Banking on the commons: An institutional analysis of groundwater banking programs in California's Central Valley

This dissertation investigates groundwater banking programs in the Central Valley of California where imported surface-water is mixed with native groundwater, a common-pool-resource. The research seeks to determine how the introduction of imported surface-water into a groundwater basin influences the institutions governing the use of the groundwater basin in question. The dissertation also investigates the factors that influence the completion of groundwater banking programs in California's Central Valley.; Groundwater banking is proposed as a potential component for addressing California's water needs, while avoiding a “tragedy of the commons” by sustaining groundwater resources. The Central Valley of California is identified as offering an opportunity for groundwater banking due to its geology and water conveyance systems.; The dissertation uses a modified version of the Institutional Analysis and Development framework (IAD framework) to accomplish the research and specifically address groundwater banking. The physical uncertainties of groundwater basins, coupled with uncertainties related to California water rights and access, are proposed as significant driving forces in the development of institutions for groundwater banking. These uncertainties can be the driving forces for creating the institutional arrangements needed to implement a groundwater banking program.; The case studies review two operating groundwater banks, the Kern Water Bank, and the Arvin-Edison Water Storage District groundwater banking program. The case studies also review one failed attempt to establish a groundwater bank, the Madera Ranch Groundwater Bank and the Eastern San Joaquin Parties Water Authority Groundwater Bank #1, a delayed attempt to implement groundwater banking.; The case studies indicate that institutional arrangements that facilitate the mix of imported surface-water and the native groundwater in a groundwater basin are those that reduce uncertainty by protecting the water rights of overlying users, providing comprehensive monitoring, and providing local control of the groundwater basin. The case studies also indicate that the design principles for long-enduring common-pool-resource regimes also apply to groundwater banks. Trust and the local control of groundwater banking programs appear to be necessary precursors to a groundwater banking program in California's Central Valley. The findings have relevance for policy makers seeking solutions to California's water problems.