The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) are the two state agencies overseeing the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). They have distinct roles.
In general, DWR acts as a facilitator and evaluator — for instance, assisting with groundwater data management, helping local groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs) to develop and follow plans that will lead to sustainable management, and evaluating plans once they are developed. SWRCB, by contrast, has more of an enforcement role. It is the agency authorized and empowered to ensure that basins comply with the law’s requirements. Sam Boland-Brien leads these efforts as chief of the SWRCB Groundwater Management Program.
