GRACE satellite observations reveal the severity of recent water over-consumption in the United States

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | August 18th, 2017

Changes in the climate and population growth will critically impact the future supply and demand of water, leading to large uncertainties for sustainable resour

Changes in the climate and population growth will critically impact the future supply and demand of water, leading to large uncertainties for sustainable resource management. In the absence of on-the-ground measurements to provide spatially continuous, high-resolution information on water supplies, satellite observations can provide essential insight. Here, we develop a technique using observations from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite to evaluate the sustainability of surface water and groundwater use over the continental United States. We determine the annual total water availability for 2003–2015 using the annual variability in GRACE-derived total water storage for 18 major watersheds. The long-term sustainable water quantity available to humans is calculated by subtracting an annual estimate of the water needed to maintain local ecosystems, and the resulting water volumes are compared to reported consumptive water use to determine a sustainability fraction. We find over-consumption is highest in the southwest US, where increasing stress trends were observed in all five basins and annual consumptive use exceeded 100% availability twice in the Lower Colorado basin during 2003–2015. By providing a coarse-scale evaluation of sustainable water use from satellite and ground observations, the established framework serves as a blueprint for future large-scale water resource monitoring.

Grassland Groundwater Sustainability Agency Groundwater Sustainability Plan

Grassland Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GGSA) | January 17th, 2020

*Cover gives draft date of December but consulting engineer signature is for 1/17/2020

*Cover gives draft date of December but consulting engineer signature is for 1/17/2020

Grassland Groundwater Sustainability Agency Revised Groundwater Sustainability Plan

Grassland Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GGSA) | July 8th, 2022

This GSP, including the Common Chapter, has been revised (changes are shown in Appendix G) to address items of concern raised by DWR in its initial “Incomplete” Deter

This GSP, including the Common Chapter, has been revised (changes are shown in Appendix G) to address items of concern raised by DWR in its initial “Incomplete” Determination Letter dated January 21, 2022. Every effort was made to ensure that this revised GSP and the revised Common Chapter are consistent. In the event of an inconsistency, the revised Common Chapter controls. The Grassland Plan Area will continue to be sustainable by maintaining the historically balanced groundwater system in order to avoid causing significant and unreasonable undesirable impacts to beneficial users of groundwater as they relate to the six sustainability indicators. The Plan Area participants are committed to continued coordination with neighboring GSP areas and neighboring subbasins in order to aid in the localized and statewide groundwater sustainability goals as defined by each GSP and Subbasin. Due to size, this file has been divided. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7

Gravelley Ford Water District Groundwater Sustainability Plan

Gravelly Ford Water District (GFWD) | August 12th, 2019

Gravelly Ford Water District Groundwater Sustainability Plan

Gravelly Ford Water District (GFWD) | March 19th, 2023

In 2022, the Technical representatives for the four GSPs representing the seven GSAs in the Madera Basin started meeting to revise the four GSP Plans to resolve deficienc

In 2022, the Technical representatives for the four GSPs representing the seven GSAs in the Madera Basin started meeting to revise the four GSP Plans to resolve deficiencies identified by the DWR in their review of the four GSP plans as stated in the September 2022 Incomplete determination letter. During the period from September 2022 through March 2023 the group also had meetings with DWR staff to establish direction on the recommendations in the DWR Incomplete letter. This Incomplete letter established a 180-day period to provide a revised GSP to address the deficiencies. The Technical group developed a corrective action plan to address the items identified by DWR staff in the Incomplete letter to address the noted deficiencies. During the last quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023 the four GSPs revised their individual plans to coordinate approaches and methodologies that would provide similar language and approach across the Madera Subbasin, those items being: • Resolve the potential deficiencies identified by DWR in their September 2022 incomplete determination letter, and discussed during five DWR consultation meetings between November 2022 and January 2023; • Summarize the progressive implementation actions taken by the GSAs since submission of the GSP in January 2020; • Recognize the Madera Subbasin GSAs’ clear and formal commitment to fund and implement a Domestic Well Mitigation Program beginning no later than January 1, 2024, including the execution of a memorandum of understanding (MOU); and • Reaffirm their commitment to implementing the GSP and achieving sustainable groundwater conditions by 2040.

Greater Kaweah Groundwater Sustainability Agency 2022 First Amended Groundwater Susteainability Plan

Greater Kaweah Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GKGSA) | July 20th, 2022

Due to size, this file has been divided. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10

Due to size, this file has been divided. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10

Ground water in Pahrump, Mesquite, and Ivanpah Valleys, Nevada and California

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | July 1st, 1921

Ground Water in the Central Valley, California - A Summary Report

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | June 1st, 1991

The agricultural productivity of the Central Valley depends on irrigation. Half of the 22 million acre-feet of irrigation water applied annually is ground water. The va

The agricultural productivity of the Central Valley depends on irrigation. Half of the 22 million acre-feet of irrigation water applied annually is ground water. The valley is a long, narrow structural trough filled with about 32,000 feet of sediment in the south and as much as 50,000 feet in the north. Nearly all the fresh ground water is contained in the continental rocks and deposits younger than Eocene age. Streamflow, an important factor in recharging the aquifer system, is influenced by precipitation in the mountains surrounding the valley. The majority of recharge from infiltration of streamflow occurs on the east side of the valley. Ground-water pumpage, which greatly exceeds the natural recharge rate, has dramatically altered the ground-water flow in the Central Valley. During the 1960's and 1970's, the recharge rate was more than five times that of the predevelopment period and was largely derived from percolation of imported surface water or recirculated pumped ground water rather than precipitation and recharge from streams. Prior to development, most ground water was discharged as evapotranspiration; however, in recent years, most discharge has been well pumpage. Computer simulation of the Central Valley aquifer system suggests that the total flow through the system has increased from about 2 million acre-feet per year to nearly 12 million acre-feet per year. The vertical movement of ground water has been artificially enhanced by many of the 100,000 irrigation wells that contain long intervals of perforated casing. When unpumped, these wells permit vertical flow between permeable layers within the aquifer system. The total fresh ground water presently (1986) in storage in the upper 1,000 feet of the aquifer system is about 800 million acre-feet. During the 1960's and 1970's, ground water in storage was depleted at an average rate of 800,000 acre-feet annually. In the San Joaquin Valley from the 1940's to the late 1960's, substantial withdrawals of ground water were accompanied by hundreds of feet of head decline. This head decline caused inelastic compaction of fine-grained beds, resulting in land subsidence that is unequaled anywhere else in the world. More than one-half of the San Joaquin Valley (or about 5,200 square miles) underwent subsidence of more than 1 foot. In one location, subsidence exceeded 29 feet. Within the areas of heavy withdrawals, subsidence is greatest where the aquifer system contains thick sections of montmorillonite clay. Land subsidence created engineering and economic problems, including damage to canals and drainage systems, and loss of irrigation wells caused by casing failure. More recently (since the drought of 1976-77), surface-water imports have increased, ground-water pumpage has decreased, and in places, ground-water levels have recovered. Land subsidence has virtually ceased; however, it could resume with increased pumpage, if water levels decline below previous lows. Ground-water quality in the Central Valley is generally influenced by the water from streams that are a major source of recharge. In general, water on the east side of the valley and from east-side streams contains low concentrations of dissolved solids compared to water on the west side and from west-side streams. Concentrations of dissolved solids in ground water generally are lower in the northern part of the valley than in the southern part. There are, however, localized exceptions in many places through the valley. Local concentrations of boron, chloride, and nitrate in the ground water of the Central Valley are large enough to be a problem either to crops or humans. Human activities have some influence on the concentration and location of water-quality problems in the valley. Significant increases in concentrations of dissolved solids and, specifically, dissolved nitrate indicate that ground-water quality is degrading as a result of increasing application of fertilizer in agricultural areas and the growth of urban population. Pesticides such as dibromochloropropane (DBCP) as well as selenium and other trace elements in agricultural drainage water cause ecological and health problems in the San Joaquin Valley.

Ground Water in the Redding Basin, Shasta and Tehama Counties, California

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | December 31st, 1983

The Redding Basin covers about 510 square miles in the northern part of the Central Valley of California and is surrounded by the Cascade Range, Klamath Mountains,and Coa

The Redding Basin covers about 510 square miles in the northern part of the Central Valley of California and is surrounded by the Cascade Range, Klamath Mountains,and CoastRanges. It is separated from the main part of the valley by the Red Bluff Arch, a subsurface geologic structure. Ground water in the Redding Basin is obtained principally from wells tapping continental deposits of Tertiary and (or) Quaternary age. These deposits are arranged in a synclinal structure that trends and plunges south- ward. They are deposited on the Chico Formation, a marine sedimentary unit, and a basement complex composed of older igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. Recharge to the Redding ground-water basin is from subsurface inflow; infiltration of precipitation and applied irrigation water; and percolation from stream san dcreeks.

Ground-water and surface-water relations along the Mojave River, Southern California

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | July 1st, 1996

The Mojave River and the associated floodplain aquifer are important water supplies in the Mojave Desert of Southern California. The river and aquifer, in many areas,

The Mojave River and the associated floodplain aquifer are important water supplies in the Mojave Desert of Southern California. The river and aquifer, in many areas, are in excellent hydraulic connection, and when flow conditions change in one, the other almost always is affected. To better understand these relations, records of gaging stations were analyzed to determine the frequency and duration of historical streamflow. Annual ground-water recharge from the river during water years 1931-94 was estimated from an accounting of all streamflow accretions and losses. Annual recharge ranged from about 24,000 to 460,000 acre-feet and averaged about 96,000 acre-feet. Channel-geometry regression techniques were used to estimate runoff of ungaged ephemeral streams that are tributary to the river. Water-table and gravity changes were used to estimate specific yield of the aquifer and changes in ground-water storage following storm runoff during the winters of 1992-94. In addition, streamflow hydrographs were analyzed to estimate both ground-water discharge to the river (base flow) and historical streamflow depletion caused by ground-water pumping and evapotranspiration. Ground-water pumpage from the flood-plain aquifer was about 120,000 acre-feet during water year 1994. Annual evapotranspiration along the river probably ranges from about 10,000 to 30,000 acre-feet. Factors controlling the exchange of water are identified in this report on the basis of the historical response of the river-aquifer system to stress (stormflows and pumping). Also identified are reaches of the river that are hydraulically suitable for artificial recharge.