Join fellow groundwater managers, regulators and technical experts for GRA’s Fourth Annual GSA Summit: Working Toward Implementation. 
 
In this two-day virtual event – you’ll learn with GSAs working towards a sustainable future. The format of this virtual conference features interactive panels and round tables to get deep into the issues GSAs are facing as they work on the second year of GSP development, or are starting on implementation activities. You’ll have a chance to hear directly from DWR and SWRCB about review findings and year one implementation progress.
 
Sessions will focus on lessons learned from GSAs that will have completed annual reporting twice since GSP adoption, how those data management systems are really working, accessing and putting to use implementation funding, developing and designing projects for basin sustainability, and the march toward five year updates.
 

Sessions



Conference Welcome & Opening Keynote - SGMA Implementation and its Legal Challenges

Abigail Madrone
Marina Deligiannis
Brad Herrema
The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 (“SGMA”) was enacted with the goal of collaborative implementation of sustainable groundwater management. Legislation soon followed to create a “streamlined” mechanism for the adjudication of groundwater rights, which SGMA had not addressed. More than five years into the implementation of these new laws and after the first set of Groundwater Sustainability Plans has been submitted for DWR’s review, legal challenges related to SGMA implementation and potentially affected water rights have been initiated. This presentation will discuss SGMA and the streamlined adjudication statutes and pending legal challenges arising out of their implementation.

Break

 

SGMA Allocation & Trading - Challenges, Opportunities, and Implementation

Eric Robinson
Rogelio Caudillo
Soapy Mulholland

Moderators:
  • Bryce McAteer, WestWater Research
  • Anona Dutton, EKI
 
SGMA requires the development of a water budget and plan to manage a basin to achieve its sustainability goal. There can be tension between the development of water budgets that reflect how water physically moves into and out of a basin and the water rights framework which dictates who has rights to certain quantities and types of water. This potential tension becomes paramount when GSAs consider the development of groundwater allocation and transfer programs as a means to achieve sustainability. The integration of groundwater allocations and trading is both novel and crucial to the successful implementation of SGMA in many of the state’s basins. This panel of practitioners, legal experts, and stakeholders will discuss the challenges, opportunities, and ongoing implementation of these programs in some of California’s groundwater basins.

Break

 

Long-Term Outreach and Engagement: Sustaining Meaningful Communication

Kassy Chauhan
Marina Deligiannis
Angela Islas
Austin Miller
Kelly Peterson

Moderator: 
  • David Ceppos, Sacramento State University

GSAs are well versed in SGMA regulations and the requirements for outreach and communication; they understand the importance of diverse representation and can navigate the difficult conversations during GSP development. But what happens after the GSP submittal deadline? It takes thoughtful planning to keep the conversation going and sustain local engagement and participation, as communities work towards sustainability. This session will explore the importance of strategic long-term communication and engagement, how to avoid conversation fatigue, and the tools and resources available to ensure GSA outreach and engagement efforts are meaningful and sustainable beyond the GSP submittal deadline. Stakeholders, consultants, and GSA representatives will provide experience, knowledge, and perspectives on effective long-term stakeholder outreach and engagement. 


Sponsored by:

Communities and Communication

Katie Duncan

Networking Reception

 
Not just another Zoom call! Interact in real-time just by joining a virtual table.

NGO Findings - Review of 2020 Groundwater Sustainability Plans

Melissa Rohde
Pablo Ortiz
Ngodoo Atume
Samantha Arthur

 
The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act requires Groundwater Sustainability Agencies to consider the interests of all beneficial uses and users of groundwater. However, groundwater needs for historically marginalized communities, the environment, and climate change can be difficult to quantify and integrate into Groundwater Sustainability Plans without stakeholder input. A group of diverse NGOs representing these stakeholder interests will present lessons learned from the 2020 Groundwater Sustainability Plans and recommendations for those GSAs preparing plans for submittal in January 2022. These findings and recommendations are a result of a review of 31 Groundwater Sustainability Plans for their consideration of small drinking water systems, groundwater dependent ecosystems, and disadvantaged communities under a changing climate. 

Break

 

Regulatory Agency Overview

Craig Altare
Keith Wallace
Sarah Sugar

Moderator:
Matthew Zidar, San Joaquin Department of Public Works

Join us for an informative session where representatives from the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) will provide an overview and update on California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).

Break

 

Water Quality and SGMA: Data Challenges and Coordination with Existing Programs

Justine Massey
Sierra Ryan
Edgar Tellez Foster

Moderators:
Lisa Porta, Montgomery & Associates
Anona Dutton, EKI
 
As GSPs are being developed and implemented, GSAs grapple with their role in water quality data collection, management, enforcement, and how they fit in with other existing water quality programs. This session will explore questions around: 1) water quality data collection, analysis and gaps, 2) how water quality affects water quantity and availability and what it means for implementation, 3) regulatory and stakeholder coordination and education. Speakers from various regions will provide their perspectives.

Regional Breakout Sessions

Marina Deligiannis

Sponsors



 

Premier Water Counsel



Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck is proud to support the Groundwater Resources Association of California. 

Our Water Group has unparalleled experience in every aspect of water rights, supply, use, distribution and policy. We have unmatched experience in developing creative solutions to water supply and quality issues.


Meet Dudek 

We are a California-based environmental and engineering consultant with 16 nationwide offices and more than 600 planners, scientists, civil engineers, contractors, and support staff. We assist private and public clients on a range of projects that improve and evolve our communities, infrastructure, and natural environment. From planning, design, and permitting through construction, we move projects forward through the complexities of regulatory compliance, budgetary and schedule constraints, and conflicting stakeholder interests.


INTERA is an employee-owned geosciences and engineering consulting firm. As a medium-sized company, we focus on excelling in our key areas of expertise. Our people, our commitment, and our solutions are what differentiate INTERA from other consulting firms.

EXPERT PEOPLE.  INTERA’s technical staff members are some of the most talented in their respective fields. Our high-level of expertise, combined with practical hands-on experience, enables us to deliver
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EXCELLENT SOLUTIONS.  Talented people that are totally committed to client service and the work they are doing produce excellent solutions. At INTERA, we work diligently every day to achieve our vision of Delivering Excellence with Every Solution.


Since 1984, Montgomery & Associates has been a leader in groundwater consulting in the western United States and South America. We have a history of partnering with clients to address their evolving water needs and challenges. Our loyal base of clients includes municipalities, private water companies, government agencies, mining companies, industrial entities, and tribal groups who have come to expect state-of-the-art technical innovation combined with a strong, practical understanding of groundwater science. We employ more than 100 professionals who specialize in hydrology, geology, soil science, policy and regulatory affairs, groundwater modeling, GIS analyses and 3D visualization, database management, and instrumentation and monitoring. Our California experts in Monterey, Oakland, Sacramento, and San Luis Obispo are ready to help solve your water resources planning needs.


Water Well Casing and Screen




The Water Replenishment District (WRD) is the largest groundwater agency in the State of California, managing and protecting local groundwater resources for over four million residents.

WRD ensures that a reliable supply of high quality groundwater is available through the use of recycled water and stormwater capture. WRD is responsible for monitoring and testing groundwater throughout the region using effective management principles.

WRD's service area covers a 420-square-mile region of southern Los Angeles County, the most populated county in the United States. The 43 cities in the service area, including a portion of the City of Los Angeles, use about 250,000 acre-feet (82 billion gallons) of groundwater annually which accounts for approximately half of the region's water supply.

 


From West Yost’s beginning, our firm’s focus has been exclusively on water, including water supply, wastewater, recycled water, groundwater, and stormwater. In these areas, West Yost has broad experience in providing planning, design, construction management, and program management services. Our founding objective was to provide a higher level of client service around this focused area of technical expertise. Our firm culture is deeply rooted in providing high-quality work, superior client service, and technical expertise.

Our mission: To be the water firm of choice for both our clients and team

Our vision: To be the leader of water in the west

Our purpose: To advance water resources for future generations

What we stand for: To do the best work of our lives

Our values: 

  • Deliver high-value solutions, that are well communicated

  • Take ownership that earns trust

  • Do what’s right

  • Collaborate

  • Have fun


Wildeye provides field proven, reliable, affordable, easy to scale and use monitoring solutions.  Experienced in water markets and compliance reporting - SB88, SGMA.  Our systems provide well depth, flow, pressure, weather data and much more,  Data is presented in easy to read graphs in order to be useable and we assist with a full range of water use compliance reporting.  Remote monitoring and control made easy.  


GEI Consultants, Inc. is a consulting engineering and environmental firm that delivers value by providing professional services to improve our world’s built environments. With 900 staff and 42 offices nationwide, GEI is a leader in providing multi-disciplined engineering and technical services to a range of private and public sector clients domestically and abroad.

As an employee-owned firm, we foster personal relationships with our clients and cultivate our staff in a partnership model which is underpinned by continuous learning and sharing of knowledge. We retain proven recognized industry experts and attract the best young minds in the industry to deliver to our clients a refreshing blend of technical expertise, collaborative spirit and innovation that is rare in our profession.

GEI is consistently ranked among the top firms in Engineering News Record’s (ENR) annual list of Top Design Firms and Top Environmental Firms.




At Woodard & Curran, there’s nothing we love more than a tough engineering challenge. We handle a wide range of water and environmental issues—solving complex problems with creativity and tenacity. That’s how we make a difference to our clients, people, and planet.

Woodard & Curran is an integrated engineering, science, and operations company. Privately held and steadily growing, we serve public and private clients locally and nationwide. Talented people are at the heart of our firm. Our company was founded in 1979 on a simple business concept: provide a safe and enjoyable place to work with opportunity, integrity, and commitment, and we will attract talented people. Our strength is in those people, who are experts in their field and passionate about what they do, showing a level of commitment and integrity that drive results for our clients.
 
We take a multidisciplinary approach to solving our clients' technical and business problems. By considering them from different perspectives, we often uncover new answers and overcome challenges where others have failed.

We know that the financial pressure on communities is only growing more intense. That’s why we have a dedicated funding team that constantly monitors grant and loan programs and partners with clients to position for and win funding. Over the last five years, we have secured more than $2 billion in funding enabling total investment of well over $3 billion in essential infrastructure. And we back that up with long-term financial planning to help utilities create sustainable funding structures.