The East and West Turlock Subbasin GSAs jointly manage a basin where surface water is plentiful on the west side but groundwater decline is concentrated on the east. This memo describes how the two GSAs divided responsibility through strategies like in-lieu recharge, demand reduction, and a replenishment water agreement. It also offers guidance for building…
This technical memo estimates the maximum recharge possible through canal seepage, recharge basins, and on-farm recharge across the Consolidated Water District’s roughly 80,000 acres in the Greater Kaweah GSA. It introduces RapidGRAT, a faster, simplified version of the Groundwater Recharge Assessment Tool (GRAT) that shows districts what they could achieve in a wet year like…
Sustainable Conservation worked with the Yolo County Flood Control & Water Conservation District to expand its decades-old canal recharge program onto agricultural lands. This memo describes the District’s grower incentives, including reimbursement for field setup costs and free or discounted winter water. It also covers a simplified prioritization map that helps identify fields where recharge…
Flow-through basins are small basins beside creeks and rivers that capture flood flows, let water soak into the ground, and return the excess to the stream. This report covers design, site selection, permitting, and funding, with examples from an irrigation district and a GSA.
Three San Joaquin Valley recharge basins that also support wildlife: a large water bank operating for 30 years, a small basin managed by a land trust, and a privately owned basin still in planning. Each case study covers how the basin is designed, managed, permitted, and funded.
Drawing on practitioners’ experience, this report shares financial incentives, water management strategies, opportunities, and pitfalls to help California water districts and GSAs tailor local water replenishment efforts.
Observed results and lessons learned from over a decade of working directly with growers and irrigation districts to implement on-farm recharge. Practical information from growers to growers, including over 20 case studies spanning grapes, almonds, pistachio, fallow land, basins, and more.