Sustainable management of water in northern California, USA, for food, energy, and environmental security*

Abstract

AbstractSustainable management of water for food security, municipal and industrial use, energy, and the environment is important in the twenty‐first century. In northern California, USA, surface and groundwater resources are generally adequate in most years to meet all needs and to provide water to other areas of California where water demand usually exceeds local supplies.The average annual runoff in the Sacramento River basin in northern California is over 27 billion cubic metres (22 million acre‐feet) per year, over one‐third of the total runoff in all of California.In 2014 California adopted the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which resulted from growing concern throughout the state about the overuse of groundwater. In northern California most of the groundwater basins are already sustainable, with the opportunity to provide much needed water to other areas of California where sustainability will be difficult to achieve.One of the major food crops raised in the area is rice. Of the approximately 243 000 ha (600 000 acres) of rice production in California, 95% are in northern California.Energy sustainability is also important in California and throughout the world. California has set a goal of meeting all energy demands from renewable resources by 2045.