Remote sensing is a viable tool for mapping soil salinity in agricultural lands

University of California, Davis (UC Davis) | April 7th, 2017

Replenishing Groundwater in the San Joaquin Valley

Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) | April 1st, 2018

The San Joaquin Valley—which has the biggest imbalance between groundwater pumping and replenishment in the state—is ground zero for implementing the 2014 Sustainable

The San Joaquin Valley—which has the biggest imbalance between groundwater pumping and replenishment in the state—is ground zero for implementing the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). Expanding groundwater recharge could help local water users bring their basins into balance and make a dent in the long-term deficit of nearly 2 million acre-feet per year. The experience with recharge in 2017?the first wet year since the enactment of SGMA?offers valuable insights in how to expand recharge. A survey of valley water districts’ current recharge efforts revealed strong interest in the practice, and a number of constraints. The following actions are needed to better capitalize on future opportunities: Clarify rules on water available for recharge. The State Water Board needs to develop an expeditious process for enabling water users to capture surface water when it is available. Beyond the legal aspects of establishing rights for diversion and storage, an essential part of this process is technical: developing a simple, rapid way to determine when river flows exceed water required for environmental purposes and downstream users. Evaluate infrastructure capacity. One of the key challenges for expanding recharge is that most available flows are in the northern part of the valley, while most of the overdraft?and best recharge lands?are in the south. In addition, these flows are mainly available for just a few months. A top priority is to evaluate opportunities for improving the use of existing infrastructure (conveyance facilities, surface reservoirs, and recharge basins) and determine where additional investments are warranted. A big bottleneck is likely to be regional conveyance, which is inadequate for capturing and moving high flows to suitable recharge locations. Improve recharge on farmland. Active recharge on farmland may be one of the most promising ways to capture water cost-effectively in wetter years, but it is low relative to its potential. Significantly ramping up this practice will require addressing a suite of technical issues and establishing incentives. Address regulatory barriers. State and federal agencies need to improve processes for approving construction of new recharge projects, moving recharge water through their conveyance facilities, and enabling more flexibility in where water is stored. Water managers and growers also need guidelines from the state for implementing on-farm recharge in ways that are consistent with water quality rules. Strengthen groundwater accounting. Better accounting of water going into and out of groundwater basins is key to sustainable management. It is also needed for developing incentives for growers to recharge, encouraging recharge partnerships, and informing decisions on new investments. Making the most of recharge opportunities will require high levels of cooperation among a wide variety of stakeholders. Local and regional partnerships?for capturing and moving water efficiently, making new investments, and devising projects that bring multiple benefits?are key to helping the region manage this critical resource over the long-term.

Report of the Board of Commissioners on the Irrigation of the San Joaquin, Tulare, and Sacramento Valleys of the State of California

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | July 15th, 1874

Report on an Integrated Regional Water Management Plan for the San Joaquin Valley of California

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) | May 1st, 2016

A major investment has been made through California voter-approved general obligation bonds to incentivize regional water infrastructure and management solutions that imp

A major investment has been made through California voter-approved general obligation bonds to incentivize regional water infrastructure and management solutions that improve self-sufficiency, reduce water use impacts and support environmental protection and restoration. The program, put into California water statutes in 2002, and managed by the California State Department of Water Resources (DWR), is called Integrated Regional Water Management Planning (IRWMP). This planning tool, along with other water management strategies, actions and activities that have emerged, were ultimately intended to be elevated to an aggregate effort for the entire San Joaquin Valley into a Valley-wide integrated water plan. The aggregate effort was included as a goal in federal legislation (PL 111-11, Section 10101). The legislation included funding for the California Water Institute (CWI) at California State University, Fresno to prepare a report on the Valley-wide activities.

Revised Groundwater Sustainability Plan County of Fresno GSA Management Area A & Management Area B Delta-Mendota Subbasin

County of Fresno | July 20th, 2022

The Delta-Mendota Subbasin (Basin 5-022.07 in the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) Bulletin 118) (Subbasin) is a high priority Subbasin that has been assign

The Delta-Mendota Subbasin (Basin 5-022.07 in the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) Bulletin 118) (Subbasin) is a high priority Subbasin that has been assigned a critical overdraft designation by DWR. The Subbasin consists of 24 Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSA) who together created six individual GSA groups, each preparing a GSP in a coordinated manner as required by SGMA. The County of Fresno elected to serve as the GSA for County areas within the Subbasin that are not included in other GSAs. The GSP group consists of two individual GSA’s Management Area A (MAA) and Management Area B (MAB) and are collectively referred to as Fresno County Management Areas (FCMA).

River-Aquifer Interactions, Geologic Heterogeneity, and Low-Flow Management

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | ?

Low river flows are commonly controlled by river-aquifer exchange, the magnitude of which is governed by hydraulic properties of both aquifer and aquitard mater

Low river flows are commonly controlled by river-aquifer exchange, the magnitude of which is governed by hydraulic properties of both aquifer and aquitard materials beneath the river. Low flows are often important ecologically. Numerical simulations were used to assess how textural heterogeneity of an alluvial system influences river seepage and low flows. The Cosumnes River in California was used as a test case. Declining fall flows in the Cosumnes River have threatened Chinook salmon runs. A ground water–surface water model for the lower river basin was developed, which incorporates detailed geostatistical simulations of aquifer heterogeneity. Six different realizations of heterogeneity and a homogenous model were run for a 3-year period. Net annual seepage from the river was found to be similar among the models. However, spatial distribution of seepage along the channel, water table configuration and the level of local connection, and disconnection between the river and aquifer showed strong variations among the different heterogeneous models. Most importantly, the heterogeneous models suggest that river seepage losses can be reduced by local reconnections, even when the regional water table remains well below the riverbed. The percentage of river channel responsible for 50% of total river seepage ranged from 10% to 26% in the heterogeneous models as opposed to 23% in the homogeneous model. Differences in seepage between the models resulted in up to 13 d difference in the number of days the river was open for salmon migration during the critical fall months in one given year.

Root Creek Water District Groundwater Sustainability Agency Groundwater Sustainability Plan

Root Creek Water District | November 11th, 2019

Root Creek Water District Groundwater Sustainability Plan

Root Creek Water District | March 20th, 2023

Root Creek Water District Groundwater Sustainability Plan

Root Creek Water District | November 11th, 2019

The RCWDGSA covers almost 10,000 acres in southeast Madera County located southwest of the intersection of State Highway 41 and Avenue 12 along the banks of and just nort

The RCWDGSA covers almost 10,000 acres in southeast Madera County located southwest of the intersection of State Highway 41 and Avenue 12 along the banks of and just north of the San Joaquin River. In size, the GSA accounts for less than 3 percent of the land area within the Madera Basin. The District, which lies wholly within the GSA has recently contracted for surface water supplies from the Madera Irrigation District (MID) and the Wonderful Nut Orchards for up to 17,000 acre-feet (af) of surface water in a given year. The District has also recently completed the first phase of an agricultural conveyance and distribution system that has the ability to deliver surface water to approximately 2,500 acres of farmland. Since its completion, the system has delivered approximately 16,382af of surface water to date in the past three years.To accomplish these achievements the district has invested more than 12 million dollars. While large, the purchase and delivery of surface water supplies are crucial to the long-term groundwater sustainability of not only the District and the GSAbut also the region and the subbasin.

Ruling on Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction, Case No. Bcv-22-103220-Gap, Bring Back the Kern et al v. City of Bakersfield et al

Superior Court of California, County of Kern | October 30th, 2023