Browsing by Author "Martinez, Janet"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    California’s New Landscape for Groundwater Governance (Water in the West Reports and Working Papers)
    (Stanford University, 2017) Conrad, Esther; Gordon, Beatrice; Moran, Tara; Blomquist, William A.; Martinez, Janet; Szeptycki, Leon
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Dispute Resolution Processes. Thinking Through SGMA Implementation
    (Stanford University, 2019) Moran, Tara; Martinez, Janet; Blomquist, William
    This report examines 74 multi-entity parties formed as Joint Powers Authorities or Memorandums of Understanding to guide Groundwater Sustainability Agencies through the process of including dispute resolution clauses in their Groundwater Sustainability plans.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Diverse stakeholders create collaborative, multilevel basin governance for groundwater sustainability
    (University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, 2018-03-13) Conrad, Esther; Moran, Tara; DuPraw, Marcelle E.; Ceppos, David; Martinez, Janet; Blomquist, William; Political Science, School of Liberal Arts
    The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) is introducing significant changes in the way groundwater is governed for agricultural use. It requires the formation of groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs) to manage groundwater basins for sustainability with the engagement of all users. That presents opportunities for collaboration, as well as challenges, particularly in basins with large numbers of agricultural water users who have longstanding private pumping rights. The GSA formation process has resulted in the creation of multiple GSAs in many such basins, particularly in the Central Valley. In case studies of three basins, we examine agricultural stakeholders' concerns about SGMA, and how these are being addressed in collaborative approaches to groundwater basin governance. We find that many water districts and private pumpers share a strong interest in maintaining local autonomy, but they have distinct concerns and different options for forming and participating in GSAs. Multilevel collaborative governance structures may help meet SGMA's requirements for broad stakeholder engagement, our studies suggest, while also addressing concerns about autonomy and including agricultural water users in decision-making.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    A Flexible Framework or Rigid Doctrine? Assessing the Legacy of the 2000 Mojave Decision for Resolving Disputes Over Groundwater in California
    (2018) Szeptycki, Leon; Conrad, Esther; Blomquist, William; Martinez, Janet
    The string of California Supreme Court cases establishing and elucidating groundwater pumping rights and rules for adjudicating them, culminating in the court's 2000 decision in City of Barstow v. Mojave Water Agency, has produced a framework that is frustratingly rigid and unclear at the same time. Fully litigating the relevant issues under that framework is a potentially time consuming and expensive slog. The rigidity drives up the cost of proving rights and the appropriate formula for allocating water, while the uncertainty creates room for litigious mischief. However, a close look at seven adjudications that have gone to judgment since Mojave shows a more complex and interesting story. In five of those cases, the parties and the courts effectively finessed the property rights rules to reach relatively quick settlements that included creative groundwater management solutions. In two of the seven, however, the Mojave framework produced over a decade of litigation. Both lines of cases hold important lessons for groundwater management generally, and for California as it moves forward in implementing the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Putting Adaptive Management into Practice: Incorporating Quantitative Metrics into Sustainable Groundwater Management
    (Stanford University, 2019) Conrad, Esther; Moran, Tara; Crankshaw, Ilana; Blomquist, William; Martinez, Janet; Szeptycki, Leon
    This report uses four cases to examine how agencies have used adaptive mangement and quantitative metrics to set minimum thresholds, measurable objectives and interim milestones to measure groundwater in California. The report offers recommendations for Groundwater Sustainability Agencies as they write their sustainability plans.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    To Consolidate or Coordinate? Status of the Formation of Groundwater Sustainability Agencies in California
    (Stanford University, 2016) Conrad, Esther; Martinez, Janet; Moran, Tara; DuPaw, Marcelle; Ceppos, David; Blomquist, William