Dr. Garrett Hazelton, Earth Scientist at MWH Americas, will present “GRACE, SGMA, and the Future of Groundwater in California“

Summary:
California’s water network relies on in-state and out-of-state water sources.  Many converging factors, not just the current drought, have exposed weaknesses in California’s water resource systems.  For example, monitoring tools such as NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites – which detect small changes in the Earth’s gravity field caused by the redistribution of water on and beneath the land surface – have demonstrated at the regional scale profound changes in aquifers, some negative aspects of which are geologically irreversible.  Groundwater resources are a key component of California’s water portfolio, with greater than 80 percent of Californians relying at least in part on this resource.  In normal water years groundwater contributes 35-40 percent of the statewide water supply; in dry years about 60 percent.  Until very recently, management of most groundwater basins was in effect unregulated, and the volumes one could extract effectively unlimited.  In 2014 the California Legislature and Governor codified the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), arguably the most important water-related legislation in California since the federal Clean Water Act of 1972.  One key aspect of SGMA is the definition of the term sustainable with respect to both long-term aquifer management and extractable water yields.  The Department of Water Resources (DWR) is the lead agency overseeing the implementation of SGMA and has several key responsibilities and milestones to meet between now and the early 2020’s when SGMA becomes the operational paradigm.  Within the proposed framework, local agencies (cities, counties and water districts) working collaboratively or alone are to adopt groundwater management plans (GMPs) that will in the ideal be tailored to the specific needs and resources of local communities.  The trajectory of SGMA implementation and whether sustainability goals are actually met within the desired timeframes are sure to impact several aspects of California’s future economy.  Practitioners entering careers in a wide range of disciplines and fields (e.g., engineering; academia; manufacturing; law; agriculture; finance; real estate; public policy) likely impacted by California’s evolving water policy and regulations should find a basic understanding of SGMA and its likely outcomes helpful.

Biography:
Garrett Hazelton is an Earth Scientist at MWH Americas, a global engineering consultancy.  His work with public and private sector clients is focused on macroscale aspects of water resources and policy, future changes to those, and strategically identifying likely impacts on the water and energy economies in California and the US Southwest.  Prior to joining the private sector Garrett had academic appointments at Cal Poly Pomona (geotechnical engineering) and Claremont McKenna College, where he initiated the first Sustainability Audit for four of the five campuses.  He received a B.S. in Geology from Cal Poly Pomona and a Ph.D. in Geology with an emphasis in geochemistry from UCLA.