The passage of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) in 2014 set forth a statewide framework to help protect groundwater resources over the long-term. SGMA requires local agencies to form groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs) for the high- and medium-priority basins. GSAs develop and implement groundwater sustainability plans (GSPs) to avoid undesirable results and mitigate overdraft within 20 years. GSA boundaries are managed through the SGMA Portal. This dataset represents the current GSA boundaries and includes attributes such as GSA contacts and GSA boundary status. The GSA formation process is completed via the SGMA Portal and includes three primary steps, which are discussed in greater detail in Water Code § 10723.8. These steps include: 1) a local agency or group of local agencies submits a GSA formation notice to the SGMA Portal; 2) the Department of Water Resources (DWR) posts complete notices to the SGMA Portal to begin the 90-day GSA formation period; and 3) after 90-days the local agency(s) become an exclusive GSA. Prior to posting a submitted GSA formation notice, DWR staff must verify whether the submitted notice is complete and includes all required information outlined in Water Code § 10723.8. Lastly, only GSA formation notices which are not in overlap with another notice may become exclusive. Posted GSA formation notices which are in overlap are labeled “Yes” in the “Overlap” field of this dataset.
