What is Fair in Groundwater Allocation? Distributive and Procedural Fairness Perceptions of California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act

Abstract

Fairness perceptions can contribute to trust or distrust in a policy process. Under California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) basins may limit groundwater extraction for users, including farmers. Using a 2017 survey of 137 farmers in Yolo County, we adapt a typology of fairness principles, previously applied to climate policy, to examine farmers’ fairness perceptions for groundwater allocation strategies and reconciliation options. Yolo farmers show clear preference for allocation by overlying land area and dispute reconciliation by the local Groundwater Sustainability Agency. Using ordered logit regression models, we find that positive procedural perceptions of SGMA predict both allocation and dispute resolution preferences. We find no evidence for self-interested bias in allocation preferences, but rather the contextual default for allocation (egalitarian) appears to drive current fairness perceptions. Insight into contextual norms and perceptions of the policy process can align allocation and dispute resolution decisions with stakeholder fairness assessments.