What is Fair in Groundwater Allocation? Distributive and Procedural Fairness Perceptions of California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act

Fairness perceptions can contribute to trust or distrust in a policy process. Under California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) basins may limit groundwater extraction for users, including farmers. Using a 2017 survey of 137 farmers in Yolo County, we adapt a typology of fairness principles, previously applied to climate policy, to examine farmers’ fairness perceptions for groundwater allocation strategies and reconciliation...