A New Framework for Groundwater Management

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Water Replenishment District of Southern California

Apr 04, 2011, 09:01 ET

WRD Endorses ACWA's Groundwater Management Objectives

LAKEWOOD, Calif., April 4, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, ACWA released a new policy framework that calls on local water agencies throughout the state to implement groundwater management plans and strategies to meet sustainability objectives. The policy reasserted the importance of local agencies in managing groundwater and recommends 4 specific goals:

1) Local water agencies should implement groundwater management plans to meet sustainability objectives

2) The state facilitate the development of locally managed sustainability-based groundwater management plans

3) The State should remove impediments to sustainable groundwater management wherever possible

4) Sustainable groundwater management must be part of a comprehensive plan to achieve the coequal goals of improved statewide water supply reliability and environmental restoration

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"We are very encouraged by the release of these objectives," said Robb Whitaker, General Manager of the Water Replenishment District. "WRD has been managing the groundwater of the Central Basin and the West Coast Basin of South Los Angeles County for over 50 years. Our integrated and sustainable groundwater management plan can serve as a guide to other agencies and we look forward to active participation in this plan."

As the regional groundwater management agency for 11% of the State's population who reside in 43 cities of southern Los Angeles County, WRD is doing all it can to ensure a reliable and sustainable supply of groundwater water for the region.

The District's Water Independence Now Program, or WIN Program, is a suite of water supply and reliability projects which when fully implemented can make replenishment of the most urbanized groundwater basins in the State independent of imported water supply from Northern California and the Colorado River. When fully implemented, WRD's WIN Program can completely replace imported water demand with local sources of water for replenishment purposes, making these groundwater basins fully self-sufficient.

Created by voters in 1959, WRD is a regional groundwater management agency that protects and preserves the quantity and quality of groundwater supplies for 10 percent of the State's population residing in southern Los Angeles County.

SOURCE Water Replenishment District of Southern California