By Melanie Mason, Los Angeles Times

Gov. Jerry Brown signed a trio of bills Tuesday establishing a framework for statewide regulation of California’s underground water sources, marking the first time in the state’s history that groundwater will be managed on a large scale.

“This is a big deal,” Brown said at a signing ceremony in the Capitol. “It’s been known about for decades that underground water has to be managed and regulated in some way.”

Since the state’s founding, water has been considered a property right; landowners have been able to pump as much water from the ground as they want. But increasing reliance on underground water, particularly during droughts, has led to more pumping from some basins than what is naturally being replaced.

Some areas already have begun managing their groundwater sources, but other key basins remain unregulated.

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