From the Department of Water Resources, Sustainable Groundwater Management Program: Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) Formation As of May 2, 2017: 188 local agencies (including coordinated efforts by a combination of local agencies) have submitted GSA formation notifications.
Of the 301 separate areas: 127 are exclusive GSA areas; 71 have a non-overlapped notification within a 90-day period; and 103 have overlap to resolve.
All GSA notifications can be submitted, viewed, and managed within the SGMA Portal: http://sgma.water.ca.gov/portal/#gsa Contact: Mark Nordberg: Mark.Nordberg@water.ca.gov or (916) 651-9673 Facilitation Support Service DWR provided facilitation support services through professional facilitators to help local agencies address pivotal issues in GSA formation.
DWR is seeking input on facilitation support service for better understanding of the local needs as the GSAs progress towards Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) development.
To find out about facilitation service opportunities that may be available, Contact: SGMP_RC@water.ca.gov A Newsletter about Funding and Technical Assistance In line with DWR’s commitment to support Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) and stakeholders throughout SGMA implementation, DWR will be providing periodic SGMA Implementation Assistance Updates.
Contact: Hong Lin, Hong.Lin@water.ca.gov or (916) 653-6353 Technical Assistance Providing technical assistance to GSAs will be crucial to enabling their success in sustainably managing their groundwater basins.
Contact: Steven Springhorn Steven.Springhorn@water.ca.gov or (916) 651-9273 Basin Reprioritization SGMA requires DWR to reassess the priority of the state’s groundwater basins when the basin boundaries defined in Bulletin 118 are modified.
DWR is in the process of updating the basin priorities.
January 1, 2018 – Submission Period opens o During this 3 month window, GSAs and local agencies can submit the required information to support a Basin Boundary Modification in the BBMRS on the SGMA Portal http://sgma.water.ca.gov/portal/#intro.
March 31, 2018 – Submission Period Closes and 30-day Public Comment Period opens o All information to support a boundary modification should be submitted to the BBMRS April 1, 2018 – Public Comment Period Closes o DWR begins boundary modification requests and public comments Approximately July 2018 – Draft Basin Boundary Modifications released Approximately August 2018 – Final Basin Boundary Modifications released Contact: Tim Godwin Timothy.Godwin@water.ca.gov or (916) 651-9223 SGMA Definitions and Groundwater Glossary SGMA provided California with a roadmap for sustainably managing our groundwater, and it also came with its own lexicon.

we+ creates the ‘drought’ bronze chair through a dehydrating process.
milan design week 2017: tokyo-based design studio we+ introduces ‘drought’ as a bronze chair born out of a natural dehydrating process.
therefore, time played an integral role in production and was ultimately transformed into an immutable furniture piece.
exhibited at gallery rossana orlandi in april 2017, the drought bronze chair by we+ results from natural techniques responsible for its distinct texture and shape.
these are formed in the original mould, made from a mixture of wax and super absorbent resin.
afterwards, with time, these thoroughly soaked resin balls slowly shrink from around 10mm to 1mm in diameter as they dry.
finally, slipping out from the wax as they shrink, their absence leaves an airy intricate texture.
project info: material : bronze size: ( L)43.5 x (W) 38.5 x (H) 82.5 – (SH) 43 [cm] photography: masayuki hayashi, hokuto ando & toshiya hayashi / we+ designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication.
see more project submissions from our readers here.
edited by: lea zeitoun | designboom

On the day U.S. Drought Monitor officially declared the drought over for most of Connecticut’s shoreline, a soaking rain is in the forecast.
“Much of the region recorded above-normal precipitation and above-normal temperatures for the week as good rains fell at the end of the period,” Drought Monitor said.
Expect a chance of showers each day through Monday.
“A break in the precipitation is expected Monday night into Tuesday as the upper low slowly moves away from our area.
However, another chance of rain will come on Wednesday.” The wet forecast Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 61.
Tonight: A 30 percent chance of rain, mainly after 1 a.m. Cloudy, with a low around 46.
Chance of precipitation is 100 percent.
New rainfall amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible.
Chance of precipitation is 90 percent.
Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers.

The team found 20-40 percent increase in growth when a plant was introduced to rhizobacteria, and the effect was consistently stronger under drought.
“This is encouraging because it means that the places most vulnerable to climate change will benefit the most” Rubin shared.
While the global climate changes, the demand for water increases.
Surprisingly enough, Rubin’s study shows that rhizobacteria promote plant growth even better under drought conditions.
Her examination included a diversity of bacterial and plant taxa, which all showed a universal benefit.
“This is the first study that has quantitatively shown that rhizobacteria can improve plant growth in drought” Rubin shared.
Rhizobacteria grow on a variety of plants in a range of places, Rubin explained.
But future work may reveal which plant hosts to focus on.
In the future, rhizobacteria could be used to augment existing soil conservation practices, including no-till farming and intercropping.
For now, Rubin intends to take this research home and apply her studies to native Arizona grasses.

Drought could cause big issues for crops this year if the weather does not give farmers a break soon.
"It’s been hot and dry," UGA specialist Wes Porter said.
"We thought we recovered.
A warmer than normal winter, coupled with a recent spike in temperatures and lack of rain has growers irrigating as planting begins.
Farmers were hoping to recoup moisture after a long drought last season.
"If they don’t, if they are on irrigated fields, you’re going to see a lot of pre-watered crops and, if its on dry land you’re going to see them wait to catch that moisture from the environment," Porter said.
You can either overwater a crop or underwater a crop," Porter said.
"So, the timing of those events and utilizing one of those scheduling methods is very crucial.
We can see very significant yield losses."
They said you can even do that with apps now.

Quite a contrast: Detroit Lake full after years of drought.
"I was very impressed of how fast it came up," Dean O’Donnell said.
Salina Hart, Detroit Lake water management chief with the Army Corps of Engineers, says it’s the best levels for the lake since 2009.
It is quite a stark contrast to 2015, when water levels were extremely low — 60 to 120 feet below normal.
Pictures speak louder than words.
The corps says if normal weather patterns continue, Detroit Lake should remain fairly full through summer.
"With all the spring rain that we have had, it came up abruptly… popped up overnight," Kane’s Marina manager Dane Loveberg told KATU.
"Now, we have sunshine, we have a good snow pack to maintain water levels, we’re looking really good."
Things are looking good for the Detroit Lake Fishing Derby scheduled for May 19-21.
O’Donnell says a full lake is good for business and even better for those who get to enjoy it.

The Jali Ardhi project, funded by the UK government Global Challenges research fund through the Natural Environment Research Council, explores the complex impact of soil erosion on east Africa.
Gullies dissect the landscape, making it difficult for people to walk between communities and move livestock.
Fragile crossing points become dangerous.
In an attempt to stop the destruction of the bridge, locals have tried to stabilise it with chopped branches.
Lake Manyara national park is a hotspot for biodiversity as it supports more than 400 species of birds, big land mammals and aquatic fauna.
This fragile ecosystem attracts more than 150,000 tourists every year, creating livelihoods for many local people.
But increased siltation and pollution is threatening the preservation of this Unesco Man and Biosphere site.
Soil erosion impacts on communities at local and global levels.
The interdisciplinary ‘Jali ardhi’ research programme (led by Plymouth University in collaboration with the Nelson Mandela African Institution for Science and Technology, the University of Exeter, Schumacher College and the International Water Management Institute) seeks to deliver new insights to support solutions to this global challenge.
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Higuain relishes ending knockout drought with brace against Monaco.
The Argentina striker insists he did not let his Champions League goal drought bother him after scoring twice to see off the French side Juventus star Gonzalo Higuain says he fights hard to ensure he can enjoy moments like his Champions League semi-final double against Monaco.
The striker scored twice as Juve recorded a 2-0 away win in the first leg on Wednesday, putting them in pole position for a place in next month’s Cardiff final.
Higuain had been criticised for a record of only two goals in 24 Champions League knockout games coming into the contest, having endured a dry spell that reached all the way back to 2013, but insists he did not let that drought bother him as he hailed an impressive result.
"I fight so hard for these moments," he told reporters after the match.
"But I work for the team, the important thing was for Juventus to win and it would have been okay even if I had not scored."
Higuaín: "I fight so hard for these moments.
We also wanted another clean sheet and we are thrilled with the result.
"I’m delighted with the goals but this isn’t over yet – Monaco are a strong side."
The second leg takes place in Turin next Tuesday, with Higuain’s former club Real Madrid the likely opponents for the winners in the final after they defeated Atletico Madrid 3-0 in the first leg of the other>

JEFFERSON COUNTY, AL (WBRC) – We’ve seen several of them already this spring: trees that have fallen in the midst of storms. It’s happened all over the Birmingham metro from Center Point to Adamsville. There could certainly be more after last year’s severe drought. “Trees like to accumulate water over the winter and because of the drought, we’ve had a shortage of water in the first place. So, trees are beginning this growing season with a deficit of water,” said Henry Hughes, Vice President of…

Above-average rain and spring storms brought relief to drought conditions throughout the state last week, the Texas Water Development Board said in its latest weekly water report. The board found that only 1 percent of the state is currently experiencing a drought; however, many areas across the state remain abnormally dry. “Last week brought us a slight decrease in drought and dry conditions as weekly waves of rain continue to dampen the state,” Robert Mace, TWDB deputy executive water science and conservation administrator, said in Monday’s report. “Looking forward, several indicators suggest a wetter-than-normal, and thus a cooler-than-normal, summer.” Locally, portions of Fannin County remain in a state of “moderate drought” in the latest report. In late 2016 and early 2017 Fannin was the center of a…