Frequently Asked Questions

The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act was enacted by the California Legislature to ensure better local and regional management of groundwater use. One legislative intent of SGMA is to recognize and preserve the authority of cities and counties to manage groundwater according to their existing powers. SGMA established Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) throughout California, each managed locally. Among the GSA’s responsibilities is the development and implementation of Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs) to avoid undesirable results and mitigate overdraft of groundwater basins within 20 years. The GSPs are submitted to the state’s Department of Water Resources (DWR) for review.

Groundwater is used by 85% of California’s population and is especially important to the state’s agriculture industry, since it’s a primary water source for crops. Before the passage of SGMA, groundwater use was under- regulated to the point where many areas of the state faced significant depletion. The Indian Wells Valley basin is among those the DWR has designated as being critically over-drafted. This area relies exclusively on groundwater and has experienced declining groundwater levels since at least 1945. That means that water has been extracted beyond its natural rate of replenishment, which in return is lowering the groundwater table. This phenomenon, called “overdraft,” can degrade water quality, cause severe land subsidence and cause wells to go dry.

Our problems are very serious – and solving them will be a difficult and lengthy process. The groundwater basin is currently in overdraft; water has been extracted far beyond its natural replenishment rate for over six decades. The historical overdraft of water is approximately 20,000 acre-feet per year. (An acre-foot is the amount of water needed to cover one acre of land with one foot of water, or 325,851 gallons. Picture a football field completely covered in a foot of water). In short, if we don’t find another source of water, there will be a continued steady decline of water quality in certain areas, and it is likely to significantly reduce the quantity of accessible groundwater to meet the area’s water needs within 40 years.

This significant reduction of groundwater in storage is directly related to the chronic lowering of groundwater levels, water quality degradation, and potential land subsidence. It is important to remember that groundwater is currently the sole water source for the Indian Wells Valley.

By ensuring a long-term, sustainable water supply, we can also maintain the character of the community, preserve the quality of life of our residents, sustain normal growth and support the U.S. Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake. It is a daunting challenge given that by 2015, water demand was already significantly exceeding the current sustainable yield of the Indian Wells Valley.

An extensive study of the effects of this long-term overdraft came from the U.S. Navy in 2016. The Navy hired Desert Research Institute (DRI) at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, a world-renowned research institute, to study the basin and it concluded that without drastic changes, one in three wells would be affected with low groundwater levels by 2040 and the entire basin by 2065. 

DRI developed an Indian Wells Valley groundwater basin model so the Navy could assess readiness and mission impacts from the continued overdraft and the lack of local water management. The Navy declaration on critical water supply model and determination considered 14 other studies and models on the Indian Wells Valley groundwater basin. IWVGA did not simply rely on the DRI model but independently validated its findings. The validation and findings were then reviewed and approved by the California Department of Water Resources. The full study can be found here. 

The IWVGA’s first major task was to develop and seek State approval of a Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) as mandated by SGMA. The GSP — a roadmap for how groundwater basins will reach long-term sustainability — was due to the State before January 31, 2020. The Indian Wells Valley GSP was submitted in January 2020 and approved by the DWR in January 2022.

The Indian Wells Valley GSP is an extensive, detailed document totaling almost 300 pages. Since its adoption, it has been supported by the federal government, the state government (including the Department of Water Resources), Kern County, Inyo County, San Bernardino County, and the City of Ridgecrest. It covers a wide variety of topics, including the region’s geology and hydrology, historical and current conditions, sustainable management criteria and proposed projects and management actions. You can access the entire document here.

IWVGA understood the daunting challenge behind developing a credible GSP. Any projects and management actions pursued to address long-term water sustainability goals must carefully consider ways to avoid (or at least mitigate) undesirable consequences to those affected. These efforts will take years to implement and require significant changes to the current status quo.

While we did not make the relevant laws mandated by the state, we are legally obligated to follow them. Moreover, we understand the critical importance of water sustainability. If IWVGA failed to form a GSP, or if the State did not agree it would achieve sustainability, the State of California would take over our local basin management and take any steps it considers necessary.

To ensure that all the stakeholders affected by the GSP were able to comment on specific proposals, IWVGA established a Policy Advisory Committee to gain input from the community on various policy-related matters. The Policy Advisory Committee included voting members from an array of constituent groups, including large and small agriculture, wholesale and industrial water users, other business interests, domestic well owners, residential customers of the IWVWD and the Inyokern Community Services District, and the Eastern Kern County Resource Conservation District.

In addition, the Policy Advisory Committee had four ex officio (non-voting) members representing the U.S. Navy, the Indian Wells Valley Water District, the Bureau of Land Management and Kern County. The IWVGA board also established a Technical Advisory Committee to give affected parties an opportunity to review and evaluate technical elements of the GSP during development and through completion.

IVWGA developed the GSP in a years-long collaborative and comprehensive process using the detailed groundwater model created for the Navy. Ridgecrest, all three counties and the Indian Wells Valley Water District were proponents of the decision to use the Navy groundwater model for the development of the Plan. The Plan was unanimously adopted by these five entities in January of 2020, and after a required two-year long open review process, it was subsequently approved by the State in January of 2022.

After intensive study and analysis of multiple options, the IWVGA identified what has proven to be the sole long-term solution to this incredibly difficult challenge: the importation of additional water supplies (also known as imported water) through a connection to the State Water Project. To that end, the GSP has two keystones. The first is the funding and construction of the Indian Wells Valley Water Replenishment Pipeline, which will largely use grant funding to connect our basin to the 700-plus miles of the State Water Project. The State Water Project uses canals, pipelines, reservoirs and hydroelectric power to deliver water to 27 million Californians, 750,000 acres of farmland and businesses throughout the State. Importing water is a solution already relied on by cities and counties throughout California.

The second keystone provides a transient pool of water to agricultural users so they can prepare for and eventually cease pumping groundwater from the basin. This pool was effectively the same amount of overdraft water that will be pumped by long-term users that will ultimately receive some water from the State Water Project.   

The GSP identified numerous recommendations and a more detailed examination of these proposed actions are in the GSP itself, which can be found here. (Specific projects and management actions begin in section ES 5.0 Projects and Management Actions, which begins on page 235 of the Final GSP PDF.) After assessing conservation measures, multiple imported water sources and recycled water to achieve sustainability, only imported water can accomplish sustainability. The following is a summary of the other considerations.

Basin-Wide Conservation Efforts

The Indian Wells Valley Water District, the City of Ridgecrest, and NAWS China Lake have previously adopted conservation measures within their respective service areas to mitigate overdraft conditions in the groundwater basin. Additional efforts will be made to coordinate with domestic and municipal groundwater producers to develop additional voluntary and rebate-based conservation efforts, while promoting further conservation efforts for other beneficial uses (primarily industrial) that rely on groundwater from the basin. Conservation is an important part of groundwater management; however, it will never completely mitigate the overdraft issues without severe cutbacks or production ramp downs, essentially removing all unnecessary pumping. 

Optimize Use of Recycled Water

From 2019 through 2023, IWVGA extensively studied the reuse of sewage water produced by the City of Ridgecrest wastewater treatment. Recycled water is mostly used for non-potable purposes like irrigation in agriculture, landscaping (parks, golf courses), and public spaces, since it is not typically treated to meet safe drinking water standards. IWVGA secured funding authorization of $30 million to design and construct a recycled water plant. Despite this funding award, the amount of recycled water produced does not meet California’s sustainability requirements.

Furthermore, recycled water costs between $4,000 and $6,000 per acre-foot, significantly higher than the estimated $2,900 per acre-foot cost of imported water. For these reasons, IWVGA suspended activities on a recycled water plant. Nonetheless, IWVGA hopes to coordinate with the city to further optimize the use of recycled water in the groundwater basin beyond the current scope of the city’s project.

The Use of Brackish Water

IWVGA and the Indian Wells Valley Water District have intensively studied the possible reuse of brackish water in the aquifer. Brackish water is saltier than freshwater but less salty than seawater. It’s often found in brackish fossil aquifers and some seas and lakes. This is not new water; reclaiming it for reuse would be “mining” the existing water within the Groundwater Basin. The State does not include brackish water recovery in its determination of sustainability; it is factored as stored water within the aquifer. Recovery of brackish water involves desalination and significant treatment. To date, the amount of water recovered by brackish water treatment does not justify the significant costs to desalinate, treat, and dispose of unusable brine.

Other Projects at IWVGA

Additional projects are being considered as part of the GSP implementation. These projects have significantly less impact on water sustainability than the imported water project. These include Shallow Well Mitigation, Dust Control Mitigation, Pumping Optimization and Direct Potable Reuse. For more information on these projects, please review the GSP (Starting at Section 5.3.4 on Page 273 of the Final GSP PDF) here. 

On January 5, 2025, the federal Water Resources Development Act of 2024 (WRDA), was signed into law, which includes authorization of an initial $50 million for water and water supply infrastructure within the Indian Wells Valley, with remainder funding being provided in subsequent years. Specifically, it empowers the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to construct the Indian Wells Valley Water Replenishment Pipeline linking the Valley groundwater basin to the California State Water Project.  

The Indian Wells Valley Water Replenishment Pipeline will provide imported water supplies to the region, creating water resiliency for the City of Ridgecrest and supporting the mission of the U.S. Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake. This project is one of the state’s groundwater sustainability projects, and is supported by the federal government, the State of California, Kern County, Inyo County, San Bernardino County and the City of Ridgecrest.  

While the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will oversee actual construction of the project, the IWVGA has already commenced project planning and environmental permitting and has completed some 60% of the necessary engineering and design plans as of late 2025. It also has identified 90% of the required right of way in Kern County, to be acquired without cost to residents. A certified Environmental Assessment and Environmental Impact Report are scheduled to be completed by end of 2026, and the project could be ready for construction in early 2027. Federal and State funds awarded to IWVGA have covered the entire cost of the planning and design of the imported water pipeline. 

In 2023, IWVGA formally recognized the Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency (AVEK) as the interconnection point for supplying imported water to the Indian Wells Valley. This 50-mile pipeline will link AVEK facilities to local storage tanks, enabling the Indian Wells Valley Water District to maintain and distribute imported water supplies. IWVGA will manage and operate the interconnection pipeline.

The Indian Wells Valley Water District, which we consider an important partner to face our groundwater challenge, although initially motioning for and voting to approve the GSP in January 2020, has chosen to pursue legal action against the state-approved GSP. Searles Valley Minerals also is challenging the GSP through the current basin adjudication. The GSP identified importing non-native water via a new water pipeline as the primary solution to stop and reverse decades of overdrafting of the Indian Wells Valley basin. The Water District is the sole entity opposing the Indian Wells Valley Water Replenishment Pipeline as Searles Valley Minerals no longer opposes the pipeline project per its 2025 settlement with IWVGA. 

The lawsuit that the Water District filed presents no options for achieving sustainability; instead, it contests groundwater rights and the State’s capacity to enforce the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. 

A groundwater adjudication is a lawsuit against every landowner’s water use rights in a groundwater basin, whether they participate or not. In the case of the Indian Wells Valley groundwater basin, the Indian Wells Valley Water District filed a lawsuit to dispute the legal rights to the basin’s groundwater.

Indian Wells Valley Water District filed the comprehensive lawsuit against all groundwater users in the Indian Wells Valley. Meadowbrook Farms is collaborating with IWVWD in the litigation. 

The lawsuit challenges the water rights of everyone in the Valley. Part of the litigation specifically challenges the State-approved Groundwater Sustainability Plan adopted by the Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority. IWVGA is the designated Groundwater Sustainable Agency for the Indian Wells Valley and the Groundwater Sustainability Plan is supported by the federal government, the California Department of Water Resources, Kern County, Inyo County, San Bernardino County, and the City of Ridgecrest.  

As part of the lawsuit, the Indian Wells Valley Water District is challenging the U.S. Navy’s federal reserve water right. Searles Valley Minerals and Mojave Pistachios LLC have both reached agreements with IWVGA that dismiss previously filed lawsuits. As part of the agreements, Searles Valley Minerals and Mojave Pistachios LLC will continue to participate in the groundwater adjudication brought forth by the Water District but will not call witnesses or present evidence in Phase 2, which is the safe yield of the basin portion of the trial.

Groundwater adjudications often take well over 10 years to reach a conclusion, with some lasting decades. This creates problems for the Indian Wells Valley. The parties that filed the lawsuit can continue to overdraft the groundwater basin during the lengthy court proceedings, and during this time, more and more wells will fail. Moreover, the court can choose to “stay” ­– that is, defer or postpone – sustainability measures while the lawsuit proceeds.  

Unfortunately, Indian Wells Valley Water District ratepayers are paying for the high cost of the lawsuit through their water rates – for both the water district’s litigation and IWVGA’s defense against the lawsuit. Private landowners pay their own litigation costs.   

Ultimately, in a court adjudication, they could lose their water rights. The Indian Wells Valley Water District lawsuit will determine water rights for everyone. If a landowner doesn’t provide the court with evidence, it will be impossible for the court to determine water rights for these small farmers, homeowners with wells, and landowners.  

The Indian Wells Valley Water District’s lawsuit is based on its challenge to IWVGA’s Groundwater Sustainability Plan arguing that the sustainable yield of 7,650 acre-feet per (AFY) year identified in the state approved plan, is far less than the Water District’s safe yield current estimate of 14,300 AFY. Important to note, the Water District on two occasions – with the adoption of the GSP in January 2020 and again with Resolution 06-20 in July 2020 adopting the sustainable yield of 7,650 acre-feet – voted yes to adopt both reports. The Water District then proceeded to change its mind on its position and initially provided an alternative water model that was inaccurate and incomplete, with conclusions not backed up by sufficient data or sound science. By comparison, IWVGA’s state approved GSP considered 14 other studies and models on the Indian Wells Valley groundwater basin. The model was developed by the Desert Research Institute (DRI) at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, for the Navy. The full study can be found here.  

In August 2025, the Indian Wells Valley Water District submitted a new groundwater model as part of phase 2 in the basin adjudication trial. IWVGA has performed a cursory review of the latest model from the water district and will conduct a more thorough review as part of the adjudication process. 

It should be noted that California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) provides mechanisms for incorporating new groundwater model data. This includes the required five-year updates to GSPs, in annual reports, and at any time through a plan amendment when the data is sound and verifiable. Instead of following this process, the Water District has chosen to pursue a lawsuit route unnecessarily that will increase costs to the basin’s water users.  

The Indian Wells Valley groundwater basin comprises of 597 square miles of which 472 square miles are owned by the Navy or managed by the Federal Bureau of Land Management. Federal law specifically exempts federal agencies from any fees. The Navy has assisted on the GSP and basin management. 

When the United States sets aside public land for uses such as Indian reservations, military bases, national parks, or wildlife refuges, it also reserves enough water to satisfy the purposes for which the reservation, base, or park was created. Reserved water rights doctrine is rooted in judicial decisions, including the U.S. Supreme Court’s Winters Doctrine, which was decided in 1908. Federal reserve water rights have a priority date that goes back to when the lands were set aside. 

A final statement of decision was issued September 15, 2025, and now sets the U.S. Navy’s federal reserved water right at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake at just 2,008 acre-feet per year (AFY), a fraction of the Navy’s previous reserved water right of 6,783 AFY. The Navy filed an appeal of this ruling in October 2025, and the Indian Wells Valley Water District was the only entity that opposed the Navy’s filing of an appeal. The Navy argues that the ruling ignored federal law (Winters Doctrine), underestimated mission-critical needs at China Lake, and sets a dangerous precedent for military installations nationwide. 

It is everyone’s right to have their day in court over a dispute, and the IWVGA does not dispute the court’s ability to determine groundwater rights in the Indian Wells Valley Basin. However, IWVGA does not support the Indian Wells Valley Water District’s attempt to exclude small farmers and landowners from the lawsuit. Therefore, IWVGA supported Assembly Bill 1466, which was signed into law on October 11, 2025. The new law allows courts to exempt or treat separately users who extract minor quantities of water. This means small well owners are less likely to be dragged into expensive and lengthy court battles such as was the case when the Indian Wells Valley Water District first filed its adjudication in 2021 against all water users, including small well owners. 

Regrettably, after approving the GSP, the legal challenges Indian Wells Valley Water District brought forth have a direct negative impact to ratepayers because the legal costs incurred by the water district and IWVGA are both being paid for by IWVWD customers. Furthermore, IWVWD’s efforts to shift costs to the U.S. Navy is not only challenging the Navy’s federal reserve water rights and endangering the mission status of NAWS China Lake but also suing the employer of more than half of IWVWD’s ratepayers. We continue to urge IWVWD to cease litigation and work with IWVGA to secure a viable, sustainable water future for the City of Ridgecrest and the rest of the Indian Wells Valley.  

As the Indian Wells Valley groundwater basin continues to face critical water reliability challenges, IWVGA supported two key pieces of legislation in 2025: AB 1413 (Papan) and AB 1466 (Hart). These bills seek to protect the water rights of people not just in the City of Ridgecrest and surrounding communities but throughout the entire state. In short, AB 1413 protects the integrity of Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs) and ensures adjudications don’t undermine SGMA while AB 1466 clarifies burden of proof and reduces litigation for small water users. 

AB 1413 Status: Passed Assembly in June 2025; Amended and Advanced in Senate Committees in August 2025; Inactive File in September 2025 and Ready for 2026 Session 

AB 1413 streamlines groundwater adjudications by ensuring that legal challenges to Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs) are handled through a single, dedicated court process. This prevents duplicative or conflicting lawsuits that could delay sustainability efforts and drive-up costs. By centralizing adjudications, the bill helps local agencies, small well owners, and communities resolve groundwater disputes more efficiently and with greater legal clarity.  

AB 1466 Status: Passed Assembly in June 2025; Passed Senate in September 2025; Signed into Law on October 11, 2025 

AB 1466 strengthens the legal standing of Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) by requiring courts to use a “substantial evidence” standard when reviewing actions taken under a GSP adopted after January 30, 2020. This means challengers must prove that a GSA’s decisions lack credible scientific support. The bill protects locally developed plans from being second-guessed in court and ensures that small farmers, disadvantaged communities, and public agencies can rely on science-based groundwater management without facing costly litigation. It allows courts to exempt or treat separately users who extract minor quantities of water.