Measuring What Matters

The report argues that achieving sustainable groundwater management in California requires the establishment of clear, quantitative measurable objectives to avoid 'undesirable results' such as land subsidence and seawater intrusion. It advocates for an adaptive management approach involving clear baselines, quantitative thresholds, and protective triggers. The authors propose a six-step preliminary framework for setting thresholds and recommend that the state develop a common framework to ensure consistency in data, assumptions, and metrics across different groundwater sustainability agencies.

• Effective measurable objectives for groundwater management must include six core components: clear baselines, quantitative thresholds, protective triggers, regular measurement and monitoring, accounting for uncertainty, and adaptation to new information.
• Quantitative thresholds are essential to distinguish between a general adverse effect and a 'significant and unreasonable' undesirable result, providing a target level that, if crossed, prompts management action to avoid unacceptable outcomes.
• Protective triggers serve as an early warning system to initiate management actions before a threshold is reached, reducing the risk of hitting irreversible tipping points.
• The report proposes a six-step preliminary framework for setting thresholds: checking against existing standards, ensuring a transparent public process, analyzing potential negative impacts, checking for violations of neighboring basin thresholds, assessing uncertainty of proposed actions, and checking for conflicts with other undesirable result thresholds.
• The authors recommend that the state develop a common framework for thresholds and interim milestones to prevent inconsistent standards and ensure that local flexibility does not undermine statewide sustainability goals.
• To ensure fairness and accuracy, the state should identify existing data sources, require consistent assumptions for calculating sustainable yield (including climate change forecasts and drought contingency plans), and standardize reporting protocols.
• Sustainable yield is distinguished from 'safe yield' because it specifically incorporates the avoidance of 'undesirable results' as defined by SGMA, protecting ecological and social benefits beyond simple water balance.

APA

Christian-Smith, J., & Abhold, K. (2015). Measuring What Matters. Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2015/09/measuring-what-matters-california-sustainable-groundwater-report.pdf

Chicago

Christian-Smith, Juliet, and Kristyn Abhold. Measuring What Matters. Union of Concerned Scientists, 2015. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2015/09/measuring-what-matters-california-sustainable-groundwater-report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Christian-Smith |first1=Juliet |last2=Abhold |first2=Kristyn |title=Measuring What Matters |publisher=Union of Concerned Scientists |date=September 2015 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2015/09/measuring-what-matters-california-sustainable-groundwater-report.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{christiansmith2015measuring, author = {Christian-Smith, Juliet and Abhold, Kristyn}, title = {{Measuring What Matters}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2015}, month = sep, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/attach/2015/09/measuring-what-matters-california-sustainable-groundwater-report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }