Groundwater Accounting & Data Reporting Project

Introduction

California Department of Water Resources

Groundwater accounts for between 40-60% of California’s water supply and is heavily relied upon in dry years. Despite its importance to the state’s water supply, groundwater remained largely unregulated until passage of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) in 2014. Passage of SGMA requires local agencies to collect information about the health of their groundwater basins and use that information to develop groundwater sustainability plans to achieve groundwater sustainability.

What does this project focus on?

In partnership with the Department of Water Resources (DWR), State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB), and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), this project is advancing two key elements to support local agencies developing groundwater sustainability plans under SGMA:

  1. Expansion of the open-source Groundwater Accounting Platform. Learn more about the Groundwater Accounting Platform by watching a demo.

2. Co-development of data reporting formats and best management practices for their implementation.

Try out the Groundwater Accounting Platform
 


We developed this…platform because we want to provide landowners and growers with as many tools as possible to manage their water more sustainably and balance their water budget.

Eric Averett | Former General Manager of Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District

The Groundwater Accounting Platform

The Groundwater Accounting Platform enables water managers, landowners, and water users to track water budgets and usuage in near real-time. The Platform also includes a module for groundwater modeling and scenario planning, providing a complete set of tools for local water districts to better manage allocations over time. Built using open-source code, the Groundwater Accounting Platform provides a springboard for water districts everywhere to launch and customize their own software solutions. Learn more about the Groundwater Accounting Platform here.

Key Platform Features:

  • Track water supply data of your choice (ET or metered)
  • Track demand and account for usuange in near real-time
  • Capture usage data to inform district billing
  • Create, view, and manage water budgets with both a Landowner View and a Water Manager view
  • Model hydrological impacts of various scenarios with the Groundwater Evaluation Toolbox (GET) from Olsson

Platform Project Partners

Hannah Ake / California Water Data Consortium

Additional Resources