Water users in Diamond Valley, a groundwater basin in Nevada where over-appropriation and over-use of groundwater have resulted in declining groundwater levels (Berger et al. 2016), developed a Groundwater Management Plan (GMP). The goals of the GMP include stabilizing groundwater levels in Diamond Valley by reducing consumptive use while preserving the socioeconomic structure of the region and maximizing viable land uses of private land. Water use cannot balance without taking some irrigated land out of production. At the same time, energy development, which is one of the largest drivers of land use change in North America (Trainor et al. 2016), could significantly impact biodiversity and other conservation values in Nevada.
Through a stakeholder assessment and facilitated community meetings, The Langdon Group led a strategy to determine the viability of meeting the goals of the GMP while avoiding or minimizing impacts from new energy development through the concurrent, permanent retirement of private property groundwater rights while transitioning all or portions of formerly irrigated agricultural lands to photovoltaic solar systems (i.e., agrivoltaics). The report is available online.
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