The GAMA program is a comprehensive assessment of statewide ground-water quality. The program is designed to help better understand and identify risks to ground-water resources. Ground water will be sampled at many locations across California in order to characterize its constituents and identify trends in ground-water quality. The results of these tests will provide information for water agencies to address a variety of issues ranging in scale from local water supply to statewide resource management.

The GAMA program was developed in response to the Ground-Water Quality Monitoring Act of 2001 (Sections 10780-10782.3 of the Water Code): a public mandate to assess and monitor the quality of ground water used as public supply for municipalities in California. The goal of the act was to improve statewide ground-water monitoring and facilitate the availability of information about ground-water quality to the public. The State Water Resources Control Board is implementing the GAMA Program in coordination with the U.S. Geological Survey and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.