Tag: groundwater recharge
-
Managed Aquifer Recharge on Agriculture Lands: Infiltration Basins, Flood-MAR and Regional Variability
By Sarah Sarfaty Epstein Groundwater has long been the unseen lifeblood of irrigators across the state, and some are now taking an active role in replenishing it. When and where surface water has been insufficient, Californians have drilled down, steadily depleting the aquifer, as shown in Figure 1. California’s cumulative groundwater overdraft is over 100…
-
Salmon and the Subsurface
By David Dralle, Gabe Rossi, Phil Georgakakos, Jesse Hahm, Daniella Rempe, Monica Blanchard, Mary Power, Bill Dietrich, and Stephanie Carlson You’ve probably noticed that some streams flow year-round while others are seasonally dry, despite receiving similar amounts of rainfall. Through a recent NSF-funded effort (“Eel River Critical Zone Observatory”), we learned several things about how…
-
Groundwater reform more important than water bond
By Jay Lund and Thomas Harter California lawmakers recently found extraordinary consensus in approving a $7.5 billion water bond for the November election ballot. If the measure wins, however, future generations will not necessarily reap many of the promised water supply benefits without additional actions. To significantly improve its resilience to drought, California must quickly…
-
Groundwater and climate change in California
By Andrew Fisher, Graham Fogg, Joshua Viers, Jay Lund, Ruth Langridge and Patricia Holden For all the talk of climate change adaptation, California has yet to comprehensively address the effects of warmer temperatures and changing weather patterns on the state’s limited groundwater resources. To start the process, several of the leading University of California faculty…
-
Water to the sea isn’t wasted
By Jeffrey Mount In December of 2010 we had a remarkable set of storms. Relentless rain and snowfall hit both southern and northern California. The news reports about these events followed a predictable pattern, including the inevitable articles that bemoan floodwaters as “wasted” because they discharge to the sea. This generalization about floodwaters or any…