Senior Policy Fellow

Dr. Behrooz Mortazavi
 

Water distribution and delivery in California is a complex and interconnected system. One of today’s water challenges is providing reliable and sustainable supplies.

In recent years, local agencies have paid more attention to the environmental values that must be integrated into the water management systems, and water managers are trying to provide long term reliability and resiliency required to combat climate change and other changing conditions. Groundwater accounts for about 40 percent of agricultural and urban water use in the State, and for the first time the local agencies are required to develop a sustainable management plan for managing this important resource. Meeting requirements of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) of 2014 has required water managers to focus on better management of local groundwater resources while meeting ecosystems needs of the region.

Behrooz Mortazavi, who joined SPP recently SPP as a Senior Policy Fellow has been involved in such groundwater management issues in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties for the past three decades and currently serves as the Hemet-San Jacinto Watermaster Advisor, overseeing implementation of an Stipulated Judgment in the Hemet-San Jacinto area.