10004.7.
(a) (1) By January 1, 2026, the department shall, utilizing Bulletin 118, as defined in Section 10721, develop a groundwater recharge action plan. The groundwater recharge action plan shall provide actionable recommendations that result in the ability to create additional groundwater recharge capacity in order to increase the state’s groundwater supply without reducing the amount of water available for environmental purposes or any other purposes allowed under existing state law.(2) The department shall consult with the state board, the nine regional water quality control boards, and the advisory committee established pursuant to subdivision (b)
of Section 10004 in carrying out this section.
(3) The groundwater recharge action plan shall identify and make recommendations on immediate opportunities and potential long-term solutions to increase the state’s groundwater supply, with a priority on multibenefit projects.
(4) The department shall evaluate the total potential economic and noneconomic costs and benefits of implementing the recommendations of the groundwater recharge action plan.
(5) The plan shall include best practices identified by the department, including, but not limited to, both of the following:
(A) Analysis regarding where groundwater recharge will be effective and protective of access
to safe drinking water consistent with Section 106.3.
(B) Mapping that identifies areas where recharge is unlikely to degrade groundwater quality based on consideration of the quality and composition of the source water, the qualities of the soil upon which recharge will occur, and the proximity to drinking water wells.
(b) The department shall include the groundwater recharge action plan as a part of the 2028 update to The California Water Plan. Commencing with the 2033 update, the department, as a part of updating The California Water Plan every five years pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 10004, shall update the groundwater recharge action plan.
(c)The department, the state board, and the regional boards shall implement, upon an appropriation or other further action by the Legislature, the recommendations identified in the groundwater recharge action plan that result in new infrastructure and institutional mechanisms in place that provide for the ability to create additional groundwater recharge
capacity.
(d)
(c) The department shall establish a target for additional groundwater recharge capacity creation, to be used for planning purposes only. The target shall be determined with consideration for other beneficial or environmental uses of water and water goals.
(e)
(d) Nothing in this section shall do any of the following:
(1) Limit or reduce the existing surface storage of water.
(2) Affect or change any water right.
(3) Prioritize any one use of water over another use, define what is to be considered a beneficial use of water, or in any way influence how the increased supply of groundwater under this part shall be used.
(f)
(e) For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) “Groundwater recharge” means actions to increase the amount of raw, treated, or recycled water in the groundwater basins through human-controlled means, including, but not limited to, use of aquifer storage and recovery wells, injection wells, surface spreading basins, field flooding, stormwater capture, flood managed basins, and in-lieu recharge.
(2) “Groundwater supply” means water that at any point in time is being stored underground that is available for human use and environmental protection to sustain the state’s future.