The latest update to a video series detailing the impacts of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) has recently been released. The bilingual SGMA video series is available on the YouTube channel CaliWaterAg. The latest installment, Part 1.4, addresses land repurposing related to SGMA. Ph.D. Candidate at UC Merced, Vicky Espinoza develops the content and manages the channel.
“It gives a quick recap of why SGMA passed and the impacts of groundwater overdraft on agricultural land use,” Espinoza noted. “It goes over the strategic agricultural land use repurposing options that have been discussed and considered to address groundwater overdraft in the San Joaquin Valley. I go over each of the options that have been considered previously.”
The overall purpose of the bilingual SGMA video series is to facilitate a more broad understanding of the impact of SGMA. Fostering more understanding regarding SGMA is meant to encourage more engagement by community members. Espinoza hopes that the videos will help bring more producers to the table to have their voices heard in the decision-making process. More active engagement is particularly important for those who may not be English speakers. There is work currently taking place to translate the videos into Hmong as well.
“Hopefully at the beginning of 2021, we should have a trilingual channel,” said Espinoza. “I’m hoping that CaliWaterAg can play that role for Hmong and Spanish speakers that maybe don’t read the language so they can tune in and listen to some short videos and have that visual as well. I’m really trying to close that gap and get our growers involved and informed.”
There will also be two webinars coming up in 2021, offering another resource for SGMA related information. The January 13 webinar will be in English and the January 14 webinar will be in Spanish. Hosted in partnership with the Environmental Defense Fund, the webinars will provide an opportunity to ask SGMA related questions.
About the Author
