Projecting groundwater storage changes in California’s Central Valley

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | August 27th, 2018

Accurate and detailed knowledge of California’s groundwater is of paramount importance for statewide water resources planning and management, and to sustain a

Accurate and detailed knowledge of California’s groundwater is of paramount importance for statewide water resources planning and management, and to sustain a multi-billion-dollar agriculture industry during prolonged droughts. In this study, we use water supply and demand information from California’s Department of Water Resources to develop an aggregate groundwater storage model for California’s Central Valley. The model is evaluated against 34 years of historic estimates of changes in groundwater storage derived from the United States Geological Survey’s Central Valley Hydrologic Model (USGS CVHM) and NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (NASA GRACE) satellites. The calibrated model is then applied to predict future changes in groundwater storage for the years 2015–2050 under various precipitation scenarios from downscaled climate projections. We also discuss and project potential management strategies across different annual supply and demand variables and how they affect changes in groundwater storage. All simulations support the need for collective statewide management intervention to prevent continued depletion of groundwater availability.

Pulse Flows Component of the Water Storage Investment Program Groundwater Projects Supplemental Environmental Impact Report

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | July 30th, 2024

This final supplemental environmental impact report (Final SEIR) has been prepared for the Pulse Flows Component of the Water Storage Investment Program (WSIP) Groundwate

This final supplemental environmental impact report (Final SEIR) has been prepared for the Pulse Flows Component of the Water Storage Investment Program (WSIP) Groundwater Projects (Pulse Flows Component). The Final SEIR is a supplement to three certified environmental impact reports (EIRs) prepared pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for three independent WSIP projects (referred to herein as the “WSIP Groundwater Projects”): (1) the Chino Basin Program, (2) the Kern Fan Groundwater Storage Project (Kern Fan), and (3) the Willow Springs Water Bank Project (Willow Springs).

Pumping and Ground-Water Storage Depletion in Las Vegas Valley, Nevada, 1955-1974

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | July 1st, 1976

Pumping for the masses: evolution of groundwater management in metropolitan Los Angeles

Geo Journal (Springer) | August 7th, 2015

Groundwater supports many aspects of human life. In cities, groundwater can provide a cost-effective source of water for drinking and industrial uses, while groundwater b

Groundwater supports many aspects of human life. In cities, groundwater can provide a cost-effective source of water for drinking and industrial uses, while groundwater basins provide storage. The role of groundwater in a city’s water supply tends to change over time. In the Los Angeles metropolitan area, groundwater is critical. Over decades, users in the region’s many basins allocated annual pumping rights to groundwater among users through adjudications. These rights were determined through collective processes over decades, which contributed to the complex array of public and private organizations involved in water management. The rights also continue to evolve. We analyzed changes in the distribution of groundwater rights over time for adjudicated basins in Southern Los Angeles County. Results indicate that groundwater rights are increasingly: (1) controlled or regulated by public institutions and municipalities, and (2) consolidated among larger users. Yet, both the percentage of total supplies provided by groundwater, as well as the distribution of groundwater rights, varies widely among cities and communities throughout Los Angeles. As metropolitan Los Angeles faces reduced water imports and emphasizes local water reliance, access to pumping rights and storage capacity in groundwater basins will become even more vital. We discuss implications of our results for future urban water management.

Recent decreases in snow water storage in western North America

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | May 22nd, 2023

Mountain snowpacks act as natural water towers, storing winter precipitation until summer months when downstream water demand is greatest. We introduce a Snow Storage Ind

Mountain snowpacks act as natural water towers, storing winter precipitation until summer months when downstream water demand is greatest. We introduce a Snow Storage Index (SSI), representing the temporal phase difference between daily precipitation and surface water inputs—sum of rainfall and snowmelt into terrestrial systems—weighted by relative magnitudes. Different from snow water equivalent or snow fraction, the SSI represents the degree to which the snowpack delays the timing and magnitude of surface water inputs relative to precipitation, a fundamental component of how snow water storage influences the hydrologic cycle. In western North America, annual SSI has decreased (p 

Report on Colorado River Evaporation Loss

Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) | December 12th, 2022

Shasta Lake Water Resources Investigation

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) | July 1st, 2015

The purpose of this Shasta Lake Water Resources Investigation (SLWRI) Feasibility Report is to document the U.S. Department of Interior (Interior), Bureau of Reclamation

The purpose of this Shasta Lake Water Resources Investigation (SLWRI) Feasibility Report is to document the U.S. Department of Interior (Interior), Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and cooperating agencies’ evaluation of the potential enlargement of Shasta Dam and Reservoir to (1) improve anadromous fish survival in the upper Sacramento River, (2) increase water supply reliability in the Central Valley of California, and (3) address related water resource problems, needs, and opportunities. This Final Feasibility Report presents the results of planning, engineering, environmental, social, economic, and financial studies and potential benefits and effects of alternative plans, and is a companion document to the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), published under separate cover. This Final Feasibility Report, along with the Final EIS, will be used by the U.S. Congress to determine the type and extent of Federal interest in enlarging Shasta Dam and Reservoir. The SLWRI is a feasibility study that was authorized by Congress in 1980 in Public Law 96-375 and is being conducted by Reclamation, in coordination with cooperating agencies, other resource agencies, stakeholders, and the public. The SLWRI is being conducted consistent with the 1983 U.S. Water Resources Council Economic and Environmental Principles and Guidelines for Water and Related Land Resources Implementation Studies (P&G), Reclamation directives and standards, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and other pertinent Federal, State of California (State), and local laws and policies. The SLWRI is one of five surface water storage studies recommended in the July 2000 CALFED Bay-Delta Program (CALFED) Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement/Report (PEIS/R) and August 2000 Programmatic Record of Decision (ROD). Preliminary studies in support of the CALFED PEIS/R considered more than 50 surface water storage sites throughout California and recommended more detailed study of the five sites identified in the CALFED Programmatic ROD. The Final EIS, accompanying this Final Feasibility Report, tiers to the CALFED PEIS/R.

Short-lived pause in Central California subsidence after heavy winter precipitation of 2017

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) | August 29th, 2018

The Tulare Basin in Central California is a site of intensive agricultural activity and extraction of groundwater, with pronounced ground subsidence and degradation of wa

The Tulare Basin in Central California is a site of intensive agricultural activity and extraction of groundwater, with pronounced ground subsidence and degradation of water resources over the past century. Spatially extensive observations of ground displacements from satellite-based remote sensing allow us to infer the response of the aquifer system to changes in usage and to marked recharge events such as the heavy winter rainfall in 2017. Radar imagery from the Sentinel-1a/b satellites (November 2014 to October 2017) illuminates secular and seasonal trends modulated by changes in withdrawal rates and the magnitude of winter precipitation. Despite the increased precipitation in early 2017 that led to a marked decrease, or in some areas, reversal, of subsidence rates, subsidence returned to rates observed during the drought within a matter of months.

Sites Reservoir Project Final Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement

Sites Project Authority (SPA) | November 19th, 2023

This executive summary provides background information for the Sites Reservoir Project (Project), identifies the purpose of preparing this Final Environmental Impact Repo

This executive summary provides background information for the Sites Reservoir Project (Project), identifies the purpose of preparing this Final Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIR/EIS), describes the Project alternatives considered, and identifies the environmental effects that would result under each alternative. The environmental effects are evaluated in accordance with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and mitigation measures are recommended where applicable. The Sites Project Authority (Authority) is the lead agency under CEQA, and the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) is the lead agency under NEPA.

Soil suitability index identifies potential areas for groundwater banking on agricultural lands

California Agriculture (UCANR) | ?

Groundwater pumping chronically exceeds natural recharge in many agricultural regions in California. A common method of recharging groundwater — when surface

Groundwater pumping chronically exceeds natural recharge in many agricultural regions in California. A common method of recharging groundwater — when surface water is available — is to deliberately flood an open area, allowing water to percolate into an aquifer. However, open land suitable for this type of recharge is scarce. Flooding agricultural land during fallow or dormant periods has the potential to increase groundwater recharge substantially, but this approach has not been well studied. Using data on soils, topography and crop type, we developed a spatially explicit index of the suitability for groundwater recharge of land in all agricultural regions in California. We identified 3.6 million acres of agricultural land statewide as having Excellent or Good potential for groundwater recharge. The index provides preliminary guidance about the locations where groundwater recharge on agricultural land is likely to be feasible. A variety of institutional, infrastructure and other issues must also be addressed before this practice can be implemented widely.