SGMA Best Management Practice: Water Budget

The objective of this Best Management Practice (BMP) is to assist the use and development of water budgets. The Department of Water Resources (the Department or DWR) has developed this document as part of the obligation in the Technical Assistance Chapter (Chapter 7) of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) to support the long-term sustainability of California’s groundwater basins. Information provided in this BMP provides technical assistance to Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) and other stakeholders on how to address water budget requirements outlined in the Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) Emergency Regulations (GSP Regulations). This BMP identifies available resources to support development, implementation, and reporting of water budget information.

This BMP includes the following sections:
1. Objective. The objective and brief description of the contents of this BMP.
2. Use and Limitations. A brief description of the use and limitations of this BMP.
3. Water Budget Fundamentals. A description of fundamental water budget concepts.
4. Relationship of Water Budgets to other BMPs. A description of how the water budget BMP relates to other BMPs and how water budget information may be used to support development of other GSP requirements.
5. Technical Assistance. A description of technical assistance to support the development of a water budget, potential sources of information, and relevant datasets that can be used to further define each component.
6. Key Definitions. Definitions relevant for this BMP as provided in the GSP Regulations, Basin Boundary Regulations, SGMA, and DWR Bulletin 118.
7. Related Materials. References and other materials that provide supporting information related to the development of water budget estimates.