The State Water Board said the single request from the federal government cleared the way for large-scale recharge without the need for approving numerous smaller permits. The rainfall from this weeks atmospheric river event wont do anything to alleviate that crisis, although it will make the most dire scenarios for Los Angeles much less likely. The state grapples with drought, but it's not as simple as putting out a big bucket, says hydrogeologist and professor at UC Santa Cruz, Andrew Fisher. NASA scientists found that between October 2022 and March, the rain and snow increased the regions total water supplies substantially, equating to a rise of about 20 inches if that water were spread across the watersheds of the Central Valley. Our focus tends to be on filling of surface reservoirs, and everybody declares the drought over, said Mount. Ian James is a reporter who focuses on water in California and the West. All Contents Public Policy Institute of California 2023, A Conversation with Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government, A Conversation with California Attorney General Rob Bonta, PPIC San Joaquin Valley GSP Water Budgets. SGMA is a huge driver, said Ashley Boren, executive director of Sustainable Conservation, a nonprofit working with farmers and local water agencies around the state. There has also been a growing focus among water management officials on finding ways to ease the permit process to use storm water for aquifer recharge, and to invest strategically in infrastructure to move water to areas where permeable soils make for fast paths to the groundwater. Its critical to recharge aquifers, especially when theres an influx of rain, Fencl said. We could start making pre-flood releases, said Josh Weimer, the districts government affairs manager. Aaron Fukuda in Tulare helps operate a district using part of a $1.95 million federal grant to build a new recharge basin andstudy ways to expand existing recharge facilities. Heres what Californias Big Melt looks like, told local groundwater management agencies, L.A. mayor ousts Native American DWP commissioner; Indigenous groups outraged, As California fire season begins, debate over wildfire retardant heats up, Its a disaster: California farmer faces ordeal as pistachio farm sits underwater, Heat waves like the one that killed 14 in the southern U.S. are becoming more frequent. U.S. Attorney David Weiss rejected GOP allegations of retaliation against an IRS whistleblower in a letter sent to Representative Jim Jordan. The amount of water that will be rediverted here is still relatively low compared to how much water will be flowing in the system.. Twitter, Follow us on Central Valley aquifer | U.S. Geological Survey - USGS.gov HA 730-B Northern California basin-fill aquifers text If someone can point to a hole one foot by one foot by one foot, Ill go and put water in it., Instead of sticking with the original recharge plans, we are aggressively recharging. Its vital reporting made entirely possible by loyal readers like you. State officials disagreed with the objections raised by environmental groups, saying the water diversions wont harm the environment and the flows left in the river will meet requirements. This recharge process has a positive ripple effect on water supply reliability, flood risk reduction, and drought preparedness. We started flooding the wine grapes. None of the models Im aware of are saying that its going to stop.. "However, the drought and flooding disasters often open up opportunities for stronger regulations and stricter management practices that can protect Californians from the worst of these effects.". Kamyar Guivetchi at DWR said they are working with the Merced Irrigation District to find out how much water could be recharged on farmlands in the Merced River watershed. And we dashed out here between the storms, because it's an opportunity when it's safe to go collect water samples and see how water quality looks. Temporary water supplies, including bottled water, had to be brought in. Since December, the State Water Resources Control Board has issued 10 temporary permits for agencies to divert water for groundwater recharge projects, all but one of them in the Central Valley. Excessive groundwater pumping has long been depleting aquifers in Californias Central Valley. Theres still going to be a lot of water moving down the San Joaquin, Ekdahl said. One way to capture more of the atmospheric rivers is allowing dams to release reservoir water in anticipation of a storm. The amount of water thats set to be rerouted under the plan is more than the annual supply for the city of Los Angeles. "[2022] has seen the highest percentage of the country, over 80 percent of the continental U.S., be classified as being in a drought since the U.S. Drought Monitor was established a little over 20 years ago," Antonia Hadjimichael, an assistant professor in geosciences at Penn State University, previously told Newsweek. Over the long term, groundwater is in a pretty steep decline, said J.T. document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); For the past three years, California has been suffering under the worst drought in state history. The water district has a right to take that water it remains the irrigation districts, for the benefit of all users, Mountjoy said. The state has been deluged by storms this winter, hit by 12 atmospheric rivers that have led to evacuation orders, rising rivers and broken levees. Under temporary contracts with the federal government, they will be able to send water through canals to areas with permeable soils that allow for groundwater recharge. Droughts exposed California's thirst for groundwater. Now, the state Water users are currently writing plans for keeping groundwater use in balance with supply, but they won't be fully implemented until 2040. On Friday, the governors office announced that he had signed an executive order enabling the capture of water from the latest round of storms. News & Events - Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Now, scientists say the depletion is accelerating. New analysis shows the U.S. has accounted for more wetland conversion and degradation than any other country. Groundwater recharge can replenish overdrafted basins, and help California adapt to greater climate extremes. The Central Valley is one of the worlds major farming regions, producing almonds, pistachios, grapes, walnuts, tangerines, rice and other crops, as well as cattle and dairy products. Theres not enough storage to capture the atmospheric rivers. Quinn wants to capture stormwater and divert it to aquatic parking lots, as he calls them, where water can trickle back into depleted aquifers. And the challenge is that when we get a lot of rainfall like this, it's not forming snowpack in lower areas. Though it has come at a tremendous cost, the past few weeks of rain have helped to refill the reservoirs that supply much of the states water, and snowpack levels in the Sierra Nevada are now well above their average levels for this time of year, meaning that major rivers will be much more robust after the snow melts in the spring. After nearly a century of heavy use, many aquifers are badly depleted. Well-drilling and pumping continue to draw down groundwater in Californias Central Valley. Researchers develop new tool for optimizing irrigation, Stanford Center for Innovation in Global Health, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. The northern California basin-fill aquifers comprise an assemblage of intermontane aquifers in northern California that have similar hydrogeologic characteristics. Lake Shasta, the largest single reservoir in California, has seen water-level increases in recent weeks, similar to many of the reservoirs across the state. Amanda Fencl, a senior climate scientist for the nonprofit Union of Concerned Scientists, said the plan raises questions about who will benefit the most, especially since many water contracts in the area are held by agricultural irrigation districts. To support our nonprofit environmental journalism, please consider disabling your ad-blocker to allow ads on Grist. A new model based on remote sensing data could help zero in on where water managers can replenish aquifers by flooding fields. They have a bank account for their use, said Jason Gianquinto, the districts general manager. Many Southern California cities have been working on conserving and recycling water locally, so they're less dependent on faraway supplies. And we should be mindful about which one of those objectives we prioritize when there isnt enough water to go around.. This winter, a new effort is underway to use some of the floodwaters to fill aquifers. He previously worked for the Associated Press as a correspondent in the Caribbean and as bureau chief in Venezuela. Farmers in California's drought-plagued Central Valley have big plans for the next year of heavy rains. There are clay layers in many areas that hinder the downward movement of water, while in other areas, water passes swiftly through permeable layers of sediment. Can California better use winter storms to refill its aquifers? On how much water can be stored for later and where. The start of 2023 brought a parade of torrential Pacific storms to bone dry California. As long as the Delta is a transportation bottleneck, that limits the amount that can be stored., One incentive nudging farmers to do recharge is the knowledge that in dry years they will have access to the water they deposited in wet years. Anthea Hansen, general manager of the Del Puerto Water District, also wants to use flood irrigation to tap into atmospheric rivers; her district partners with anotheron a $2 million pilot project to recharge aquifers. Snow geese gather on a flooded farm near Dunnigan, in Yolo County, in January. However, sometimes that water is not suitable for drinking. They must either find more water to support the aquifers or take cropland out of use. Water is scarce in California. But farmers have found ways to store it After nearly a century of heavy use, many aquifers are badly depleted. Something went wrong. Melted, that would be enough to hypothetically drape almost 5 inches of water across the entire state of California. But that practice has its limits, as groundwater aquifers -- underground layers of porous rock -- get depleted, similar to how water squeezes from a sponge. 16 Apr 2020 By Erik Stokstad The California Aqueduct moves water from the state's wetter north to the drier south. Those states are now in emergency negotiations over cutbacks to their water supply, but are struggling to agree. ), they also limit the amount of groundwater that is stored within the landscape," Daniella Rempe, a hydrologist and geomorphologist at the Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas in Austin, told Newsweek. His new system includes a large structure with gates that open to let water out of the north fork of the Kings River to a canal and the large pumping station to extract the surface water from the canal, plus a structure with gates that open to let water out of four new 72-inch pipes and into a canal, headed for recharge areas. 44 places to watch dazzling Fourth of July fireworks in L.A. Thousands of hotel workers across Southern California walk off the job, Mone Davis is not just your average summer intern for the Dodgers, Plaschke: Rob Pelinka and the Lakers win free agency and the summer, No sign of progress in L.A. hotel strike ahead of Fourth of July holiday, U.S. forest managers urge revelers to swap fireworks for Silly String, but some say not so fast, L.A. air the cleanest its been in a decade, but rising temperatures could change that, Alaskas slow start to wildfire season a relief after Connecticut-sized area burned last year, Heat wave hits Southern California with a scorching Fourth of July weekend. 2023 Speaker Series on California's Future In-Person and Online, June 6, 2023 Recharging Depleted Aquifers No Easy Task, But It's Key To California's If the reservoirs fill up as predicted, that will be great news for farmers and cities up and down the state, from Chico all the way to San Diego. State officials say its the largest amount of water they have made available for groundwater replenishment in such a short period. But there is potential for banking to grow. Since December, the State Water Resources Control Board has issued 10 temporary permits . Sources/Usage: Public Domain. "Right now, we're at about 80 percent of what we normally would be on today's date," Donald Bader, the Northern California Area Office manager for the Bureau of Reclamation, previously told Newsweek. Before the 19 th century, the rivers in the Central Valley would regularly flood, filling up the floodplain with water that would eventually percolate down to underlying aquifers . Theres no future without recharge, he said. YouTube, Follow us on Ken James/California Department of Water Resources Instead, we rely on our readers topitch in what they can so that we can continue bringing you our solution-based climate news. Farmers in California's drought-plagued Central Valley have big plans for the next year of heavy rains. Times staff writer Hayley Smith contributed to this report. For Kern County, the countys nine largest banks store water for more than 50 offsite parties within the San Joaquin Valley, Bay Area, and Southern California. Beyond that, he said, We want to broaden the footprint of new projects. The most recent forecasts suggest that this years wetter trend will persist through the winter, but theres still a small chance that the door slams shut, as Mount puts it, and rain stops altogether. Heavy storms caused a levee to break in Pajaro, Calif., flooding nearby homes. Recharging California's Diminishing Aquifers - Earthzine Satellite data analyzed by researchers at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory show that the series of atmospheric river storms this winter alleviated some of Californias water deficit, but that groundwater levels remain depleted from years of drought and chronic overpumping in the Central Valley. You may not have seen apartment buildings on fire or communities underwater, but [there were] displaced families, migrant workers not having jobs, businesses closing because nobody needed to service their tractors, feed stores closing.. NASA Earth Observatory In the. We believe in the power of good information to build a brighter future for California. hide caption. The general long-term forecast for California as climate change intensifies: more frequent droughts, intermittently interrupted by years when big storms bring rain more quickly than the water infrastructure can handle. Will California's 'atmospheric river' storms end the drought? So over the decades, water levels have fallen dramatically in California's aquifers. Even if 2023 does end up a wet year, it wont prevent an ongoing water crisis, because surface precipitation is only one pillar supporting the states water needs. The parade of winter storms has tested the state's infrastructure. In the agriculture-heavy Central Valley, for instance, many farmers rely on water deliveries from a federal canal that funnels water westward from the Sierra Nevada. Letting that water recharge California's in-the-red aquifers would be a cheaper, more ecologically sensitive, and effective way to prepare for drought, proponents argue, than building more dams. Covered California says everyone will have at least two options. Amid soaking storms, California turns to farmland to funnel water into depleted aquifers. Its findings help better explain the causes and impacts of such losses and inform protection and restoration of wetlands. "We just have to get better at managing the more limited resources that we have there, and that means figuring out how to share a smaller pool of water than what we've been using up till now," says Ellen Hanak, director of the Water Policy Center at the Public Policy Institute of California. At Grist, we dont believe in paywalls. They must either find more water to support the aquifers or take cropland out of use. The effects of climate change are necessitating wholesale changes in how water is managed in California, the state Department of Water Resources wrote in aJune, 2018 white paper. Overview. If someone can point to a hole one foot by one foot by one foot, Ill go and put water in it., Borens colleague at Sustainable Conservation, Daniel Mountjoy, said more than 120 million acre-feet of groundwater has been pumped out of California aquifers in the Central Valley in the last 70 or 80 years. A two-decades long drought has hit the Colorado River hard, causing its massive reservoirs, Lake Powell and Lake Mead, to plummet. Irrigation districts and groundwater sustainability agencies dont have a common approach to the question of credit. We never get the recovery to replace what were drawing down, what were using during the dry years.. And thats what were looking to see.. The state has received reports of 249 dry household wells this year. Large parts of the state are now free of drought, according to the federal government's Drought Monitor, which looks at rainfall and soil moisture. Now the states weather has taken a violent swing in the other direction. A lot of it will end up rolling out to the ocean. She said state officials are working with local agencies to expand these efforts and improve the permitting process for more recharge projects. A variety of supply sources and methods are used to intentionally recharge aquifers. Decades of drought have taken their toll, and experts say that deeper issues need to be addressed before California can be fully-drought free. They estimated that groundwater losses since 2003 have totaled about 36 million acre-feet, or about 1.3 times the full water-storing capacity of Lake Mead, the countrys largest reservoir. Now, the state is trying to refill its aquifers. Now the Corps is working with tools developed by the Scripps Institute of Oceanography at the University of California at San Diego that facilitate what are calledForecast-Informed Reservoir Operations. Fisher is also a director at UC Water, which is currently supporting several new recharge projects, including floodplain recharge and agricultural field flooding. In wet years, we get a little bit of a recovery, and then in dry years, when theres not a lot of surface water or snowmelt, we tend to hit the groundwater really hard, Reager said. In some parts of the Sierra Nevada, more than 55 feet of snow have fallen. He and other scientists plan to track that as the snow melts and runoff courses through the Central Valley over the next several months. Facebook, Follow us on
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