California water agencies and communities have a new resource for groundwater management information and tools.

Groundwater Exchange, a website located at www.groundwaterexchange.org, describes itself as “a free, collaborative online resource for connecting water managers, water users, and community members to support the design and implementation of effective Groundwater Sustainability Plans under California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).” The website was created by Maven’s Notebook in partnership with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and Stanford’s Program on Water in the West (WitW) to serve as a central hub of science-based information related to SGMA.  

“Information about SGMA is currently spread across dozens of different websites,” said Christina Babbitt, senior manager of EDF’s California Groundwater Program. “With the Groundwater Exchange, we’re consolidating that information onto one website where communities across California can learn more about the law and become more engaged in issues related to groundwater, which is vitally important to the health and resilience of our state.”

The website’s features include:

• An online forum where water managers and community members can post questions, start discussions, and share materials

• An introduction to SGMA, including frequently asked questions, publications on public engagement in English and Spanish, and links to organizations that help give community members a voice in water policy and decisions

• Searchable maps and a basin watch list that alerts users when new information about their basin becomes available

• A calendar and news section consolidating the latest content related to SGMA from across the Internet

Water agencies interested in learning more about the site are invited to attend a webinar featuring a live demonstration on Thursday, October 11th. To learn more, visit http://groundwaterexchangewebinar.eventbrite.com/.