DECENTRALIZED GROUNDWATER GOVERNANCE AND WATER NEXUS IMPLICATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES

This Article explains the study results related to the interconnectivities of ground- water to food, energy, and the climate, along with the strengths and shortcomings of state-level groundwater governance in addressing these interconnectivities. [...] Dur- ing the early stages of the GEF Project, a thematic paper on groundwater gov- ernance policy noted the multiple definitions in the literature and offered the following definition: “Groundwater governance is the process by which ground- water is managed through the application of responsibility, participation, infor- mation availability, transparency, custom, and rule of law. [...] DECENTRALIZED GROUNDWATER GOVERNANCE IN THE UNITED STATES AND NEXUS IMPLICATIONS As explained by Megdal, her coauthors, and others, water governance— and particularly groundwater governance—is delegated to the states in the United States.10 Moreover, within states, groundwater governance may be split across different state agencies.11 The availability of water varies by state, with the focus on wa. [...] State Survey Methodology The Initial Survey, conducted in 2013, was designed to examine responses from a state agency official from each state about the extent and scope of groundwater use, groundwater laws and regulations, and groundwater tools and strategies.28 Respondents represented all fifty states and the District of Colum- bia.29 Survey respondents were identified using the network of feder. [...] Frequency of Groundwater Concerns Listed in the Top Three by State Respondents68 Figure 3 then shows the frequency of groundwater contaminant sources ranked in the top three by state respondents.69 Agriculture is listed by 30 state respondents in the top three sources of contamination.70 The agricultural sector, 66.