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Hydro-economic analysis of groundwater pumping for irrigated agriculture in California’s Central Valley, USA

Hydrogeology Journal (Springer) | July 12th, 2015

Summary

As in many places, groundwater in California (USA) is the major alternative water source for agriculture during drought, so groundwater’s availability will drive some i

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Hydrogeology and Simulation of Groundwater Flow in the Lucerne Valley Groundwater Basin, California

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | June 28th, 2022

Summary

The Lucerne Valley is in the southwestern part of the Mojave Desert and is about 75 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California. The Lucerne Valley groundwater basin encom

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Identifying Major Hydrologic Change Drivers in a Highly Managed Transboundary Endorheic Basin: Integrating Hydro-ecological Models and Time-Series Data Mining Techniques

American Geophysical Union (AGU) | August 23rd, 2022

Summary

The fragile balance of endorheic lakes in highly managed semi-arid basins with transboundary water issues has been altered by the intertwined effects of global warming an

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Impact of extreme drought and incentive programs on flooded agriculture and wetlands in California’s Central Valley

PeerJ | June 29th, 2018

Summary

Between 2013 and 2015, a large part of the western United States, including the Central Valley of California, sustained an extreme drought. The Central Valley is recogniz

Between 2013 and 2015, a large part of the western United States, including the Central Valley of California, sustained an extreme drought. The Central Valley is recognized as a region of hemispheric importance for waterbirds, which use flooded agriculture and wetlands as habitat. Thus, the impact of drought on the distribution of surface water needed to be assessed to understand the effects on waterbird habitat availability.Methods: We used remote sensing data to quantify the impact of the recent extreme drought on the timing and extent of waterbird habitat during the non-breeding season (July–May) by examining open water in agriculture (rice, corn, and other crops) and managed wetlands across the Central Valley. We assessed the influence of habitat incentive programs, particularly The Nature Conservancy’s BirdReturns and The Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Waterbird Habitat Enhancement Program (WHEP), at offsetting habitat loss related to drought.Results: Overall, we found statistically significant declines in open water in post-harvest agriculture (45–80% declines) and in managed wetlands (39–60% declines) during the 2013–2015 drought compared to non-drought years during the period of 2000–2011. Crops associated with the San Joaquin Basin, specifically corn, as well as wetlands in that part of the Central Valley exhibited larger reductions in open water than rice and wetlands in the Sacramento Valley. Semi-permanent wetlands on protected lands had significantly lower (39–49%) open water in the drought years than those on non-protected lands while seasonal wetlands on protected lands had higher amounts of open water. A large fraction of the daily open water in rice during certain times of the year, particularly in the fall for BirdReturns (61%) and the winter for WHEP (100%), may have been provided through incentive programs which underscores the contribution of these programs. However, further assessment is needed to know how much the incentive programs directly offset the impact of drought in post-harvest rice by influencing water management or simply supplemented funding for activities that might have been done regardless. Discussion: Our landscape analysis documents the significant impacts of the recent extreme drought on freshwater wetland habitats in the Central Valley, the benefits of incentive programs, and the value of using satellite data to track surface water and waterbird habitats. More research is needed to understand subsequent impacts on the freshwater dependent species that rely on these systems and how incentive programs can most strategically support vulnerable species during future extreme drought.

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Impacts of California’s Ongoing Drought: Agriculture

Pacific Institute | August 26th, 2015

Summary

California’s agriculture sector has exceeded expectations during the most severe drought in recorded history at the cost of massive but unsustainable groundwater pumpin

California’s agriculture sector has exceeded expectations during the most severe drought in recorded history at the cost of massive but unsustainable groundwater pumping. Continued groundwater overdraft, while reducing the economic impacts of the drought for the agricultural sector now, has shifted the burden to others, including current and future generations forced to dig deeper wells, find alternative drinking water sources, and repair infrastructure damaged by subsidence. That is the conclusion of the new study, Impacts of California’s Ongoing Drought: Agriculture, released today by the Pacific Institute, an independent global water think tank. This new study is the first comprehensive analysis of the actual impacts of the drought on California agricultural revenue and employment through 2014 – the last year for which data are available. The study, drawing on data from the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Survey and the California Employment Development Department, analyzes acreage, revenue, and employment figures from 2000-2014. Production costs, impacts on animal or nursery products, or regional impacts are not examined because these data are not yet available. The study’s results provide critical insight into how the state can maintain a healthy agriculture sector in a future likely to see less water, more extreme weather, and greater uncertainty. California remains the largest agricultural producer in the U.S. in total output and in exports. During the drought, California’s agriculture sector has experienced record-high crop revenue and employment. Last year farmers harvested 640,000 fewer acres, which was 9 percent below pre-drought levels, yet crop revenue remained strong. Indeed, crop revenue peaked in 2013 at $34 billion – the highest level in California history. In 2014, crop revenue declined by $480 million, representing a 1.4 percent reduction from 2013 levels. All economic estimates have been corrected for inflation. Statewide agriculture-related jobs also reached a record-high of 417,000 people in 2014, highlighting the sector’s ability to withstand the reduction of available water.

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Impacts of the California Drought from 2007 to 2009: Surprising Outcomes for California’s Agriculture, Energy, and Environment

Pacific Institute | June 16th, 2011

Summary

California’s three-year drought, which ended with this season’s cool and wet weather, had complicated and serious impacts that have been poorly understood and reporte

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Implementation of the Agricultural Water Management Planning Act: A Review of Agricultural Water Management Plans

Pacific Institute | August 29th, 2013

Summary

Twenty-four of California’s agricultural water districts have submitted agricultural water management plans, leaving 55 districts out of compliance with the requirement

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Inadequate Government-Led Water-Quality Monitoring Hinders Improvement Efforts in the Salton Sea

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) | September 4th, 2025

Summary

California’s largest inland body of water, the Salton Sea, has faced severe environmental degradation, leaving lasting impacts on surrounding desert communities. Situat

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Increasing soil organic carbon to mitigate greenhouse gases and increase climate resiliency for California

California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) | August 1st, 2018

Summary

Rising air temperatures are projected to continue to drive up urban, agricultural, and rangeland water use, straining both surface and groundwater resources. Scie

Rising air temperatures are projected to continue to drive up urban, agricultural, and rangeland water use, straining both surface and groundwater resources. Scientific studies have shown that managing farms, ranches, and public lands to increase soil carbon can increase soil water- holding capacity and increase hydrologic benefits such as increased baseflows and aquifer recharge, reduced flooding and erosion, and reduced climate-related water deficits. Coincident improvements in forage and crop yields are also indicated, while simultaneously sequestering carbon, reducing atmospheric greenhouse gases and mitigating climate change. This study was developed to consider the multiple benefits of increasing the organic matter content of soils across California’s working lands. Study results indicate that a one-time 1⁄4” application of compost to rangelands can lead to carbon sequestration rates in soils that are maximized after approximately 15 years, and more than offset greenhouse gas emissions stimulated by the compost addition for at least five decades longer. Modeled increases in total soil organic matter of 3% enhanced hydrologic benefits across 97% of working lands, and reduced climate change impacts. Economic valuation indicated all benefits increasing over time, demonstrating a large potential for the California carbon market to support incentives in regionalizing the impacts in the coming decades. Socioeconomic and related land use pressures pose barriers to implementing management practices to increase soil organic matter by driving conversion of rangeland to urban or to more greenhouse-gas emission intensive agriculture. Results can be effectively used with land use change scenarios to identify where on California’s working lands hydrologic benefits of soil organic matter enhancement coincide with development risk, highlighting counties in California in which there may be resilience to climate change when strategic soil management and land conservation are combined.

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Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Basin Groundwater Sustainability Plan

Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Authority (IWVGA) | January 14th, 2020

Summary

Currently, the groundwater resources in the Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Basin (IWVGB or Basin) are not being sustainably managed. Overdraft conditions have existed fo

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Hydro-economic analysis of groundwater pumping for irrigated agriculture in California’s Central Valley, USA

Hydrogeology and Simulation of Groundwater Flow in the Lucerne Valley Groundwater Basin, California

Identifying Major Hydrologic Change Drivers in a Highly Managed Transboundary Endorheic Basin: Integrating Hydro-ecological Models and Time-Series Data Mining Techniques

Impact of extreme drought and incentive programs on flooded agriculture and wetlands in California’s Central Valley

Impacts of California’s Ongoing Drought: Agriculture

Impacts of the California Drought from 2007 to 2009: Surprising Outcomes for California’s Agriculture, Energy, and Environment

Implementation of the Agricultural Water Management Planning Act: A Review of Agricultural Water Management Plans

Inadequate Government-Led Water-Quality Monitoring Hinders Improvement Efforts in the Salton Sea

Increasing soil organic carbon to mitigate greenhouse gases and increase climate resiliency for California

Indian Wells Valley Groundwater Basin Groundwater Sustainability Plan

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