The California Water Commission on Wednesday adopted new regulations for modifying the boundaries of groundwater basins and subbasins. The action marked the latest step in the state’s rollout of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which, for the first time, establishes a comprehensive governance structure for regulating groundwater throughout California.

Establishing accurate and workable basin boundaries is an important step in ensuring that local agencies are able to sustainably manage the pumping, storage and recharge of groundwater. The new regulations specify the methods and criteria that the Department of Water Resources will apply when a local agency requests an official boundary change.

The regulations next go to the Office of Administrative Law for processing and approval. DWR will begin accepting requests from local agencies for basin boundary modifications on Jan. 1. More information about the new regulations can be found here.