*5.4. Management Strategies*

Results in Figure 3 explain the sustainability stage in multiple aspects. In terms of abundance and irrigation return, results point to unsustainable agriculture development. Even though abundance and irrigation return increase, profits are decreased. From a connectivity perspective, the results show an unacceptable stage of sustainability where both connectivity and agricultural income suffer. Together these indicate that economic measures and alternative water managemen<sup>t</sup> strategies are both lacking.

IE policy lays a foundation for ensuring irrigation supply as it maximizes the possible use of surface water. The investment in IE policy (loss in agricultural income in Figure 3) indicates that the next step is to increase agriculture benefits through various means, such as subsidies and technologies ensuring production and product quality to offset costs. Further, flexible water managemen<sup>t</sup> strategies that focus on compensating for lost natural and historic flows during years with abundant water supply are necessary to prevent longterm consequences from the lost connectivity. If there are no assorted water managemen<sup>t</sup> strategies to replenish the aquifer in wet years, recurring drought will still have an adverse impact on irrigation supply due to predicted increased and inelastic agricultural water demand. Scherberg et al. [60] applied modeling to verify that canal piping combined with an aquifer recharge program stabilized groundwater storage. Results suggested that canal piping alone failed to keep summer flows and could be detrimental to the local hydrology.

Economic incentives to offset costs of infrastructure investment such as subsidies or technologies that increase agricultural profits are necessary for the policy tested to be economically viable, particularly in the short-term. Maintaining a flexible cropping pattern could prevent groundwater reliance in times of drought, forgoing costs associated with well installation, repair, and pumping.
