In this episode, we discuss the Lower Tuscan Aquifer and the Tuscan-Tehama formation.  These two hydrologic features underlie the Sacramento Valley in Northern California.     References: Aquifer Studies and Recharge Assessment of the Northern California Lower Tuscan Aquifer System, Kleinfelder, 2016. Groundwater Conditions in the Northern Sacramento Valley, California Department of Water Resources Hydrostratigraphy and Pump-test Analysis of the Lower Tuscan/Tehama Aquifer, Northern Sacramento Valley, CA, California State University, Chico, Center for Water and the Environment Lower Tuscan Aquifer Monitoring, Recharge, and Data Management Program, Butte County Water and Resource Conservation District Seeking and Understanding the Groundwater Aquifers Systems in the Northern Sacramento Valley, University of California Cooperative Extension       

In this episode, we discuss the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, often referred to as SGMA.  This landmark legislation was passed in 2014 and is the first to regulate groundwater in California.  We discuss Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) and their timeline to produce Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs) for their basins.     Resources: Bulletin 118 Groundwater Basins, California Department of Water Resources Groundwater Sustainability Agencies, California Department of Water Resources Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, University of California, Davis Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, Water Education Foundation's Aquapedia Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, State Water Resources Control Board

In this episode, Jim Brobeck from AquAlliance joins us and we discuss the definition and legal framework for water transfers in California.  In California there must be a 'willing seller' and a 'willing buyer' for a water transfer to occur.  We chat about competition within the junior water rights market and how some senior water rights users are utilizing groundwater substitution to transfer water to turn a profit. Resources 10-Year Water Transfer Memorandum Decision; AquAlliance v. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Water Transfers, AquAlliance Water Transfers, California Department of Water Resources Water Transfers Program, California State Water Resources Control Board Water Transfers, Maven's Notebook Water Marketing, Aquapedia Water Transfers and Access to Water Markets in California, Association of California Water Agencies Recent California Water Transfers: Implications for Water Management, Natural Resources Journal

In this episode, we've got the ever-talented Marty Dunlap back on the Water Table to discuss water rights in California. This episode is a follow up on the first episode with Don Hankins, where we explored Indigenous Water Rights, which is simply an idea and not a reality of water allocation in California. In California, there are five basic types of water rights: Pueblo Water Rights: California cities that are successors of Mexican or Spanish settlements have the right to all naturally occurring surface and subsurface water from the entire watershed of the stream flowing through the original pueblo. Riparian Water Rights: A property that abuts a waterway maintains the right to use the water from that waterway on the property. Appropriative Rights: Water can be diverted and appropriated downstream of the diversion. Pre-1914 Appropriative Rights: Appropriative rights that existed before the Water Commission Act formed a state agency (now the State Water Resources Control Board) to allocate the water. Post-1914 Appropriative Rights: Often referred to as junior water rights. Water rights obtained via permit from the State, after 1914. Adjudicated Water Rights: In many surface and groundwater basins across the state, water rights disputes have resulted in legal battles. These basins and waterways are considered adjudicated by the court, and each basin has a water right decree which details the water rights distribution for that basin. Overlying Water Rights: Landowners have the overlying rights to use groundwater beneath their parcel. Marty Dunlap is the founder of the Citizen's Water Watch of Northern California, where people who have assumed a leadership role in providing an environmental voice for both surface and groundwater in the region can come together. The purpose of the group is to meet and discuss emerging issues and formulate strategic approaches in providing a clear and strong voice on behalf of the public regarding projects that impact the water resources of Northern California. Marty pursued a degree in law during her career at Butte College where she coordinated testing for entering students and generated statistical data on student performance and outcomes. She entered the field of law with the desire to utilize her counseling background in mediating the conversation about providing protection to the earth and its resources. She now focusses on protecting the waters of Northern California. Resources: A Primer on Water Rights in California, Sawyers, Gregory Adjudicated Groundwater Basin Mapper, California Department of Water Resources Appropriative Water Rights, Aquapedia Riparian Rights, Aquapedia Summary of California Water Rights, US Fish and Wildlife Service Water Rights in California, Aquapedia

In this episode, we explore the California Constitution, the California Water Code, and the Public Trust Doctrine. The California Constitution entrusts the State with protecting water as a public trust resource. Water is owned by the people of California and must be used for beneficial use. We explore how the statutory laws of the California Water Code can contradict the public trust doctrine, a foundational law of the California Constitution. ARTICLE 10  WATER SEC. 2.  It is hereby declared that because of the conditions prevailing in this State the general welfare requires that the water resources of the State be put to beneficial use to the fullest extent of which they are capable, and that the waste or unreasonable use or unreasonable method of use of water be prevented, and that the conservation of such waters is to be exercised with a view to the reasonable and beneficial use thereof in the interest of the people and for the public welfare.  The right to water or to the use or flow of water in or from any natural stream or water course in this State is and shall be limited to such water as shall be reasonably required for the beneficial use to be served, and such right does not and shall not extend to the waste or unreasonable use or unreasonable method of use or unreasonable method of diversion of water.  Riparian rights in a stream or water course attach to, but to no more than so much of the flow thereof as may be required or used consistently with this section, for the purposes for which such lands are, or may be made adaptable, in view of such reasonable and beneficial uses; provided, however, that nothing herein contained shall be construed as depriving any riparian owner of the reasonable use of water of the stream to which the owner's land is riparian under reasonable methods of diversion and use, or as depriving any appropriator of water to which the appropriator is lawfully entitled. This section shall be self-executing, and the Legislature may also enact laws in the furtherance of the policy in this section contained. Marty Dunlap is the founder of the Citizen's Water Watch of Northern California, where people who have assumed a leadership role in providing an environmental voice for both surface and groundwater in the region can come together. The purpose of the group is to meet and discuss emerging issues and formulate strategic approaches in providing a clear and strong voice on behalf of the public regarding projects that impact the water resources of Northern California. Marty pursued a degree in law during her career at Butte College where she coordinated testing for entering students and generated statistical data on student performance and outcomes. She entered the field of law with the desire to utilize her counseling background in mediating the conversation about providing protection to the earth and its resources. She now focusses on protecting the waters of Northern California. Resources: California Constitution, Article 10, Section 2 Beneficial use as defined by the State Water Resources Control Board California Water Code

In this episode, we explore how water rights are allocated to tribes indigenous to California. Don discusses how the Winters Doctrine and the Agua Caliente case have impacted indigenous water rights. He also discusses the plight of the Delta Smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus), the interplay of fire and water, and his thoughts on the California Water Fix (formerly known as the Bay Delta Conservation Plan). Don explains how the California Indian Water Commission was formed Public Law 93-638 Indian Self Determination Act, giving the Commission federal recognition. The episode ends with a point-positive discussion about how water should be allocated to native tribes of California. Stick around until the end of the episode, when Don shares a beautiful poem about water in the traditional Miwok? language. Resources: California Indian Water Commission The Winters Doctrine Tribal Rights to Groundwater: The Case of Agua Caliente California Indian Water Commission comments on the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (2014) Public Law 93-638 Indian Self Determination Act   Don Hankins is a Professor of Geography and Planning at California State University, Chico. He has a B.S. in Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology and a Ph.D. in Geography from the University of California, Davis. His interests and expertise is in the following areas: pyrogeography, ecohydrology, landscape ecology, intervention ecology, conservation, environmental policy and Indigenous stewardship. This expertise is applied to his courses in pyrogeography, water resources policy and planning, and nature and restoration. Don has been involved in various aspects of environmental planning, stewardship, conservation, and regulation for a variety of organizations and agencies including federal and tribal governments. Drawing from his academic and cultural knowledge he is particularly interested in Indigenous traditional knowledge and policy and their application as a keystone process to aid in conservation and stewardship. He has published several articles specific to Indigenous prescribed fire and the social dynamics of colonization on cultural burning. Amongst other projects his current research includes longitudinal studies of fire effects on biodiversity, cultural resources and hydrology and overall environmental resiliency in riparian forests, oak woodlands, and meadows in California and Eucalypt and tea tree woodlands in the Cape York Peninsula, Australia. These projects involve working with local Indigenous communities in the respective areas in order to achieve a broader framework of collaborative stewardship and learning. Don has also been active in policy related to Indigenous stewardship particularly as related to fire and water management. This episode was recorded in April of 2018.