Groundwater Governance in the United States: Common Priorities and Challenges

A survey of state agency officials reveals that groundwater governance in the United States is fragmented, with significant variations in legal frameworks regarding the hydrologic connection between surface and groundwater, ecosystem needs, and quality protection. Despite these differences and varying enforcement capacities, states identified three shared priorities: water quality and contamination, user conflicts, and declining groundwater levels.

• Groundwater governance across the United States is characterized as fragmented, with state legal frameworks showing wide differences in how they recognize the connection between surface water and groundwater, the requirements of groundwater-dependent ecosystems, and the protection of water quality.
• State agencies reported varying levels of capacity to enforce their groundwater responsibilities and noted that groundwater governance has undergone substantial changes over the last few decades.
• Despite fragmented governance, state officials identified three consistent priorities for groundwater management: addressing water quality and contamination, managing conflicts between users, and tackling declining groundwater levels.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (2025). Groundwater Governance in the United States: Common Priorities and Challenges. https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/groundwater-governance-in-the-united-states-common-priorities-and-challenges/

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Groundwater Governance in the United States: Common Priorities and Challenges. 2025. https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/groundwater-governance-in-the-united-states-common-priorities-and-challenges/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=Groundwater Governance in the United States: Common Priorities and Challenges |date=15 January 2025 |url=https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/groundwater-governance-in-the-united-states-common-priorities-and-challenges/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearch2025groundwater, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{Groundwater Governance in the United States: Common Priorities and Challenges}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/groundwater-governance-in-the-united-states-common-priorities-and-challenges/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }