California is grappling with a severe groundwater crisis, underscoring the urgent need for accurate accounting under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). SGMA mandates that certain basins develop plans to achieve groundwater balance by 2040, ensuring that withdrawals do not exceed recharge rates.

Various tools are being used or developed to tackle this challenge, ranging from field meters and well monitors to computer models and online platforms.

This episode features conversations with Ann Hayden, Vice President of Climate Resilient Water Systems at the Environmental Defense Fund; Brad Samuelson, Managing Partner of Water and Land Solutions; and Brian Lockwood, General Manager of Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency.

They discuss the pressures and solutions for groundwater accounting from the Central Valley to the Central Coast. The episode also includes a demonstration of the Groundwater Accounting Platform.

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