California groundwater levels got a huge bump from 2023’s wet weather
Diminished by decades of over-pumping, California’s groundwater reserves saw a huge influx of water last year, in some places the most in modern times, according to state data that offers the first detailed look at how aquifers fared during the state’s historically wet 2023. The bump was driven, in part, by deliberate efforts to recharge aquifers — the porous underground rock that holds water and accounts for about 40% of the state’s total water supply. The intentional water banking, or managed recharge, resulted in at least 4.1 million acre-feet of water pushed underground, nearly equivalent to what California’s largest reservoir, Shasta Lake, can hold. About 90% of that recharge occurred in the San Joaquin Valley, the state’s agricultural heartland, where aquifers have been heavily taxed by pumping.
Related groundwater articles:
- California WaterBlog: Blog - How to incentivize better groundwater use
- Seismological Society of America – blog: Seismic waves used to track LA’s groundwater recharge after record wet winter