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Tony Morgan, PG, CHG

Vice President, Principal Hydrogeologist

Santa Barbara, California
Email
(805) 683-2409

Tony Morgan, PG, CHg, is a Vice President responsible for Water Planning and Development. He is a Principal Hydrogeologist with 40 years of experience in water management, water supply, and hydrogeological programs for groundwater sustainability planning, municipal, industrial, and agricultural applications. Over his career as a consultant and, recently the Deputy General Manager of a California water district, he has been involved in a broad range of projects related to groundwater supply planning, development, and management. Mr. Morgan is a recognized expert in Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) compliance, including formation of Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs), development of Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs), and conducting groundwater basin studies. He provides technical support to stakeholders and attorneys related to groundwater basin adjudication litigation, including third-party or peer review of a GSP’s underlying technical elements, such as:

  • Groundwater modeling
  • Management strategies
  • Sustainable management criteria impacts
  • Overdraft
  • Water rights
  • Conjunctive use
  • Allocations
  • Data analysis

Mr. Morgan worked with the Owens Valley Groundwater Authority (OVGA) on the development of their GSP and with Fillmore and Piru Basins Groundwater Sustainability Agency on two GSPs. As Principal-in-Charge, he supported Sierra Valley Groundwater Management District’s GSP preparation process with development of an integrated surface water and groundwater flow model. He also supported the San Luis Obispo County GSA with a review of the groundwater flow model used in their GSP development.

Mr. Morgan has developed, performed, or provided oversight for: basin-wide groundwater elevation and water-quality monitoring programs; basin-scale hydrostratigraphic models; surface geophysical (e.g., CSAMT, TDEM, resistivity, and gravity) exploration programs; acquisition and interpretation of borehole geophysical logs; basin-scale groundwater flow models; evaluation of water-quality data for potable and irrigation suitability; siting and design of new potable and irrigation water supply wells; and aquifer replenishment activities (i.e., surface water diversions, spreading basin siting and operations, treated waste water treatment plant effluent injection).

Mr. Morgan has served as the local agency representative for the GSA Joint Powers Authority Formation Negotiation Committee, as the lead technical and local agency representative to Fillmore and Piru Basins GSA, on the SGMA Technical Advisory Group appointed by the Board of Directors of the Fox Canyon Groundwater Management Agency, and as the local agency representative to the Santa Paula Basin Technical Advisory Committee that oversees Basin adjudication compliance. He has been a technical advisor to The Nature Conservancy (TNC) on Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems.

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  • Education

    MA, Geology (Quaternary Geology Specialization with Hydrogeology and Geotechnical Engineering Minors), Indiana University
    BS, Geology (Specialization in Hydrogeology and Quaternary Geology), Indiana University

  • Registration / Certification

    Professional Geologist, California, No. 4178

    Certified Hydrogeologist, California, No. 159

  • Specializations

    Sustainable groundwater management

    Groundwater basin adjudication legal support

    Groundwater supply development and management

    Hydrogeology

    Groundwater Sustainability Plan development

    Technical peer review

    Basin-wide groundwater elevation monitoring programs

    Water quality monitoring

    Basin-scale hydrostratigraphic models

    Surface geophysical (e.g., CSAMT, TDEM, resistivity, and gravity) exploration programs

    Acquisition and interpretation of borehole geophysical logs

    Basin-scale groundwater flow models (e.g., MODFLOW, GSFLOW)

    Evaluation of water quality data for potable and irrigation suitability

    Siting and design of new potable and irrigation water supply wells

    Aquifer replenishment activities (i.e., surface water diversions, spreading basins)

  • Affiliations

    American Ground Water Trust, Board of Directors, 2008-present

    American Water Works Association

    Association of California Water Agencies, Groundwater Committee, 2010-present

    California State University-San Bernardino, Dept of Geological Sciences, Professional Advisory Board, 2010-present

    Groundwater Resource Association of California, Member, 2001-present, Central Coast Branch – President, 2011-2017

    National Ground Water Association, Member, 1985-present, NGWA/ANSI Water Well Construction Standard Development Committee; Well Siting and Sampling Task Group, Screens and Intakes Task Group

    Santa Clara River Watershed Committee, United Water Conservation District representative, 2015-2018

    Watersheds Coalition of Ventura County, Steering Committee, 2014-2018

Select Publications and Presentations

Morgan, T., A. Singh, E. Cadaret, L. Porta, L., M. Trota, TT. Driscoll, J. Blanke, G. Tolley, T. Hatch, 2024. Technical and Practical Considerations for Assessing New/Replacement Well Permits under Executive Orders N-7-22 And N-3-23. Groundwater Resources Association white paper. February 2024.

Morgan, Tony, 2020. So the Climate is Changing…Now What? The Third Annual Western Groundwater Congress, Groundwater Resource Association of California, September 2020 (abstract submitted).

Morgan, Tony, 2020, OMG… The Climate is Changing. National Groundwater Association: Water, Energy, and Policy in a Changing Climate, February 2020.

Morgan, Tony, 2019. Land Use and SGMA. The Second Annual Groundwater Sustainability Agency Summit, Groundwater Resource Association of California, June 2019 (invited panelist).

Morgan, Tony, 2018, The Unknown Unknowns: Things You Learn Preparing a GSP at The First Annual Western Groundwater Congress, Groundwater Resource Association of California, Sept 2018 (abstract accepted).

Morgan, Tony, 2018, Adaptive Management – Operating Under Unknowns at The First Annual Groundwater Sustainability Agency Summit, Groundwater Resource Association of California, June 2018 (invited panelist).

Morgan, Tony, 2018, Stormwater and Ground Water Conjunctive Use in the Santa Clara River Valley at Everything Aquifers and Groundwater Management, Association of Ground Water Agencies and American Ground Water Trust, Feb 2018 (presentation).

Morgan, Tony, 2017, What’s in the tank at Countdown to Sustainability: A Forum on Ventura County’s Progress Toward SGMA Implementation sponsored by Farm Bureau of Ventura County, Ventura County Watershed Protection District and Watershed Coalition of Ventura County, Nov 2017 (presentation).

Moore, Tim, Dan Detmer, Tony Morgan, John Lindquist, 2017, Santa Paula-Mound-Forebay Basin Boundary TDEM Geophysical Survey in Ventura County, California, Groundwater Resource Association of California, October 2017 (poster).

Kuepper, Kathleen, Dan Detmer, John Lindquist, Tony Morgan, 2017, Groundwater Monitoring Protocols for Seawater Intrusion – Example of Challenges and Experiences in a Coastal Groundwater Basin, Groundwater Resource Association of California, October 2017 (presentation).

Lindquist, John, Jason Sun, Tony Morgan, Dan Detmer, 2017, Minimum Thresholds, MODFLOW, and Sustainable Yield – Example of Model Application in a Coastal Groundwater Basin, Groundwater Resource Association of California, May 2017 (presentation).

Morgan, Tony, 2017, SGMA Implementation Flexibility and Adaptability – Examples from Ventura County, California Irrigation Institute 55th Annual Conference, Managing our Water Checkbook: Solutions for a Balanced Bottom Line, Jan 2017 (presentation).

Morgan, Tony, 2017, GSP-Lite: Using a Groundwater Flow Model to Approximate Sustainable Yields for Oxnard Plain and Pleasant Valley Groundwater Basins, Coast Geological Society, Jan 2017 (presentation).

Morgan, Tony, 2016, Groundwater Manager’s Perspective, Drought Response Workshop, California Department of Water Resources, Southern California Water Committee, and National Water Research Institute, May 2016 (panel presentation).

Miller, Richard, William Black, Martin Miele, Tony Morgan, Julian Ivanov, Shelby Peterie, and Yao Wong 2016, High- Resolution Seismic Reflection to Improve Accuracy of Hydrogeologic Models in Ventura County, California, USA, The Leading Edge, V. 35, Issue 9, pg. 776-785.

Morgan, Tony, 2016, A Historic Drought and Groundwater Management Legislation: Can We Regulate our Way to Sustainability, Coast Geological Society, March 2016 (presentation).

Morgan, Tony, 2016, SGMA Compliance: Full Speed Ahead…Sort Of – Lessons from Ventura County, Overview of Current Groundwater Management Efforts in Ventura County, Association of Ground Water Agencies and American Ground Water Trust, Feb 2016 (presentation).

Morgan, Tony, 2016, Sustainable Groundwater Management Act Workshop, Fillmore-Piru Basins Groundwater Pumpers Associations, January 2016 (presentation).

Melissa Rohde, Sally Liu, Kirk Klausmeyer, Jeanette Howard, Bryan Bondy, and Morgan, Tony, 2016, A Guidance Framework for Considering Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems under SGMA: A Case-Study from Ventura County, Developing Groundwater Sustainability Plans for Success, Groundwater Resource Association of California, June 2016 (poster presentation).

Jason Sun, Dan Detmer, Tim Moore, John Lindquist, and Morgan, Tony, 2016, Development of a Numerical Model for Sustainable Groundwater Management in Ventura County, California, Groundwater Models and Data, Groundwater Resource Association of California, February 2016 (poster presentation).

Morgan, Tony, 2016, Where Will We Find the Water, Water Market Solutions for California Water Issues, American Ground Water Trust, April 2016 (presentation).

Morgan, Tony, 2014, Surface and Borehole Geophysics as Tools for Groundwater Resource Management –Recent Experiences from Ventura County, Inland Geological Society, Mar 2014 (presentation).

Morgan, Tony, 2013, 80+ Years of Aquifer Replenishment in Ventura County, Association of California Water Agencies, Regulatory Summit, August 2013 (presentation).

Morgan, Tony, 2013, Dynamic Well Profiling – Optimizing Well Performance in High Resolution Tools and Techniques for Optimizing Groundwater Extraction for Water Supply, Groundwater Resources Association of California, June 2013 (presentation).

Morgan, Tony, 2013, E-Logs, Driller’s Logs, and GeoWizardary: Recent Developments in the Hydrostratigraphy of the Oxnard Plain, Pleasant Valley and Forebay Groundwater Subbasins, Ventura County, California, Coast Geological Society, April 2013 (presentation).

Morgan, Tony, 2012, Fold, Faults, and Aquifers, Important Components of the Ventura Regional Groundwater Flow Model, CSU, San Bernardino, Geological Sciences Departmental Seminar Series, Nov 2012 (presentation).

Morgan, Tony, 2012, Fold, Faults, and Aquifers, Important Components of the Ventura Regional Groundwater Flow Model, AWA-CCWUC, Ventura, California, Oct 2012 (presentation).

Tim Moore, Dan Detmer, Morgan, Tony, and Pete Dal Pozzo, 2012, Pressure Transducer and Data Logger Use and Applications as Part of Water Level Elevation Monitoring Network, Groundwater Resources Association of California, 21th Annual Conference and Meeting, October 2012 (poster).

Pete Dal Pozzo, Morgan, Tony, and Tim Moore, 2012, Hydrogeologic Evaluation of the Apparent Camarillo-Hueneme Groundwater Flow Barrier, Oxnard Plain, Ventura County, California, Groundwater Resources Association of California, 21th Annual Conference and Meeting, October 2012 (poster)

Morgan, Tony, 2012, Saline Water Intrusion on the South Oxnard Plain: 2011 Update, State of the Santa Clara River Water Symposium, May 2012 (poster).

Morgan, Tony, 2012, Groundwater Conditions in the Santa Clara Valley and Oxnard Plain, AWA Waterwise Water Information Breakfast Series, Oxnard, California, Jan 2012 (presentation).

Morgan, Tony and Tim Moore, 2011, Refining a Regional-Scale Groundwater-Flow Model to Address Basin-Specific Management Goals in Ventura County, Inland Geological Society, Riverside, California, Dec 2011 (presentation).

Morgan, Tony, 2011, Saline Water Intrusion on the South Oxnard Plain: What We Know and What We Don’t Know, AWA-CCWUC, Ventura, California, Oct 2011 (presentation).

Morgan, Tony, Bryan Bondy, Pete Dal Pozzo, Martin Miele, and Dan Detmer, 2011, Refining a Regional-Scale Groundwater-Flow Model to Address Basin-Specific Management Goals in Ventura County, Groundwater Resources Association of California, 28th Biennial Groundwater Conference, October 2011 (presentation).

Miller, Richard, William Black, Martin Miele, Tony Morgan, Julian Ivanov, Jianghai Xia, and Shelby Peterie, 2011, Feasibility of High Resolution Seismic Reflection to Improve Accuracy of Hydrogeologic Models in a Culturally Noisy Part of Ventura County, California, USA, Society of Exploration Geophysics Expanded Abstracts 30, 3722 (2011), 81st Annual Meeting, San Antonia, Texas.

Morgan, Tony, 2011, Groundwater Conditions and Challenges in the Santa Clara Valley and Oxnard Plain, AWA Waterwise Water Information Breakfast Series, Oxnard, California, Jan 2011 (presentation).

Miele, Martin and Tony Morgan, 2010, High Resolution Seismic Reflection Survey of the Oxnard Plain Basin, Coast Geological Society, Groundwater Resources Association of California Central Coast Branch Joint Meeting (presentation).

Morgan, Tony, 2010, Production Well Design Considerations, AWA-CCWUC, Ventura, California, Mar 2010 (presentation).

Morgan, Tony and Leigh Wood Dudash, 2010, Geophysics as a Component of a Groundwater Basin Conceptual Model, Groundwater Resources Association, Geophysics at the Beach Symposium, Santa Ana, California, May 2010 (poster).

Morgan, Tony, 2010, Production Well Design Considerations, Channel Islands Water Utilities Association, Ventura, California. (presentation).

Dudash, Leigh Wood, Tony Morgan, and Jason Kennedy, 2009, Integrated Geophysical Investigation of Pauma Groundwater Basin, California, Symposium on the Application of Geophysics to Engineering and Environmental Problems 2009: pp. 261-271. (poster).

Morgan, Tony, 2009, Well Hydraulic Performance Assessment, Channel Islands Water Utilities Association, Operator Technology Workshop, Ventura, California, (presentation).

Morgan, Tony, 2009, Regulatory Framework, United Water Conservation District, American Groundwater Trust, Teachers Institute, Oxnard, California, Nov 2009 (presentation).

Morgan, Tony, 2009, Water Quality Challenges, United Water Conservation District, American Groundwater Trust, Teachers Institute, Oxnard, California, Nov 2009 (presentation).

Morgan, Tony, 2009, 82 Years of Aquifer Storage in Ventura County, California: Economics, Technologies, Regulations and Long-Term Future Challenges, American Groundwater Trust, ASR IV Conference, Orlando, FL, Sept 2009 (presentation).

Morgan, Tony, 2009, Global Warming and the Impacts of Declining Water Levels on Production Wells, Groundwater Resources Association of California, 27th Biennial Groundwater Conference, October 2009 (presentation).

Morgan, Tony, 2009, Water Well Hydraulic Performance Assessment and Water Well Re-Engineering, Florida Rural Water Association – training program offered at 5 locations in Florida, sponsored by FRWA, January 2009 (presentations).

Morgan, Tony, 2008, The Use of Neutron and Compensated Density Technologies to Monitor Water Recharge at ASR Facilities: Examples from Southern California, ASR VIII Conference sponsored by American Ground Water Trust, September 2008-Orlando, FL (presentation).

Morgan, Tony, 2008, Decision-Making and Data Needs Related to Well Performance and Rehabilitation, sponsored by American Ground Water Trust, September 2008-Langley, BC (presentation),

Morgan, Tony and Leigh Wood-Dudash, 2008, Applications of Geophysics for Water Supply Well Siting Programs, Rocky Mountain WEA and Rocky Mountain American Water Works Association, Annual Conference, September 2008-Colorado Springs, CO (abstract, presentation).

Morgan, Tony, 2008, Water Well Hydraulic Performance Evaluation: Implications for Energy Efficiency at Energy Savings with Proper Well Field Management Seminar, sponsored by The Gas Company, May 2008-Downey, California (presentation).

Morgan, Tony, 2008, Well Field Optimization: An Overview of Energy Savings and Operational Efficiencies at Energy Savings with Proper Well Field Management Seminar, sponsored by The Gas Company, May 2008-Downey, California (presentation).

Morgan, Tony, 2008, Global Warming and the Impacts of Declining Water Levels on Production Wells, American Water Works Association, California-NV Section, April 2008-Hollywood, California (abstract, presentation).

Morgan, Tony, 2008, Geophysical Exploration for Well Siting Programs, American Water Works Association, California-NV Section, April 2008-Hollywood, California (abstract, presentation).

Morgan, Tony, 2007, Water Well Drilling Techniques: 101 Ways to Make a Hole in the Ground, American Water Works Association, California-NV Section, October 2007-Sacramento, California (abstract, presentation).

Morgan, Tony, 2007, Panel on Collaborative Problem Solving: Land Use, Economy, and Environment, San Bernardino County Water Conference, 9 August 07, Ontario, California (panel member).

Morgan, Tony, 2007, Water Resources for the Building Industry, Building Industry Association Annual Show, November 2007-Long Beach, California (panel member).

Morgan, Tony, 2007, The Use of Neutron and Compensated Density Technologies to Monitor Water Recharge at ASR Facilities: An Example from Southern California, Arizona Hydrological Society/Southwest Hydrology Regional Water Symposium, August 2007-Tucson, AZ (abstract, presentation).

Morgan, Tony, 2007, Water Well Rehabilitation Techniques: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, American Water Works Association, California-NV Section, May 2007-Las Vegas, NV (abstract, presentation).

Morgan, Tony, Glenn d’Eon, Eric Vincent, 2006, Well Construction Guidelines at Well Construction, Maintenance, and Repair/Update on Arsenic Treatment Technologies, Nevada Rural Water Association Training Session, Laughlin, NV (presentation).

Morgan, Tony, 2006, Water Well Design 101- General Design Considerations for High Capacity Water Wells, Nevada Rural Water Association Annual Meeting, Primm, NV (presentation).

Morgan, Tony, 2005, Well Design for Optimal Performance at Municipal Water Seminar sponsored by The Gas Company Energy Resource Center (presentation).

Morgan, Tony, 2005, Water Well Construction Seminar, Nevada Rural Water Association /Moapa Valley Water District, NV (presentation).

Morgan, Tony, 2005, Water Well Performance Characterization, ASCE-Tucson, AZ Chapter (presentation).

Morgan, Tony and Derik Howard, 2004, Application of Surface Geophysical Exploration Techniques for Siting Water Wells: An Overview of Technologies, American Water Works Association, California-NV Section, October 2004¬Sacramento (abstract, presentation).

Morgan, Tony and Joseph Abreau, 2003, Water Well Performance Characterization Using Downhole Technologies: Considerations for Baseline Evaluations, American Water Works Association, California-NV Section, June 2003-San Diego (abstract, presentation).

Hasbrouck, James and Tony Morgan, 2003, Deep Groundwater Exploration Using Geophysics, Southwest Hydrology, July/Aug 2003, Vol. 2, Number 4 (publication)

Hasbrouck, James, Tony Morgan, Leslie Boockoff, and Louis Kohn, 2003, Deep Groundwater Exploration Using Controlled Source Audio Magnetotellurics / Magnetotellurics (CSAMT/MT), NGWA Southwest FOCUS Conference: Water Supply and Emerging Contaminants, February 2003 (abstract, presentation, publication)

Morgan, Tony, Leslie Boockoff, and Tom Staatz, 2002, Use of Borehole Imaging Technologies to Characterize Bedrock for Hydrogeological and Engineering Applications, Association of Engineering Geologists, Annual Meeting, September 2002 (abstract and presentation).

Miele, Martin J., Tony Morgan, and Greg Bauer, 2001, Lateral and Vertical Delineation of Water Producing Fractures and Zone-Specific Water Quality Data with CSAMT/MT and HydroPhysical Logging, Symposium on the Application of Geophysics to Engineering and Environmental Problems (SAGEEP), March 2001 (presentation and publication).

Morgan, Tony, 1994, Multiple Late Holocene Paleogeomorphic Surfaces in Coastal Sand Dunes, Vandenberg AFB, Santa Barbara County, California, American Quaternary Association, 13th Biennial Meeting, Program and Abstracts.

Morgan, Tony, 1994, Late Pleistocene and Holocene Paleoclimatic Reconstructions in the Lower Santa Ynez River Valley, Santa Barbara County, California, American Quaternary Association, 13th Biennial Meeting, Program and Abstracts.

Morgan, Tony and Linda Scott Cummings, 1990, Late Pleistocene and Holocene Paleoenvironmental Conditions in the Lower Santa Ynez River Basin, Proceedings of Society for California Archaeology, pp. 243:260.

Morgan, Tony and Linda Scott Cummings, 1989, Holocene Paleoenvironmental Conditions in the Lower Santa Ynez River Basin, Society for California Archaeology, 230 Annual Meeting, (abstract and presentation).

Peter, Kevin J., James Rudolph, Tony Morgan, Jean Hudson, and Craig F. Woodman, 1988, Archaeological Test Investigation and Evaluation of Sbr-1576, San Bernardino County, California, prepared by URS Corporation. (report)

Morgan, Tony, 1986, Geomorphological Investigations at CA-VEN-110, Ventura County, California in Archaeological Study of CA-VEN-110, Ventura, California by Roberta Greenwood, John Foster, and Gwendolyn Romani. (report).

Morgan, Tony, 1986, Quaternary Geomorphic Surfaces in Southeast Wyoming: An Example from Horse Creek, Laramie County, Wyoming, American Quaternary Association, Ninth Biennial Meeting, Program and Abstracts.

Morgan, Tony, 1986, Evidence for Pleistocene Periglacial Environments East of the Laramie Mountains, Southeast Wyoming, American Quaternary Association, Ninth Biennial Meeting, Program and Abstracts.

Morgan, Tony and R.D. Hall, 1982, Pediments in the North Boulder River Basin, Southwestern Montana, American Quaternary Association, Seventh Biennial Meeting, Program and Abstracts.

Morgan, William T. and Robert D. Hall, 1979, Stratigraphy and Sedimentation of the Christensen Bog, Hancock County, Indiana, Geological Society of America, North-Central Section Meeting (abstract and presentation)

Morgan, Tony, 1979, Drainage-Related Soil Profile Development in a Wisconsinan Till of the Christensen Mastodon Site, Student Honors Symposium-Honors Day Convocation April 20, 1979.