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1. Plume spreading in groundwater by stretching and folding: PLUME SPREADING IN GROUNDWATER

   https://doi.org/10.1029/2011WR011567  

   Mays, David C.; Neupauer, Roseanna M. (July 2012, Water Resources Research)
2. Establishment of agencies for local groundwater governance under California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act

   Milman, Anita; Galindo, Luisa; Blomquist, William; Conrad, Esther (January 2018, Water alternatives)

   With the passage of its 'Sustainable Groundwater Management Act' (SGMA), California devolved both authority and responsibility for achieving sustainable groundwater management to the local level, with state-level oversight. The passage of SGMA created a new political situation within each groundwater basin covered by the law, as public agencies were tasked with self-organizing to establish local Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs). This research examines GSA formation decisions to determine where GSAs formed, whether they were formed by a single agency or a partnership, and whether agencies chose to pursue sustainable groundwater management by way of a single basin-wide organization or by coordinating across multiple organizational structures. The research then tests hypotheses regarding the relative influence of control over the resource, control over decision making, transaction costs, heterogeneity and institutional bricolage on GSA formation decisions. Results indicate mixed preferences for GSA structure, though a majority of public water agencies preferred to independently form a GSA rather than to partner in forming a GSA. Results also suggest GSA formation decisions are the result of overlapping and interacting concerns about control, heterogeneity, and transaction costs. Future research should examine how GSA formation choices serve to influence achievement of groundwater sustainability at the basin scale. 

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3. Groundwater depletion reduces drought resiliency

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-023-00185-3  

   Butler, James J; Whittemore, Donald O (January 2024, Nature Water)
4. Hydrotectonics of Grand Canyon Groundwater

   https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-earth-080723-083513  

   Crossey, LJ; Karlstrom, KE; Curry, B; McGibbon, C; Reed, C; Wilgus, J; Whyte, CJ; Darrah, T (May 2024, Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences)

   The Grand Canyon provides a deeply dissected view of the aquifers of the Colorado Plateau and its public and tribal lands. Stacked sandstone and karst aquifers are vertically connected by a network of faults and breccia pipes creating a complex groundwater network. Hydrochemical variations define structurally controlled groundwater sub-basins, each with main discharging springs. North Rim (N-Rim), South Rim (S-Rim), and far-west springs have different stable isotope fingerprints, reflecting different mean recharge elevations. Variation within each region reflects proportions of fast/slow aquifer pathways. Often considered perched, the upper Coconino (C) aquifer has a similar compositional range as the regional Redwall-Muav (R-M) karst aquifer, indicating connectivity. Natural and anthropogenic tracers show that recharge can travel 2 km vertically and tens of kilometers laterally in days to months via fracture conduits to mix with older karst baseflow. Six decades of piping N-Rim water to S-Rim Village and infiltration of effluent along the Bright Angel fault have sustained S-Rim groundwaters and likely induced S-Rim microseismicity. Sustainable groundwater management and uranium mining threats require better monitoring and application of hydrotectonic concepts. ▪ Hydrotectonic concepts include distinct structural sub-basins, fault fast conduits, confined aquifers, karst aquifers, upwelling geothermal fluids, and induced seismicity. ▪ N-Rim, S-Rim, and far-west springs have different stable isotope fingerprints reflecting different mean recharge elevations and residence times. ▪ The upper C and lower R-M aquifers have overlapping stable isotope fingerprints in a given region, indicating vertical connectively between aquifers. ▪ S-Rim springs and groundwater wells are being sustained by ∼60 years of piping of N-Rim water to S-Rim, also inducing seismicity. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Volume 52 is May 2024. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates. 

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5. Sustainability of Tapping Ancient Groundwater

   https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-111523-101931  

   Ferguson, Grant; McIntosh, Jennifer C (May 2025, Annual Review of Environment and Resources)

   Fossil groundwaters make up a substantial fraction of the Earth's fresh water and are being targeted for water supply wells at increasing rates. These groundwaters were recharged more than 12,000 years ago, often in climate conditions that were much different from those of today. Because of the long renewal times involved, fossil groundwaters have often been classified as nonrenewable. However, groundwater ages provide little insight into how water levels and fluxes will change as the result of pumping. The relationship between groundwater ages and these outcome-based metrics of renewability is not straightforward. Therefore, whether a groundwater is fossil or not may have little to do with its renewability. The hydraulic response of an aquifer system to pumping is not strongly related to groundwater age. The use of both modern and fossil groundwater can be unsustainable. 

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