effect in California where restoring depleted aquifers has become a strategic defense against severe weather — an insurance against more frequent droughts and more variable precipitation. The state leans heavily on aquifers, drawing about 40 percent of its water supply from the ground during an average water year and up to 60 percent during dry years.
More than $1 billion in state funds could become available to a wide range of projects that replenish groundwater, including flood control improvements and wetlands restoration, according to the Planning and Conservation League and the conservation nonprofit River Partners, which pushed for the designation.
The new law also positions local water managers and nonprofit groups to potentially tap Proposition 1 funds — a 2014 statewide bond that dedicated $7.5 billion for water projects — and a sweeping climate resilience bond that Governor Gavin Newsom and lawmakers are planning for the 2024 statewide ballot.
Click here to read more from the Water Education Foundation.
NGWA supports increasing MAR safely and cost-effectively and has a web page devoted to this topic.