...CONTINUED FROM PAGE 60 in managing water in California,” said researcher and coauthor Alvar Escriva-Bou, an engineering and policy expert at the Public Policy Institute of California. “Sadly, we are going to see more and more droughts like this, so we need better tools to anticipate and minimize the socio-economic impacts.” But drought is not only defined by the water supply, the researchers wrote. Warmer temperatures and already dry conditions increased crop irrigation demands and widened the gap between water supply and irrigation needs. “Warming has impacted seasonal water availability, namely through reducing spring snowmelt runoff and through increasing atmospheric thirst,” said Professor John Abatzoglou, climate expert and co-author in the report. “These factors in concert have intensified drought severity and impacts in the state and increased the need for actionable solutions to cope with drought.” The drought hit during the early implementation of Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) sustainability plans. The Act is designed to avoid the undesirable consequences of unsustainable groundwater use. Groundwater sustainability plans for critically overdrafted basins were submitted in 2020 and plans in other priority basins are due early this year. These plans remain in progress throughout the state for these and other priority basins. California’s increasingly variable supply of surface water and overdrafted groundwater aquifers present serious challenges for meeting societal needs, the report
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points out. “It is no surprise that California leans more heavily on groundwater to help meet its water supply needs during drought. SGMA is now well underway, and it is shaping how we respond to drought, especially in the valley. Despite the very real economic impact, this report also indicates an enormous capacity for innovation and adaptation in the agricultural industry, not limited to augmenting cattle feed with almond hulls —typically a byproduct — and also direct investments in aquifer recharge techniques and technologies,” said report co-author Professor Joshua Viers. “These innovations, coupled with better information about water application and use, will ultimately help us manage scarce water supplies more effectively.” Funded by a $1.5 million research grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture, MedellínAzuara, Abatzoglou, Viers and Escriva-Bou have worked since last fall to develop this economic analysis, along with decision-support tools for the agriculture industry during droughts. Other authors include UC Merced Environmental Systems graduate students Spencer Cole and José M. Rodríguez-Flores and Professor Daniel A. Sumner from UC Davis. “In the weeks to come, the research team will work with its expert advisory panel, stakeholders and partner groups to update ongoing drought conditions and impacts on the agricultural sector, as well as data and assessment tools, to inform drought management and decision making,” Medellín-Azuara said.
