Ground-water conditions and potential for artificial recharge in Lucerne Valley, San Bernardino County, California

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | January 2nd, 1979

Ground-water Hydrology of the Hollister and San Juan Valleys 1913-68

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | August 31st, 1972

The Hollister and San Juan Valleys are within the Gilroy-Hollister ground-water basin. That part of the ground-water basin underlying the valleys consists of thre

The Hollister and San Juan Valleys are within the Gilroy-Hollister ground-water basin. That part of the ground-water basin underlying the valleys consists of three subbasins each of which contains two or more ground-water subunits. The subbasin and subunit boundaries are formed by known or postulated faults, folded sedimentary rocks, and igneous rocks. The principal water-bearing units are lenticular beds of sand and gravel interbedded with clay, silt, sand, and gravel, or their locally consolidated equivalents, which range from Pliocene to Holocene in age. Ground water occurs mainly under artesian or semiartesian conditions but also under unconfined (water-table) conditions in areas adjacent to most surface streams and, locally, under perched or semiperched conditions. In 1968 the depth to water in wells ranged from approximately 20 feet above land surface to more than 200 feet below land surface. Water-level differences in wells across the boundaries of adjacent subunits ranged from about 10 to more than 100 feet. Withdrawals of groundwater for irrigation began in 1878. Since that time water levels in wells have declined more than 180 feet in the Hoilister Valley and more than 100 feet in the San Juan Valley. Serious declines in water levels probably did not begin, however, in most of the area until after 1945. Since 1945 large cones of depression have formed in each of the major subbasins. The centers of the cones are approximately one-half mile northeast of Hoilister in the Hollister subbasin, 1% miles northwest of Hollister in the Gilroy-Bolsa subbasin, and one-half mile east of San Juan Bautista in the San Juan subbasin. Ground-water movement beneath both valleys is now toward and into the cones. Ground water in the eastern part of the Hollister Valley locally contains objectionable concentrations of boron and chloride. However, available data indicate that significant changes in the distribution patterns of these constituents have not occurred since 1939.

Ground-Water Resources of Honey Lake Valley, Lassen County, California, and Washoe County, Nevada

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | January 8th, 1990

Honey Lake Valley is a 2,200-square-mile, northwest-trending, topographically closed basin about 35 miles northwest of Reno, Nevada. Unconsolidated basin-fill deposits o

Honey Lake Valley is a 2,200-square-mile, northwest-trending, topographically closed basin about 35 miles northwest of Reno, Nevada. Unconsolidated basin-fill deposits on the valley floor and fractured volcanic rocks in the northern and eastern uplands are the principal aquifers. Ground water in the Nevada part of the basin is being considered as a potential source of public supply to the Reno area. This report describes the ground-water resources of the basin and the potential hydrologic effects of ground-water development in its eastern part. During an average year, about 1.1 million acre-feet of precipitation falls on the 1,700-square-mile study area within the valley, and an estimated 86,000 acre-feet enters the study area as streamflow in the Susan River and Long Valley Creek. Almost 90 percent of this water runs off, evaporates, or is transpired by plants before it can infiltrate and become ground-water recharge; this includes about 130,000 acre-feet per year that reaches Honey Lake as surface-water inflow. About 130,000 acre-feet recharges the aquifer system annually, about 40 percent by direct infiltration of precipitation over the study area and about 60 percent by infiltration of streamflow and irrigation water. Balancing this is an equal amount of ground-water discharge, of which about 65 percent evaporates from the water table or is transpired by phreatophytes, about 30 percent is withdrawn from wells, and about 5 percent leaves the basin as subsurface outflow to the east. A ground-water flow model of the eastern part of the study area, where withdrawals for public supply have been proposed, was used to evaluate components of the water budget and to estimate the long-term hydrologic effects of hypothetical increased development. Results of the evaluation indicate conditions under which a new equilibrium would be established if 15,000 acre-feet of water were withdrawn from the Fish Springs Ranch area annually. The model indicates that, as a result of such an increase in pumpage, water levels would decline more than 100 feet from present (1988) levels in the vicinity of the pumping, and as much as 40 feet at the California-Nevada State line. Evapotranspiration and subsurface outflow to the east would each be reduced by about 60 percent, but hydrologic effects would be minimal at the western boundary of the flow-model area (just east of Honey Lake). Within the modeled area, the simulation indicates that the increased withdrawals would cause the net flow of ground water eastward across the State line to increase from about 700 acre-feet per year to about 2,300 acre-feet per year.

Groundwater Data for Selected Wells Within the Eastern San Joaquin Groundwater Subbasin, California, 2003–8

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | June 1st, 2012

Data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey from 2003 through 2008 in the Eastern San Joaquin Groundwater Subbasin, 80 miles east of San Francisco, California, as p

Data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey from 2003 through 2008 in the Eastern San Joaquin Groundwater Subbasin, 80 miles east of San Francisco, California, as part of a study of the increasing chloride concentrations in groundwater processes. Data collected include geologic, geophysical, chemical, and hydrologic data collected during and after the installation of five multiple-well monitoring sites, from three existing multiple-well sites, and from 79 selected public-supply, irrigation, and domestic wells. Each multiple‑well monitoring site installed as part of this study contained three to five 2-inch diameter polyvinyl chloride (PVC)-cased wells ranging in depth from 68 to 880 feet below land surface. Continuous water-level data were collected from the 19 wells installed at these 5 sites and from 10 existing monitoring wells at 3 additional multiple-well sites in the study area. Thirty‑one electromagnetic logs were collected seasonally from the deepest PVC-cased monitoring well at seven multiple-well sites. About 200 water samples were collected from 79 wells in the study area. Coupled well‑bore flow data and depth-dependent water-quality data were collected from 12 production wells under pumped conditions, and well‑bore flow data were collected from 10 additional wells under unpumped conditions.

Groundwater depletion and sustainability of irrigation in the US High Plains and Central Valley

National Academy of Sciences (NAS) | June 12th, 2012

Aquifer overexploitation could significantly impact crop production in the United States because 60% of irrigation relies on groundwater. Groundwater depletion in

Aquifer overexploitation could significantly impact crop production in the United States because 60% of irrigation relies on groundwater. Groundwater depletion in the irrigated High Plains and California Central Valley accounts for ∼50% of groundwater depletion in the United States since 1900. A newly developed High Plains recharge map shows that high recharge in the northern High Plains results in sustainable pumpage, whereas lower recharge in the central and southern High Plains has resulted in focused depletion of 330 km3 of fossil groundwater, mostly recharged during the past 13,000 y. Depletion is highly localized with about a third of depletion occurring in 4% of the High Plains land area. Extrapolation of the current depletion rate suggests that 35% of the southern High Plains will be unable to support irrigation within the next 30y. Reducing irrigation withdrawals could extend the lifespan of the aquifer but would not result in sustainable management of this fossil groundwater. The Central Valley is a more dynamic, engineered system, with north/south diversions of surface water since the 1950s contributing to ∼7×higher recharge. However, these diversions are regulated because of impacts on endangered species. A newly developed Central Valley Hydrologic Model shows that groundwater depletion since the 1960s, totaling 80 km3, occurs mostly in the south (Tulare Basin) and primarily during droughts. Increasing water storage through artificial recharge of excess surface water in aquifers by up to 3 km3 shows promise for coping with droughts and improv ing sustainability of groundwater resources in the Central Valley.

Groundwater development leads to decreasing arsenic concentrations in the San Joaquin Valley, California

Science of the Total Environment (Elsevier) | January 18th, 2021

In the San Joaquin Valley (SJV), California, about 10% of drinking water wells since 2010 had arsenic concentrations above the U.S. maximum contaminant level of 10μg/L.

In the San Joaquin Valley (SJV), California, about 10% of drinking water wells since 2010 had arsenic concentrations above the U.S. maximum contaminant level of 10μg/L. High concentrations of arsenic are often associated with high pH (greater than 7.8) or reduced geochemical conditions. Although most wells have low arsenic(<3μg/L) and do not have changing arsenic concentrations, this study found that most wells with concentrations above 10μg/L had arsenic trends. Overall, about 24% of wells had time-series trends since 2010 and 59% had paired-sample trends since 2000. Most wells had decreasing arsenic trends, even in wells with higher arsenic concentrations. These wells often had co-detections of increasing nitrate and sulfate trends that reflect oxic groundwater likely derived from agricultural recharge. Wells with increasing arsenic trends were deeper or located in the valley trough where aquifer materials are more fine-grained and where reducing conditions favor arsenic mobility. Wells with arsenic trends also tend to be clustered near areas of higher well density. Groundwater pumping in these areas has likely increased the contribution of younger, more oxic groundwater in wells with declining arsenic or, less frequently, increased the contribution of higher pH or reduced groundwater in wells with rising arsenic. Projections of arsenic trends indicate that 37 wells with high arsenic presently will be below 10μg/L in ten years. Unfortunately, these improvements will be largely offset by 31 wells that are expected to increase above 10μg/L in addition to expected rises in nitrate in wells where arsenic decreased. This study shows how human-altered flow systems can impact the natural geochemical character of water in both beneficial and deleterious ways.

Groundwater Flow Model of the East and South Las Posas Sub-Basins – Preliminary Draft Report

Calleguas Municipal Water District (CMWD) | January 17th, 2018

INTERA Incorporated (INTERA) was retained by the Calleguas Municipal Water District (CMWD) to develop a numerical groundwater model of the East Las Posas Management Area

INTERA Incorporated (INTERA) was retained by the Calleguas Municipal Water District (CMWD) to develop a numerical groundwater model of the East Las Posas Management Area (ELPMA), which includes the locally-recognized east and south sub-basins of the Las Posas Valley Basin (LPVB). Groundwater in the ELPMA is found in a multiple-aquifer system characterized by intense faulting and folding, which is known to exert structural controls on groundwater flow and movement. The ELPMA is known to receive recharge from surface water flows in Arroyo Las Posas/Simi that runs east to west along the southern edge of the basin. Flows in the Arroyo have become perennial as a result of discharges from wastewater treatment plants and dewatering wells within and upstream of the ELPMA. Hence, understanding and modeling the surface-water/groundwater interaction along the Arroyo is an important component of the numerical model development. CMWD also owns and operates the Las Posas Basin Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) Project, consisting of eighteen high capacity ASR wells and associated facilities located in the ELPMA that are used to inject and recover potable water purchased from Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (Metropolitan). Basin response to injection/extractions at the ASR well fields and the evaluation of storage capacity of the ASR well field are key considerations for this modeling project. 

Groundwater Quality in the Colorado River Basins, California

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | January 9th, 2013

Groundwater provides more than 40 percent of California’s drinking water. To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monito

Groundwater provides more than 40 percent of California’s drinking water. To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The Priority Basin Project of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State’s groundwater quality and increases public access to groundwater-quality information. Four groundwater basins along the Colorado River make up one of the study areas being evaluated. The Colorado River study area is approximately 884 square miles (2,290 square kilometers) and includes the Needles, Palo Verde Mesa, Palo Verde Valley, and Yuma groundwater basins (California Department of Water Resources, 2003). The Colorado River study area has an arid climate and is part of the Sonoran Desert. Average annual rainfall is about 3 inches (8 centimeters). Land use in the study area is approximately 47 percent (%) natural (mostly shrubland), 47% agricultural, and 6% urban. The primary crops are pasture and hay. The largest urban area is the city of Blythe (2010 population of 21,000). Groundwater in these basins is used for public and domestic water supply and for irrigation. The main waterbearing units are gravel, sand, silt, and clay deposited by the Colorado River or derived from surrounding mountains. The primary aquifers in the Colorado River study area are defined as those parts of the aquifers corresponding to the perforated intervals of wells listed in the California Department of Public Health database. Public-supply wells in the Colorado River basins are completed to depths between 230 and 460 feet (70 to 140 meters), consist of solid casing from the land surface to a depth of 130 of 390 feet (39 to 119 meters), and are screened or perforated below the solid casing. The main source of recharge to the groundwater systems in the Needles, Palo Verde Mesa, and Palo Verde Valley basins is the Colorado River; in the Yuma basin, the main source of recharge is from subsurface flow from the groundwater basins to the west. Groundwater discharge is primarily to pumping wells, evapotranspiration, and, locally, to the Colorado River.

Groundwater Vulnerability Study Santa Clara County, California

Santa Clara Valley Water District | October 18th, 2010

The Santa Clara Valley Water District (District) is the primary water resources agency in Santa Clara County. This Groundwater Vulnerability Study was conducted to predic

The Santa Clara Valley Water District (District) is the primary water resources agency in Santa Clara County. This Groundwater Vulnerability Study was conducted to predict the vulnerability of groundwater to potentially contaminating land use activities to aid the District in its management and protection activities. Groundwater vulnerability is comprised of two key components: 1) groundwater sensitivity and 2) potentially contaminating activities. Groundwater sensitivity is generally defined as the relative ease with which a contaminant on or near the land surface can migrate to the aquifer of interest based on the intrinsic characteristics of the aquifer and the overlying unsaturated materials. Groundwater sensitivity is combined with the potentially contaminating activities risk to characterize overall groundwater vulnerability. The Study Area is comprised of three groundwater subbasins: the Santa Clara, the Coyote, and the Llagas. Each has unique hydrogeologic characteristics as well as unique current and historic land uses. Water-bearing units in the Study Area have been grouped into two major aquifer systems, the Shallow Aquifer and Principal Aquifer. Groundwater vulnerability was assessed separately for each aquifer. Generally, the Shallow Aquifer occurs above regional confining layers. The Principal Aquifer lies beneath the Shallow Aquifer and supplies most of the groundwater produced for beneficial uses in the Study Area. The Principal Aquifer occurs under semi-confined to confined conditions. In areas where confining layers do not exist or are not laterally and vertically extensive, only the Principal Aquifer occurs. Accordingly, in the recharge zones, depth to water was characterized as the first encountered groundwater for both the Shallow and Principal aquifers. In contrast, the Shallow and Principal aquifers were uniquely defined in the confined areas with the Shallow Aquifer characterized by the first encountered groundwater and the Principal Aquifer defined by the top screened interval of wells tapping the primary groundwater production zone. The southern area and lateral margins of the Santa Clara Subbasin are unconfined recharge areas. An extensive regional aquitard occurs in the northern interior portion of the subbasin. The Santa Clara Subbasin is currently highly developed with residential, commercial, and industrial areas. Due to the high density of urban land uses including major industrial manufacturing and processing facilities, point-source contamination is prevalent but generally contained in the Shallow Aquifer. This is due, in part, to the protection offered by the significant confining layers found in the northern portion of the subbasin. The Santa Clara Subbasin is currently undergoing continued urban expansion and redevelopment of formerly industrial areas to residential use. No significant laterally extensive confining layers exist in the Coyote Subbasin, and groundwater generally occurs under unconfined conditions. Compared with the Santa Clara Subbasin, the Coyote Subbasin is relatively rural, undeveloped, and mostly unincorporated with far fewer industrial/commercial contaminant release sites. Due to generally unconfined conditions, the Coyote Subbasin is hydrogeologically sensitive to groundwater contamination. Existing water quality impacts are related to agricultural practices and rural (e.g., septic) land use. Coyote Valley has a high potential for future residential and commercial development. Groundwater in the Llagas Subbasin occurs under unconfined to confined conditions. Generally unconfined recharge areas are found in the northern portion of the subbasin, while confining layers become more frequent and laterally and vertically extensive in the southern areas. Accordingly, the northern portion of the subbasin is relatively more hydrogeologically sensitive to groundwater contamination compared with the southern subbasin. The Llagas Subbasin has urban development focused in the north and south with the central portion of the subbasin comprised predominantly of agricultural development and large residential parcels. The Llagas Subbasin is currently impacted by high levels of nitrate associated with rural land use and agriculture and perchlorate from historic releases from a flare manufacturer. A comprehensive literature review was conducted to identify established methods to conduct vulnerability assessments. Based on the evaluation of available groundwater sensitivity assessment methods and an understanding of available hydrogeologic and water quality information for the Study Area, a statistical method was selected to quantify the sensitivity to contamination of the Shallow Aquifer and Principal Aquifer. Water quality data (i.e., nitrate concentrations and distribution) were used for calibration and verification purposes to identify and rank groundwater sensitivity factors. Based on the logistic regression statistical analysis, four factors were found to be the most important in characterizing groundwater sensitivity. These include 1) soil media characteristics in the vadose zone, 2) groundwater recharge, 3) depth to top of screen, and 4) annual groundwater production. Groundwater recharge in the Study Area includes a significant amount of artificial recharge conducted by the District. Traditionally, artificial recharge and groundwater production would not be considered intrinsic aquifer characteristics. However, for this Study, groundwater sensitivity did include consideration of quasiintrinsic characteristics such as artificial recharge and production. In addition to the objective statistical analysis, subjective refinements relative to artificial recharge areas and characterization of depth to water/aquifer were applied based on observation, technical judgment, and limitations in the nitrate data set. These refinements included subjectively ranking areas near artificial recharge areas as highly sensitive and using depth to first encountered groundwater to represent the depth to water factor for the Principal Aquifer in the recharge zones. This results in higher sensitivity in the recharge areas for the Principal Aquifer. Figures ES-1 and ES-2 show the sensitivity of the Shallow and Principal aquifers, respectively. Not surprisingly, the sensitivity assessment found that the Shallow Aquifer is more sensitive than the Principal Aquifer. In addition, the analysis indicates that the sensitivity of the Shallow and Principal aquifers is generally highest in the Llagas Subbasin, followed by the Coyote Subbasin, and Santa Clara Subbasin. Despite the protection afforded by the regional confining layer in the southern portion of the Llagas Subbasin, both the Shallow and Principal aquifers are highly sensitive to contamination due to high recharge rates and permeable soils. The sensitivity of the Shallow and Principal aquifers in the Coyote Subbasin are also relatively high due primarily to shallow aquifer conditions, high recharge rates, and large amounts of groundwater production. Although the confined zone in the Santa Clara Subbasin affords relatively good protection from surface contamination, the outer western confined zone appears to be highly sensitive to contamination due to the significant groundwater production in this area. Unlike the sensitivity assessment, it is not possible to statistically calibrate potentially contaminating activities risk. Accordingly, potentially contaminating activities are commonly identified and ranked based on subjective observation and experience (e.g., California Drinking Water Source Assessment and Protection Program). For the potentially contaminating activities risk ranking, emphasis was placed on accurately characterizing the maximum risks so as not to underestimate potential risks. The potentially contaminating activities risk analysis included four main risk factors or categories—general plan land use, potentially contaminating business activities, known contaminated sites, and supplemental data. Twenty-nine land use categories were selected and ranked with respect to groundwater impacts. Relative risk ranks were developed for 48 categories of business activities. Known and open contamination sites were given the highest ranking with a lower ranking for closed sites. Additional supplemental data for irrigated agriculture, septic system density, mines, landfills, and petroleum pipelines were also ranked and included in the analysis. These various risk factors were combined to generate the overall potentially contaminating activities risk distribution map. The potentially contaminating activities risk analysis found large portions of the Santa Clara Subbasin are at high risk due to its high level of development with commercial and industrial areas and many associated industrial and commercial contaminant release sites along with the lingering impacts of agricultural releases. Relatively lower overall risks are associated with the Coyote Subbasin, which is relatively rural, undeveloped, and mostly unincorporated with far fewer industrial/commercial contaminant release sites. Nonetheless, most of the subbasin shows a moderate level of risk associated with irrigated agriculture. It is important to note that the Coyote Valley has the most potential for future development and thus the most potential for an increase in risk in the future. Relatively lower overall potentially contaminating activities risk (compared with the Santa Clara Subbasin) is found in the Llagas Subbasin due to its more rural nature. Areas of relatively higher risk are associated with commercial and industrial development in the vicinity of the cities of Morgan Hill and Gilroy. Moderate risk is found in the central portion of the subbasin associated with irrigated agriculture. While continued conversion of rural to urban land use in the vicinity of the cities of Morgan Hill and Gilroy in the future will likely increase risk in these areas, the central portion of the subbasin is expected to remain relatively unchanged with respect to risk, given the established zoning. The sensitivity assessment and potentially contaminating activities risk were combined to create the overall vulnerability maps for the Shallow and Principal aquifers. Figures ES-3 and ES-4 show the vulnerability of the Shallow and Principal aquifers, respectively. As might be expected, the vulnerability of the Shallow Aquifer is greater than the Principal Aquifer in areas of confinement in the Santa Clara Subbasin. The density of commercial/industrial sites and known contamination release sites in the northern Santa Clara Subbasin make the Shallow Aquifer highly vulnerable to contamination. The Principal Aquifer has fewer areas of very high vulnerability compared with the Shallow Aquifer due to the relative lower sensitivity of the Principal Aquifer. The Llagas and Coyote subbasins exhibit high to very high groundwater vulnerability in both the Shallow and Principal aquifers. The high vulnerability is driven primarily by the high sensitivity in these two subbasins. Given the potential for future development in the Coyote Subbasin, the high degree of vulnerability of the subbasin requires the highest level of effort directed toward protection. Following completion of the vulnerability assessment, a web-based geographical information system tool was developed, which incorporated the sensitivity, potentially contaminating activities risk, and vulnerability maps. Additional maps are also provided to enhance the usefulness of the tool. The tool enables District staff to work interactively with the vulnerability study analysis. The tool enables District staff to evaluate potential impacts of land use changes, prioritize basin management activities, prioritize review of known contamination sites, update existing data layers, update or modify risk factors, and add supplemental data layers.

Harnessing the Power of Geophysical Imaging to Recharge California's Groundwater

American Geophysical Union (AGU) | April 17th, 2025

Motivated by the availability of 20,000 line-km of airborne electromagnetic (AEM) data covering the Central Valley of California, we developed a workflow that uses resist

Motivated by the availability of 20,000 line-km of airborne electromagnetic (AEM) data covering the Central Valley of California, we developed a workflow that uses resistivity profiles from electromagnetic (EM) data to assess the suitability of areas for groundwater recharge. We defined a suitable area as one where “fastpaths” of coarse-grained material could efficiently move water from the ground surface to the water table. We defined recharge metrics and generated the corresponding maps by integrating resistivity profiles from AEM data, sediment type (from driller's logs), water level measurements, and water quality measurements. The workflow is publicly available through a web-based application, fastpath. We produced maps displaying recharge metrics on a 400 m × 400 m grid covering the Central Valley, with 80% of the cells sufficiently close to an AEM resistivity profile (within ∼3 km) to be assessed for recharge. Various decisions are made in the workflow that result in a range of values for determined metrics at any given location. The maps summarizing all metrics show that between 19% (2,000,000 acres) and 56% (7,000,000 acres) of the total area in the valley is land suitable for recharge. The landcover with the largest total area of land classified as suitable is cultivated crops. We estimated the total space available for recharge water to be ∼170 km3 which is two orders of magnitude greater than an estimate of the total volume of water likely to be available for recharge.