Friday March 10, 2023: 
On Wednesday, AquAlliance and a coalition warned the State of California about potential litigation if it didn’t reverse its negligent and illegal activity to accelerate the private takeover of common groundwater basins and lay waste to struggling fish populations.

Barbara Vlamis, the Executive Director of AquAlliance, said Governor Newsom’s recent order extends a long record of disregard for watershed connectivity and groundwater dependent homes and small farms.

The State Water Resources Control Board’s order follows the Governor’s February extension of his drought emergency that designated stored water for groundwater recharge. This “…demonstrates the underhanded way the state keeps trying to take over groundwater basins. Recharge in concept sounds easy and positive especially when you leave out the fact that ownership of the groundwater changes hands over time – taking a public good and turning it into a private cash cow,” Vlamis said.

The coalition’s notice of intent charges the State Board with violating a lawsuit settlement that constrained the agency from issuing certain suspensions to water quality, the California Environmental Quality Act, the California Endangered Species Act, California’s “state of emergency” codes, and the public trust doctrine, a body of law that confirms critical resources such as water and fisheries must provide primary benefit to the people in common.

To read more about the issue, please see the attached coalition letter.