Reedley: State ordered project will raise water bills
“While the city struggles with the final phase of a state ordered rezone for affordable housing, it’s tackling the first phase of a possibly more complicated state ordered project based on the “Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.”
City Engineer Josh Rogers explained the new project at the April 4 city council meeting. “There are a lot of moving parts and the costs have not really been worked out yet,” seemed to be the theme of the explanation. … ”
Read more from the Reedley Exponent here: Reedley: State ordered project will raise water bills
CA WATER COMMISSION: Using flood water for Managed Aquifer Recharge
Panel discusses research and strategies for using flood water with a focus on on-farm recharge
With the passage of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, many groundwater basins are looking towards groundwater recharge as a tool to help bring their basins into balance. “Flood-MAR” is a resource management strategy that uses flood water for managed aquifer recharge (MAR) on agricultural lands, working landscapes, and managed natural landscapes.
At the March meeting of the California Water Commission, a panel discussed Flood MAR with a focus on using agricultural lands for groundwater recharge. First, Kamyar Guivetchi from the Department of Water Resources discussed the Department’s efforts to advance the Flood MAR strategy; next, researcher Dr. Helen Dahlke discussed her research on crop suitability, soil suitability, and streamflow availability; then Don Cameron of Terra Nova Ranch discussed his experiences with on-farm groundwater recharge; and lastly, researcher Dr. Laura Foglia discussed a pilot project in the Cosumnes River basin.
Stanford study offers a way to map where flooded fields best replenish groundwater
“In California, the amount of water exiting aquifers under the state’s most productive farming region far surpasses the amount of water trickling back in. That rampant overdraft has caused land across much of the region to sink like a squeezed out sponge, permanently depleting groundwater storage capacity and damaging infrastructure.
The trend – and a 2014 mandate for sustainable groundwater management in the state – has ignited interest in replenishing aquifers in California’s Central Valley through managed flooding of the ground above them. … ”
Read more from Stanford News here: Stanford study offers a way to map where flooded fields best replenish groundwater
Community Participation in Groundwater Sustainability: The Borrego Valley
“Imagine over 600,000 acres of wilderness. You are surrounded by blue sky, mountains, rock formations and a cornucopia of plants including creosote, palo verde, cacti, and ocotillo. As you walk around, you have the opportunity to see bighorn sheep, mountain lions, kit foxes, mule deer, coyotes, greater roadrunners, golden eagles, black-tailed jackrabbits, ground squirrels, kangaroo rats, quail, prairie falcons, desert iguanas, chuckwallas, and red diamond rattlesnakes.
The place in question is Anza Borrego Desert State Park. The park is also a storied place that was inhabited for thousands of years by the Cahuilla, Cupeño, and Kumeyaay (Diegueño) Indian tribes, the members of which created petroglyph and pictogram rock art. … ”
Read more from the We All Live Downstream blog here: Community Participation in Groundwater Sustainability
Regional sustainable groundwater management forum hosted in Corning
“Tehama and Butte counties teamed up Friday to host a Northern Sacramento Valley forum on sustainable groundwater held at Rolling Hills Casino.
The event was a collaboration between the Tehama County UC Cooperative Extension and Butte County Department of Water and Resource Conservation. Allan Fulton, a Tehama County farm advisor, served as moderator. … ”
Read more from the Daily News here: Regional sustainable groundwater management forum hosted in Corning
Tehachapi: ‘It will change the way the city uses our water;’ City Council approves plan to study ways to increase groundwater supply
“City officials approved a plan for a new groundwater sustainability project, hoping it will be a solution to increase the supply of groundwater and find a place for excess effluent water coming to the Tehachapi Waste Water Treatment Plant. The benefits will not appear for decades, when the project is complete.
The Tehachapi City Council unanimously approved this second of five phases at its April 1 meeting. … ”
Read more from the Tehachapi News here: Tehachapi: ‘It will change the way the city uses our water;’ City Council approves plan to study ways to increase groundwater supply
Water Planners Share SGMA Strategies
“Water planners and stakeholders from across the state convened in West Sacramento recently for the Department of Water Resources’ Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) Forum to share experiences and ideas as they implement the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).
DWR’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Office hosted the event on March 21, 2019, to assist GSAs as they plan for sustainability and to encourage stakeholder engagement and GSA coordination and collaboration within basins and between adjacent basins. … ”
Read more from DWR News here: Water Planners Share SGMA Strategies
New GAMA Program Online Tools for Groundwater Quality Data
From the State Water Resources Control Board:
The GAMA program team has made California’s groundwater quality data more easily available to you. This announcement summarizes some recent developments to the GAMA Program website and to GAMA Groundwater Information System.
Updates to the GAMA Groundwater Information System (https://gamagroundwater.waterboards.ca.gov/gama/gamamap/public/Default.asp)
- A capability to filter data based on well screen interval: this filter is up and running, and we are in the process of adding well construction data into the database
- User-selected “comparison concentration” chemical level(s) tool
- Ability to download search results in KML format for display in Google Earth
- Ability to filter data by Groundwater Sustainability Agency boundaries
- Public water system well screen information download tool
We also have added several tools to help users evaluate groundwater data in real time https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/gama/online_tools.html
- A groundwater vulnerability tool using relative groundwater age allows the user to explore relative groundwater ages in California groundwater. Areas with relatively younger water indicate recent recharge and potential vulnerability.
- A web map showing California’s inventory of Salt and Nutrient Management Plans.
- The “Is My Property Near a 123-TCP Impacted Well?” application allows users to input their address and locate impacted wells within a 2-mile radius. An update to the nitrate tool is also available.
- Other web-based tools including a source water protection data hub, a trends tool, and a large set of digitized well construction records are coming soon. Stay Tuned!
Visit the GAMA Program website at http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/gama/ today!
Sonoma: Focus is on wells as groundwater board does its research
“Parts of Sonoma Valley, particularly southeast of the city of Sonoma and in the El Verano/Fowler Creek areas, have seen a persistent decline in groundwater levels over the last decade – and it may be expanding. These chronic declines, based on data from the USGS and the Sonoma County Water Agency, indicate that groundwater withdrawals are occurring at a rate exceeding the rate of replenishment within the deeper aquifer zones of southern Sonoma Valley.
Saltwater intrusion is also threatening to compromise groundwater quality at Sonoma’s southernmost tip. … ”
Read more from The Kenwood Press here: Sonoma: Focus is on wells as groundwater board does its research
Inside Santa Cruz’s environmentally friendly water recharge
“On a quiet industrial side street near 41st Avenue and Soquel Drive, the Santa Cruz Water Department has been quietly pumping millions of gallons of water through temporary PVC piping. Every minute, about 400 gallons flow past pressure gauges and shut-off valves into a 2-foot-high concrete box that marks the top of Beltz Well 12. If a pilot program goes well, this whole system could play a pivotal role in the water security of communities from Aptos to UCSC.
Normally, water is pumping out of this well, not into it. As part of the reversal process, engineers went into the well and removed column piping, which now lies in a pile under a plastic tarp off to the side. Two 35,000-gallon tanks sit empty. … ”
Read more from Good Times Santa Cruz here: Inside Santa Cruz’s environmentally friendly water recharge