Origin of methane and sources of high concentrations in Los Angeles groundwater

American Geophysical Union (AGU) | February 12th, 2018

High dissolved methane gas concentrations were measured in 37 groundwater samples collected in the Los Angeles Basin, California. The origin of the methane was identified

High dissolved methane gas concentrations were measured in 37 groundwater samples collected in the Los Angeles Basin, California. The origin of the methane was identified as microbial activity rather than from the burial and heating of organic material. The source of the methane was microbial production in shallow, oxygen-depleted aquifers rather than the upward migration or leakage of methane associated with oil fields in the basin.

Overpumping leads to California groundwater arsenic threat

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | June 5th, 2018

Water resources are being challenged to meet domestic, agricultural, and industrial needs. To complement finite surface water supplies that are being stressed b

Water resources are being challenged to meet domestic, agricultural, and industrial needs. To complement finite surface water supplies that are being stressed by changes in precipitation and increased demand, groundwater is increasingly being used. Sustaining groundwater use requires considering both water quantity and quality. A unique challenge for groundwater use, as compared with surface water, is the presence of naturally occurring contaminants within aquifer sediments, which can enter the water supply. Here we find that recent groundwater pumping, observed through land subsidence, results in an increase in aquifer arsenic concentrations in the San Joaquin Valley of California. By comparison, historic groundwater pumping shows no link to current groundwater arsenic concentrations. Our results support the premise that arsenic can reside within pore water of clay strata within aquifers and is released due to overpumping. We provide a quantitative model for using subsidence as an indicator of arsenic concentrations correlated with groundwater pumping.

Owens Valley Groundwater Basin Final Groundwater Sustainability Plan

Owens Valley Groundwater Authority | December 9th, 2021

The Owens Valley Groundwater Basin and Fish Slough subbasin (Basin) were assigned a low priority status by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and are not

The Owens Valley Groundwater Basin and Fish Slough subbasin (Basin) were assigned a low priority status by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and are not required to be managed by a Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA). GSAs in low priority basins are encouraged to complete a GSP. Following the adoption of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), the Basin was originally ranked as medium priority, but DWR proposed it be assigned high priority and ultimately ranked the Basin as low priority in December 2019. Despite the uncertainty in the Basin ranking before the final ranking was announced the Owens Valley Groundwater Authority (OVGA) elected to prepare a GSP for the Basin. This document is the GSP, and it was developed in accordance with Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) statutory and regulatory requirements. This GSP describes the Basin, develops quantifiable management objectives that account for the interests of beneficial groundwater uses and users, and identifies a group of management actions that will maintain sustainable conditions in the Basin for 20 years after plan adoption. This GSP also contains steps a GSA could undertake to manage pumping to address declining water levels in a portion of the Basin. Preparation and implementation of the GSP by the OVGA is discretionary as long as the Basin remains very low or low priority. This GSP does not pertain to lands in the Basin that are exempt from SGMA, e.g. Federal and state owned lands, Tribal Reservations, and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) lands managed pursuant to the Long Term Water Agreement (LTWA). LADWP lands in Inyo County are referred to as adjudicated; other lands in the Basin are referred to as GSP lands in this document. Los Angeles-owned lands in the Basin in Mono County are not exempt from SGMA. Due to size, the file has been divided into five parts. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

Paso Robles Subbasin Groundwater Sustainability Plan

Paso Robles Subbasin Cooperative Committee | November 13th, 2019

Past Groundwater Drought in the North American Cordillera

American Geophysical Union (AGU) | November 11th, 2024

Petaluma Valley Groundwater Sustainability Plan

Petaluma Valley Groundwater Sustainability Agency | December 8th, 2021

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

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

Piru Basin Groundwater Sustainability Plan

Fillmore and Piru Basins Groundwater Sustainability Agency | December 16th, 2021

The Piru Basin (the Basin) is managed (along with the downslope Fillmore Basin) by the Fillmore and Piru Basins Groundwater Sustainability Agency (Agency). The Basin is p

The Piru Basin (the Basin) is managed (along with the downslope Fillmore Basin) by the Fillmore and Piru Basins Groundwater Sustainability Agency (Agency). The Basin is planned to remain sustainable over the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) implementation and sustainability period, based on the current understanding of historical, current (2019), and projected (2022 through 2072) groundwater conditions in relation to the sustainability indicators specified in SGMA. A sustainability indicator refers to any of the effects caused by groundwater conditions occurring throughout the basin that, when significant and unreasonable, cause undesirable results. The Agency, with consideration of feedback from active stakeholder engagement, has identified and planned for the prevention of significant and unreasonable undesirable results.

Pixley Irrigation District Groundwater Sustainability Plan

Pixley Irrigation District Groundwater Sustainability Agency (PIDGSA) | January 21st, 2020

Pleasant Valley Groundwater Sustainability Plan

Pleasant Valley Groundwater Sustainability Agency | February 22nd, 2022

Potential for Using the Upper Coachella Valley Ground-Water Basin, California, for Storage of Artificially Recharged Water

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | September 15th, 1980

The California Department of Water Resources, through the Future Water Supply Program, is investigating the use of ground-water basins for storage of State Wate

The California Department of Water Resources, through the Future Water Supply Program, is investigating the use of ground-water basins for storage of State Water Project water in order to help meet maximum annual entitlements to water project contractors. This report presents a preliminary evaluation of the geohydrologic fac- tors affecting storage of water by artificial recharge in the upper Coachella Valley, Calif. The ground-water basin of the upper Coachella Valley seems to be geologically suitable for large-scale artificial recharge. A minimum of 900,000 acre-feet of water could probably be stored in the basin without raising basinwide water levels above those that existed in 1945. Preliminary tests indicate that a long-term artificial recharge rate of 5 feet per day may be feasible for spreading grounds in the basin if such factors as sediment and bacterial clogging can be controlled.