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.
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.
Sustainable Conservation’s team is hard at work to scale multibenefit groundwater recharge to capture water in wet years, store it underground, and make it available in dry years.
With California’s landmark groundwater regulations coming into effect, pumping groundwater to irrigate agriculture at its current acreage is unsustainable in some regions. Without alternatives, land managers might be left with idling their land as the most affordable option, but this can contribute to dust, pollution, weeds, pests, and other negative impacts for neighboring farms and nearby communities — all while providing no earning potential.
“There is no miracle prescription that will solve all of California’s climate and natural resource challenges, but a combination of science-backed solutions that can be feasibly scaled across the state is what gives me hope right now.”
The watershed studies released this winter offer regional-scale information on hydrology, infrastructure, and recharge potential so local partners can better coordinate diversions, improve public safety, and enhance long-term water supply reliability.
Join our donor community for invites to future events like this and to help us advance the collaborative stewardship of California’s land, air, and water for the benefit of nature and people!
Sustainable Conservation’s Waste Not team has spent years developing and testing practical, science-based solutions that help farmers protect water quality, improve nutrient management, and build healthier soils.
On October 14th, more than 30 Sustainable Conservation community members, donors, Board members, and staff piled into a tour bus for a jam-packed day of sightseeing cutting-edge climate resilience projects throughout the Central Valley.