Interbasin Groundwater Flow Project

The Interbasin Groundwater Flow Project, funded from a grant from the Water Foundation program of the Resource Legacy Fund, will evaluate opportunities and barriers for local agencies to account for interconnected basin dynamics through the collaboration of technical experts. The project will focus on sub-basins in the Northern Sacramento Valley Integrated Regional Water Management (NSVIRWM) Plan area. The objectives of the project are:

• To build technical capacity and local ownership of the methodology to assess interconnected sub-basins among local agencies within the study area.
• To provide recommendations to local agencies within the study area for methodologies for accounting for interbasin interaction in their Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSP).
• To document recommended methodologies to aid the Department of Water Resources in their evaluation of whether one GSP plan adversely affects the ability of an adjacent basin to achieve sustainability.
• To provide a case study within the northern Sacramento Valley that will provide an approach and appraisal (“lessons learned”) for other sub-basins that are faced with interconnected sub-basin issues.

Background

• Fact Sheet - Addressing Interbasin Groundwater Flow Under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) (PDF)
• Interbasin Groundwater Flow Evaluation Report (PDF) - Final
• Interbasin Groundwater Flow Evaluation Report Appendices (PDF)
• Inventory of Groundwater Models (PDF) - Technical Memorandum
• Overview (PDF)
• Scope of Work (PDF)
• Assessment of Interconnected Sub-basins (PDF)