At a glance Aquifer depletion happens when groundwater is pumped out faster than rain and snowmelt can refill it. When pumping keeps outpacing refill year after year, it’s called “overdraft.” Read full summary ▾ Groundwater provides roughly 40% of California’s water supply, and up to 60% in dry years. California has designated 21 groundwater basins…
At a glance California experienced its worst drought in 1,200 years from 2012 to 2016. This severe multi-year event triggered the first mandatory statewide water conservation measures in the history of the state. Read full summary ▾ Dry cycles cause parts of the Central Valley to sink by several feet. This land subsidence from heavy…
The I-FIRM strategy models habitat improvements through reservoir reoperations and additional natural infrastructure that includes river restoration, flow-through basins, and shorebird habitat. This blog walks through each of these components and outcomes as they relate to ecosystem impacts in the Watershed Studies.
Distributing water across the landscape for groundwater recharge benefits the groundwater basin and helps reduce downstream flood risks. The State of California has promoted the practice of on-farm recharge by making it easier for landowners to access floodflows for recharge without a water right.
While California water managers gear up for a “Super El Niño” and a potentially active water year, partners across the State have brought a variety of new advances to topics that Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) practitioners will find familiar. This recharge readiness webinar series will share information about recently completed guidance, projects, and case studies to help recharge project planners and implementers (growers and local agencies, in particular) prepare for the wet season ahead.
Many communities have residents who have already lost or are at risk of losing their access to drinking water. These communities cannot afford to see an unmitigated, climate change-fueled future come into effect.
Learn about our collective impact and environmental wins in Sustainable Conservation’s 2025 Annual Report!
To understand how water managers may protect California against flooding and groundwater overdraft in a warming climate, DWR linked several distinct pieces of software that simulated upper watershed snowpack and runoff, routed river flows, managed reservoir pools, optimized recharge operations, and modeled the resulting groundwater movement to determine the ultimate fate of recharged water.
The Watershed Studies are a novel approach to modeling climate change impacts at the watershed scale, from precipitation trends in the upper watershed to groundwater behavior beneath the Valley floor.
A Groundwater Recharge Guide for Vineyards Sustainable Conservation and the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance (CSWA) have released A Groundwater Recharge Guide for Vineyards to help winegrape growers evaluate, plan, and implement on-farm groundwater recharge to contribute to regional groundwater sustainability. As California’s wine regions face growing groundwater pumping regulations under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), the guide equips growers with…
Across the discussions, a common themed emerged: California’s climate and natural resource challenges are deeply interconnected, and the most effective solutions recognize and strengthen the connections between our watersheds, working lands, communities, and ecosystems.
Recharge is a practice that Sustainable Conservation has championed for over a decade largely because of the myriad beneficiaries it creates. The “Recharge For…” dropdown menu focuses on specific benefits and resources for growers, water districts and groundwater sustainability agencies, communities, ecosystems, and policymakers.