Why protect groundwater?
Increased reliance on groundwater for drinking and other beneficial uses will be necessary to meet California’s future water supply needs. Global warming and the threat of prolonged droughts forecast the need for additional groundwater storage to capture precipitation runoff. At the same time, saltwater intrusion, land subsidence, and groundwater pollution have impacted or impaired portions of some groundwater basins, making their use for drinking water or for additional storage and supply a significant challenge. Such pressures on groundwater resources require that the intimate ties between land use, human activity, water quality and water supplies be acknowledged and managed in order to promote wise, balanced, and sustainable use of groundwater resources. How does the Water Board protect groundwater? The California Legislature established the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) and the nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards (Regional Water Boards) in 1949. Ope
