California’s groundwater crisis did not emerge overnight. Decades of unrestricted pumping, falling groundwater levels, land subsidence, disappearing streamflows, and recurring droughts eventually pushed the state toward one of the world’s most ambitious groundwater governance reforms: the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).

In this episode of the Water Data Podcast, Dr. Maurice Hall, Senior Advisor for Climate Resilient Water Systems at the Environmental Defense Fund, joins host Veena Srinivasan to speak about California’s landmark Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).

The conversation explores how California’s unique water rights system shaped groundwater use, why the 2012–2016 drought became a turning point, and how local Groundwater Sustainability Agencies are now attempting to balance pumping, recharge, ecosystems, and agricultural demand across the state.

Maurice explains the science behind land subsidence, disappearing streamflows, and groundwater depletion, while also unpacking how California invested heavily in groundwater monitoring, basin-scale models, satellite-based evapotranspiration tools like OpenET, and new approaches to managed aquifer recharge.

The episode also reflects on what India can learn from California’s experience. While the political and agricultural contexts are very different, the challenges of groundwater depletion, fragmented governance, and delayed action resonate strongly across both regions.

This episode offers a rare inside look into the science, politics, and institutional challenges of groundwater governance at scale.

The Water Data Podcast is a talk show on the science, systems, and stories of water, hosted by Veena Srinivasan.

For all references and further readings related to the episode, visit https://welllabs.org/wdp-maurice-hall/

Subscribe to The Water Data Podcast on your favourite podcast app—and catch video episodes on the WELL Labs YouTube channel @welllabs.

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Recording by Vraj Acharya and Nabina Chakraborty. Editing by Srisabari Varaguna Pandian. Graphics and artwork by Aparna Nambiar and Oishika Goswami. Audio mixing and mastering by Vijay Doiphode. Podcast production and management by Nabina Chakraborty and Pavan Srinath.

Why is water never just a technical problem? Who gets water, who loses access, and who gets to decide?

In this episode of the Water Data Podcast, Professor Margreet Zwarteveen, an internationally recognised scholar of water governance, irrigation, gender, and the politics of natural resources, joins host Veena Srinivasan, Executive Director at WELL Labs.

Margreet Zwarteveen is Professor of Water Governance Education at IHE Delft and Professor of Governance and Inclusive Development at the University of Amsterdam. Trained first as an irrigation engineer and later as a social scientist, her work has shaped how we understand water as a deeply social and political resource.

In this conversation, Margreet explains why every water intervention – whether it is a dam, canal, borewell, drip irrigation system or water market , all make political choices. Technical designs decide who gets access to water, whose labour is recognised, whose land and water rights matter, and whose knowledge is ignored.

The episode explores irrigation resettlement schemes, farmer participation, water titling, gender in irrigation engineering, the risks of narrow efficiency metrics, and the hidden politics behind “wise” water use. Margreet also discusses why women’s water work is often invisible, how borewells and infrastructure reshape water access, and why water governance must learn from everyday practices on the ground.

The Water Data Podcast is a talk show on the science, systems, and stories of water, hosted by Veena Srinivasan.

For all references and further readings related to the episode, visit https://welllabs.org/wdp-margreet-zwarteveen/

Subscribe to The Water Data Podcast on your favourite podcast app—and catch video episodes on the WELL Labs YouTube channel @welllabs.

Subscription links: Youtube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Audible, Castbox, and wherever you get your podcasts!

Recording by Nanditha Gogate and Nabina Chakraborty. Video editing by Vraj Acharya. Graphics and artwork by Aparna Nambiar and Kanishka Goyal. Audio mixing and mastering by Vijay Doiphode. Podcast production and management by Nabina Chakraborty and Pavan Srinath.

How can a satellite measure water buried deep underground? What can space-based observations tell us about groundwater depletion across the world? And how is this data shaping the future of water policy and governance?

Professor Jay Famiglietti, a leading hydrologist and former NASA scientist, joins host Veena Srinivasan on this episode of the Water Data Podcast to discuss the revolutionary GRACE satellite mission.

Jay is a Global Futures Professor at Arizona State University and is widely known for developing methods to detect groundwater depletion from space. His work has reshaped how scientists and policymakers understand global water systems.

In this episode, Jay and Veena unpack how GRACE measures tiny changes in Earth’s gravity to detect gains and losses in water mass. They explore how this technology has revealed major groundwater depletion hotspots across the world, including India, California, the Middle East, and China.

The conversation also examines the complex relationship between climate change and human water use, and why these forces are deeply intertwined. Finally, they reflect on how satellite data is influencing policy from drought monitoring systems to groundwater governance and what the future holds for global hydrology.

The Water Data Podcast is a talk show on the science, systems, and stories of water, hosted by Veena Srinivasan.

For all references and further readings related to the episode, visit here.

Subscribe to The Water Data Podcast on your favourite podcast app—and catch video episodes on the WELL Labs YouTube channel @welllabs.

Subscription links: Youtube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Audible, Castbox, and wherever you get your podcasts!

Recording by Vraj Acharya and Nabina Chakraborty. Video editing by Nabina Chakraborty. Graphics and artwork by Aparna Nambiar and Kanishka Goyal. Audio mixing and mastering by Vijay Doiphode. Podcast production and management by Nabina Chakraborty and Pavan Srinath.