GRA recently presented its annual Lifetime Achievement Award and annual Kevin J. Neese Award at its 10th Annual Meeting on October 31, 2001.

The GRA Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to individuals for their exemplary contributions to the groundwater industry and for contributions that have been in the spirit of GRA's mission and organization objectives. Individuals that receive the Lifetime Achievement Award have dedicated their lives to the groundwater industry and have been pioneers in their field of expertise. The 2001 recipient is Carl Hauge, Chief Hydrogeologist for the California Department of Water Resources (DWR).

GRA's Kevin J. Neese Award, which was established in 1999 in the name of the late Kevin J. Neese, a former GRA Director, geologist and attorney, recognizes significant accomplishment by a person or entity within the most recent 12-month period that fosters the understanding, development, protection and management of groundwater. The 2001 awardee is the American River Basin Cooperating Agencies and Sacramento Groundwater Authority Partnership.

Carl Hauge currently works with local agencies and the public (through the DWR Office of Planning and Local Assistance) providing expertise and information on groundwater, groundwater management, well construction and standards. Carl started his career as a scientific aide at the US Geological Survey. Shortly thereafter, he joined DWR and worked on the State Water Project. When the Project was completed, Hauge was among 100 geologists that were out of work. Carl joined the California Department of Forestry and studied soil erosion, landslides and stream protection zones. He then moved to the California Division of Mines & Geology where he worked on earthquake analysis, urban geology, geologic publications and transitioning the Mineral Information Series into the current California Geology publication of CDMG. Hauge eventually returned to DWR and became involved with studies on water supply and demand, dam site exploration and construction, groundwater and land subsidence, and well construction.

Because of Hauge's extensive (and lifetime) career in water resources, his guidance on managing groundwater in California is highly sought after. He is actively involved with the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) Groundwater Committee, the California Groundwater Association (CGA), and the American Water Well Association (AWWA) in addition to GRA.

The American River Basin Cooperating Agencies and Sacramento Groundwater Authority Partnership was selected as the Kevin J. Neese award recipient for significant accomplishments in fostering the understanding and development of a cooperative approach to regional planning, protection and management of groundwater.

Water purveyors in southern Placer County and northern Sacramento County formed the American River Basin Cooperating Agencies (ARBCA) to initiate work on implementation of the regional conjunctive use program envisioned by the Sacramento-Area Water Forum. This effort, referred to as the Regional Water Master Plan (RWMP), is the development of equitable, cost-effective water resource management strategies for enhancing water supply reliability and operational flexibility for water users of Folsom Lake, the lower American River and the connected groundwater basin.

Since the groundwater basin underlying the service areas of the American River Basin Cooperating Agencies is under the Sacramento Groundwater Authority's (SGA) jurisdiction, and the RWMP is structured to implement the goals of both the Sacramento Area Water Forum and SGA, ARBCA and SGA formed a "partnership" to develop and implement the regional water resources management strategies identified in the RWMP as cost-effectively and efficiently as possible.