What are undesirable results in the context of SGMA?

SGMA defines undesirable results as “one or more of the following effects caused by groundwater conditions occurring throughout the basin:

  1. Chronic lowering of groundwater levels indicating a significant and unreasonable depletion of supply if continued over the planning and implementation horizon. Overdraft during a period of drought is not sufficient to establish a chronic lowering of groundwater levels if extractions and groundwater recharge are managed as necessary to ensure that reductions in groundwater levels or storage during a period of drought are offset by increases in groundwater levels or storage during other periods.
  2. Significant and unreasonable reduction of groundwater storage.
  3. Significant and unreasonable seawater intrusion.
  4. Significant and unreasonable degraded water quality, including the migration of contaminant plumes that impair water supplies.
  5. Significant and unreasonable land subsidence that substantially interferes with surface land uses.
  6. Depletions of interconnected surface water that have significant and unreasonable adverse impacts on beneficial uses of the surface water.”

GSPs must address undesirable results and undertake management actions to ensure that they are avoided within 20 years of GSP adoption.

Show All Answers

1. What is Sustainable Groundwater Management?
2. What are undesirable results in the context of SGMA?
3. What Groundwater Basins are located in Napa County?
4. Why is the Napa Valley Subbasin subject to Sustainable Groundwater Management Act?
5. Why aren’t the hillsides included? Aren’t they important too?
6. What about the MST and Carneros, why aren’t they included? How will we know what’s going on in those areas/subbasins that are already having problems?
7. Return to the Groundwater FAQ page