WHAT IS CGC?

The 2007 CALIFORNIA GROUNDWATER COALITION is a joint one-year initiative of the Groundwater Resources Association of California, the Association of Ground Water Agencies, and American Ground Water Trust. Collectively, Coalition organizations include over one thousand members located throughout California with technical, legal, and professional groundwater and related expertise. The Coalition has been formed at the urging of California state and local elected officials who believe that increased efforts are needed to educate and inform policy makers and the public about California’s groundwater resources and the role groundwater plays in providing a safe and reliable water supply for California.

MISSION

The Coalition’s mission is to 1) educate policy makers about groundwater; 2) represent groundwater interests and promote the benefits of comprehensive groundwater management and use in legislative and other policy arenas; and, 3) promote a fair share of funding for statewide groundwater programs, including 2006 and 2008 water bonds.

PRINCIPLES

While groundwater issues can be highly technical and complex, the Coalition’s education and outreach program is based on the following five basic principles:

1. Groundwater development, conjunctive use, and groundwater storage have the capability to provide increased water supply reliability for California in the near future.

2. Groundwater management and monitoring are essential to the successful development and protection of the state’s groundwater resources for current and future generations.

3. New infrastructure is needed to obtain statewide benefit from groundwater resources utilization and replenishment.

4. Groundwater cleanup in many areas of the state is needed to eliminate contam-ination and ensure high quality water, and to allow for the sustainable development and use of groundwater supplies.

5. Funding is needed to ensure the effective management and use of the state’s groundwater resources.