Groundwater Governance and Management

State-Level Groundwater Governance and Management in the U.S.

Groundwater is increasingly important for meeting water demand across the United States. Forward thinking governance and effective management are necessary for its sustainable use. The U.S. has state governments that are primarily reponsible for groundwater governance (i.e., making laws, policies, and regulations) and management (i.e., implementation of laws, policies, and regulations). This decentralized approach results in different strategies and practices. In Fall 2015 the Water Resources Research Center began the next phase of its "Groundwater Goverance in the U.S." project. A nationwide survey was developed in coordination with an advisory council from the Ground Water Research and Education Foundation (GWREF) and funded by a grant from the GWREF. The survey was administered to state-level officials who oversee groundwater quality programs in 2016 in order to identify on-the-ground practices that may help improve and enhance management of the nation's water supplies. The report was finalized in June 2017.

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Decentralized Groundwater Governance and Water Nexus Implications in the United States

The interconnectivities of groundwater to food, energy, and the climate are addressed to various degrees at the state level. Groundwater governance in the United States is decentralized, resulting in considerable variations in state practices. This article, published in Jurimetrics and written by Sharon B. Megdal and Jacob Petersen-Perlman, reports on two state-level surveys and three regional case studies conducted to better understand groundwater governance strategies and practices. The article also relates the results of these research efforts to food, energy, and climate. The analysis points to the importance of identifying best practices for addressing nexus challenges for groundwater.

Citation: Sharon B. Megdal & Jacob D. Petersen-Perlman, Decentralized Groundwater Governance and Water Nexus Implications in the United States, 59 JURIMETRICS J. 99-119 (2018).

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Critical Issues Affecting Groundwater Quality Governance in the United States

The article, "Critical Issues Affecting Groundwater Quality Governance in the United States," published in Water in 2018, by Jacob D. Petersen-Perlman, Sharon B. Megdal, Andrea K. Gerlak, Mike Wireman, Adriana A. Zuniga-Teran, and Robert G. Varady, reports the results of the "State-Level Groundwater Governance and Management in the U.S.: Summary of Survey Results of Groundwater Quality Strategies". Survey respondents identify a wide assortment of groundwater issues and concerns, including quality and quantity impairment, staffing and budget issues, private well vulnerability, and overdraft. The authors also discuss how findings align with current groundwater uses in the U.S.

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Invisible Water: The Importance of Good Groundwater Governance and Management

Increasing demand for water has led to a higher reliance on groundwater. As dependence on groundwater increases, water managers and policy makers need to pay careful attention to both groundwater quality and quantity. This paper, written by Sharon B. Megdal for the journal npj Clean Water in 2018, summarizes the results of efforts to bring attention to the importance of understanding and improving groundwater governance and management. Discussion of survey work in the United States and global case studies highlights the importance of focusing attention on this invisible water resource before pollution or depletion of it causes severe economic, environmental, and social dislocations. Better governance and management of groundwater are required to move toward sustainable groundwater use.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41545-018-0015-9

Groundwater Governance in the United States: A Mosaic of Approaches

The diversity of groundwater governance (making laws, policies, and regulations) within the United States makes describing generalities difficult, as each state determines its own groundwater priorities and governance approaches. Sometimes states delegate significant reponsibilities to sub-state jurisdictions. This chapter in the book Advances in Groundwater Governance, written by Sharon B. Megdal, Adriana Zuniga Teran, Robert G. Varady, Nathaniel Delano, Andrea K. Gerlak and Ethan T. Vimont demonstrates the changing nature of groundwater governance and groundwater debates by considering California and Arizona. Arizona has a long history of practicing groundwater management in designated parts of the state, while California recently adopted a more comprehensive, state-wide approach.

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Read the book Advances in Groundwater Governance

Decentralized Groundwater Governance and Water Nexus Implications in the United States

Groundwater governance (making laws, policies, and regulations) in the United States is decentralized, resulting in considerable variations in practices across states. This article in Jurimetrics, written by Sharon B. Megdal and Jacob D. Petersen-Perlman, reports on two state-level surveys and three regional case studies conducted to better understand groundwater governance strategies and practices. The article also relates the results of three research efforts to food, energy, and climate. The analysis of this article points to the importance of identifying best practices for addressing nexus challenges for groundwater.

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Groundwater Governance and Assessment in a Transboundary Setting

As groundwater reliance is increasing across the globe, including the United States-Mexico region, the complications of governing transboundary groundwater become more prominent. In their chapter of the new book Lake Governance, authors Sharon B. Megdal and Jacob D. Petersen-Perlman discuss groundwater governance and assessment, with a focus on the Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program (TAAP) along the U.S.-Mexico border. After providing an overview of groundwater governance in practice, the authors discuss commonly accepted principles for governing groundwater and recent developments in legal principles for transboundary groundwater governance. They explain how TAAP studies have been made possible by a cooperative framework agreed upon by American and Mexican partners through the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC). The authors highlight the value of the TAAP framework for the Arizona-Sonora border region and suggest it could be applied elsewhere. Edited by Velma Grover and Gail Krantzberg, the book can be ordered at https://www.crcpress.com/Lake-Governance/Grover-Krantzberg/p/book/9781138633759. Please email smegdal@email.arizona.edu or jacobpp@email.arizona.edu for more information about the chapter. More information about the TAAP can be found at https://wrrc.arizona.edu/TAAP.

Lake Governance