FAQ Category: <span>SGMA Key Terms</span>

Undesirable Results

Chronic lowering of groundwater levels and supply, significant and unreasonable reduction of groundwater storage, significant and unreasonable seawater intrusion, significant and unreasonable degraded water quality, significant and unreasonable land subsidence, depletion of interconnected surface water that have adverse impacts on beneficial uses of surface water

Sustainable Yield

Maximum quantity of water, calculated over a base period representative of long-term conditions in the basin and including any temporary surplus, that can be withdrawn annually from a groundwater supply without causing an undesirable result.

Sustainability Indicator

Any of the effects caused by groundwater conditions occurring throughout the basin that, when significant and unreasonable, cause undesirable results. SGMA identifies 6 sustainability indicators. Seawater intrusion is not applicable to the Kings Subbasin. The SGMA sustainability indicators are:

Sustainability Goal

Existence and implementation of one or more Groundwater Sustainability Plans that achieve sustainable groundwater management by identifying and causing the implementation of measures targeted to ensure operation within sustainable yield.

Measurable Objective

Refers to specific, quantifiable goals for the maintenance or improvement of specified groundwater conditions that have been included in an adopted Plan to achieve the sustainability goal for the basin.

Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP)

A roadmap that specifies how the GSA will reach subbasin-wide sustainability. The GSP requires, among additional elements, a description of the Plan area, a hydrogeologic conceptual model, sustainability goals and objectives, a monitoring network, and projects and management actions to achieve the sustainability goal of the subbasin. In high- to medium- priority subbasins with critically overdrafted conditions, GSP’s must be submitted to the CA Department of Water Resources by January 2020.