Addressing Unsustainable Groundwater Overexploitation in California
The unsustainable overexploitation of groundwater in California has led to the need to transition hundreds of thousands of irrigated agricultural lands to activities that promote more sustainable water use. This transition is not going to be easy, but it is necessary.
Finding systemic actions that will maintain our rural economies, improve public and environmental health, and avoid creating new problems is a challenging task. Implementing solutions at a systemic level in a transdisciplinary collaborative context is a new frontier for all involved. However, repurposing farmlands for beneficial uses is a promising solution to address many systemic issues and satisfy stakeholders.
The good news is that we are learning and improving.
After years of work by our community of practitioners and scientists, we have just published a much-needed comprehensive framework for best practices in farmland repurposing that can benefit all stakeholders. This community includes community leaders, farmer advocates, agricultural workers, scientists, and professionals from California’s agricultural regions.
In our team of 54 authors—along with additional collaborators and countless participants in related public events—we are clear that this framework is not about taking land away from farmers or abandoning agriculture. Our goal is to collectively reimagine how we can use the land to create multiple benefits while addressing the water crisis head-on.
As a romantic and agriculture-loving agricultural engineer, I believe that we can transform current unsustainability into sustainable opportunities for prosperity and well-being while preserving the identities of our rural communities. We can keep the CULTURE in AgriCULTURE.
The Challenge We Face
The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of California requires the state to achieve groundwater sustainability by mid-century. In the San Joaquin Valley where I live, agriculture accounts for 90% of water use, much of which is unsustainable. This means that around a million acres of irrigated agriculture will need to transition to other uses. Allowing only the real estate and commodity markets to dictate the terms of this transition could devastate local economies, threaten the quality of life of farmers and agricultural workers, and diminish food and nutrition security.
Through years of working with other experts, I have learned the importance of strategically organizing and managing farmland repurposing in collaboration with all affected groups. A holistic and inclusive approach can improve the quality of life in low-income and underserved communities, diversify regional economies, create local socio-economic opportunities, enhance environmental health, advance water sustainability, maintain the livelihoods of farmers and agricultural workers.
A Vision of What Is Possible
The framework introduced in our article is built around six core objectives that represent “what we want to see” in farmland repurposing decisions. These are not abstract goals—they are practical priorities informed and agreed upon by all experts in our team of authors and our collaborators.
- Socioeconomic and environmental justice: Prioritizing land repurposing near vulnerable communities while respecting and defending indigenous sovereignty.
- Ecological resilience and sustainability: Restoring native habitats, creating nature-based solutions around agricultural communities, and responsibly managing natural resources for future generations.
- Sustainable agriculture based on agroecology principles: Focusing on agricultural systems that are healthy, economically viable, and ecologically sustainable for farmers, agricultural workers, and communities.
- Financing, scalability, and replicability: Ensuring that initiatives can grow from local to regional levels while maintaining community priorities and creating genuine job security in the transition to a green economy.
- Leadership, accountability, and representation: Emphasizing bottom-up leadership with meaningful participation of all involved groups and robust monitoring to ensure that benefits are truly delivered.
- Multiple benefits to address social needs: Encompassing everything from food security and affordable housing to mental health support and educational opportunities that help agricultural communities thrive.
Seven Best Practices for Farmland Repurposing
To implement this vision of what is possible, our team identified and recommends seven essential best practices. For more details on each, including strategies for implementation, refer to the framework or the article.
- Prioritize public health: Ensure that farmland repurposing projects do not harm public health while actively improving conditions.
- Focus farmland repurposing in socioeconomically vulnerable locations: Maximize return on investment by repurposing farmland near disadvantaged communities and sensitive environments.
- Transition agricultural practices towards sustainability and strategic agriculture: Create the most value by transitioning from large-scale water-intensive monocultures to smaller, diverse, and multifunctional land uses.
- Promote a sustainable agricultural economy: Increase agricultural resilience by supporting small and medium farmers through practical assistance, income diversification opportunities, improved access to water, and better working conditions.
- Advance equity and center community leadership: Farmland repurposing plans that reflect local priorities, address local needs, and holistically consider the entire system are more likely to succeed.
- Pursue a just transition to clean energy: The transition to clean energy in California will occur in rural areas and must involve collaborative partnerships with communities, include binding agreements for community benefits, and ensure that local communities benefit from clean energy generated in and near their communities.
- Expand skill development, outreach, and access to information: Provide inclusive and multilingual educational and training programs, community monitoring of environmental conditions, and fair compensation for those contributing to planning and implementation processes.
Real Examples, Real Results
These are not just theoretical concepts. Communities across California are already successfully implementing these ideas:
- In Madera County, the La Viña community is receiving a buffer zone project that converts almond and walnut orchards into native pollinator habitat, creating a 100-foot barrier between homes and farms to improve air quality and reduce pesticide exposure.
- The Wukchumni Tribe is restoring 10.7 acres of riparian forest and wetlands in Tulare County, incorporating traditional land uses while creating educational and employment opportunities.
- In Tulare County, the town of Allensworth is planning to transform industrial monocultures into an agroecological center owned by a community trust, featuring regenerative agriculture, agrivoltaics, farmer training programs, water treatment technology, and agrotourism.
The Way Forward
This framework and our roadmap for a just land transition represent more than just goals and best practices to guide farmland repurposing efforts; they offer a detailed, evidence-based plan to transform California’s approach to land use in ways that benefit all. If areas actively repurposing farmland adopt this framework, they are more likely to succeed in creating a just land transition, including water sustainability.
The consequences of inaction are clear and unacceptable: continued groundwater depletion, degraded communities, and an agricultural and economic system increasingly vulnerable to climate change.
However, with strategic and collaborative action guided by this framework and experts with holistic approaches to equitably serve all involved in this transition, we can turn this into an opportunity to build something better together.
The choice is ours. We can let market forces alone determine how this transition unfolds, exacerbating existing inequalities and destroying rural economies. Or we can work together to implement these best practices, ensuring that the shift towards social, environmental, and economic sustainability becomes a foundation for prosperity, well-being, and climate resilience in California’s agricultural regions.
To learn more, you can read the full framework here. Many experts contributed to this effort beyond our team of authors, including our collaborators listed in the acknowledgments.
