Here's how last winter's big rain and snow benefitted Sacramento's groundwater storage

According to the Sacramento Regional Water Authority, water agencies opted to use 17% less groundwater in 2023 compared to 2022.

According to the Sacramento Regional Water Authority, water agencies opted to use 17% less groundwater in 2023 compared to 2022.

METEOROLOGIST HEATHER WALDMAN HAS YOUR NUMBERS. LAST YEAR’S HUGE RAIN AND SNOW TOTALS ALLOWED WATER MANAGERS IN THE SACRAMENTO AREA TO USE 17% LESS GROUNDWATER. THAT’S ACCORDING TO A STUDY RECENTLY DONE BY SACRAMENTO’S REGIONAL WATER AUTHORITY. NOW, HISTORICALLY, THE AREA’S GROUNDWATER HAS BEEN SEVERELY OVERDRAWN. SO NOW THE FOCUS IS ON CONSERVING THAT GROUNDWATER, BUILDING IT BACK UP BY SHIFTING TO A RELIANCE MORE ON SURFACE WATER DURING WET TIMES. WE KNOW THAT TAKING THIS APPROACH, RELYING ON ON THE SOURCE OF WATER THAT MOTHER NATURE DICTATES, YOU SHOULD BE RELYING ON, ACTUALLY DOES ALLOW FOR US BECAUSE WE LIVE IN A RELATIVELY WET REGION TO REBUILD OUR GROUNDWATER BASIN. LAST YEAR, 70% OF DRINKING WATER IN THE SACRAMENTO AREA CAME FROM SURFACE WATER. THAT’S UP FROM 57% IN 2022. AS A RESULT, 38,000 ACRE FEET OF WATER WAS ADDED TO UNDERGROUND AQUIFERS. THAT’S ENOUGH WATER FOR MORE THAN 113,000 HOMES FOR A YEAR. THE REGIONAL WATER AUTHORITY BELIEVES THAT WITH FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS TO WATER MANAGEMENT PRACTICES, A LOT MORE GROUNDWATER CAN BE SAVED IN FUTURE WET YEARS. WE KNOW THAT IF WE ADVANCE THE SACRAMENTO REGIONAL WATER BANK, WE CAN DOUBLE THOSE NUMBERS AND THEN WE HAVE IDENTIFIED INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE KNOW COULD TAKE US TO TRIPLE THOSE NUMBERS. AND OJAKIAN SAYS THAT PART OF THE ADVANCEMENT FOR THE REGIONAL GROUNDWATER BANK IS MAKING WATER OPERATIONS PROCESSES MORE NIMBLE. THAT WOULD ALLOW WATER MANAGERS TO MORE QUICKLY REACT TO WET PATTERNS WITHIN OVERALL DRY YEARS. AND REMEMBER, BUILDING UP THAT GROUNDWATER STORAGE IS WHAT HELPS TO ENSURE A MORE RESILIENT WATER SUPPLY. WHETHER THE WINTER IS WET OR DRY FOR DECADES TO COME. IN SACRAMENTO, I’M METEOROLOGIST HEATHER WALDMAN FOR KCRA THREE NEWS. WELL, LAST YEAR THE CITY OF ROSEVILLE INCREASED ITS GROUNDWATER STORAGE 22 FOLD USING A SERIES OF AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY WELLS.

Here's how last winter's big rain and snow benefitted Sacramento's groundwater storage

According to the Sacramento Regional Water Authority, water agencies opted to use 17% less groundwater in 2023 compared to 2022.

Last winter's big rain and snow brought immediate benefits to California's water supply and data now shows that there are long-term benefits, too. According to data gathered by Sacramento's Regional Water Authority, a surplus of surface water following the 2022-2023 winter allowed water managers to use 17% less groundwater compared to 2022. Historically, groundwater throughout California's Central Valley had been severely overdrawn. Over the past 20 years, policy changes and more nuanced water management have helped groundwater levels recover.The Regional Water Authority says that a method referred to as "in-lieu recharge" has been particularly beneficial for the Sacramento region. "When it’s wet we're using surface water 'in-lieu' of groundwater," said Ryan Ojakian, the manager of government relations for RWA. When surface water is chosen over groundwater, groundwater aquifers naturally recover. Ojakian said that last year, in-lieu recharging helped store 38,000 acre-feet of water in the aquifer space beneath the Sacramento region. That's equivalent to 12.3 billion gallons, enough for 113,700 households for one year. Water managers consider Sacramento's groundwater aquifer to be a long-term savings account that can be tapped into during urgent water shortages. This is a much different approach compared to several decades ago when groundwater was the sole source of water for many Northern California communities. "Having the ability to have access to surface water when conditions are wet is really the way that we’ve been successful in this region at building up our groundwater basin," Ojakian said. While aquifers got a nice boost last year, Ojakian said that there is room to improve and store much more groundwater in future wet years. "We know that if we advance the Sacramento Regional Water Bank we can double those numbers," Ojakian said. "And then we have identified infrastructure that could allow us to triple those numbers."That advancement would come from making the water management process more nimble; allowing water managers to more quickly take advantage of incoming storms as weather forecasts improve. The Sacramento Regional Groundwater Bank has twice the water storage capacity of Folsom Lake. Increasing underground water storage can help make Northern California's water supply more resilient as weather and climate patterns shift.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app.

Last winter's big rain and snow brought immediate benefits to California's water supply and data now shows that there are long-term benefits, too.

According to data gathered by Sacramento's Regional Water Authority, a surplus of surface water following the 2022-2023 winter allowed water managers to use 17% less groundwater compared to 2022.

Historically, groundwater throughout California's Central Valley had been severely overdrawn. Over the past 20 years, policy changes and more nuanced water management have helped groundwater levels recover.

The Regional Water Authority says that a method referred to as "in-lieu recharge" has been particularly beneficial for the Sacramento region.

"When it’s wet we're using surface water 'in-lieu' of groundwater," said Ryan Ojakian, the manager of government relations for RWA.

When surface water is chosen over groundwater, groundwater aquifers naturally recover.

Ojakian said that last year, in-lieu recharging helped store 38,000 acre-feet of water in the aquifer space beneath the Sacramento region. That's equivalent to 12.3 billion gallons, enough for 113,700 households for one year.

Water managers consider Sacramento's groundwater aquifer to be a long-term savings account that can be tapped into during urgent water shortages. This is a much different approach compared to several decades ago when groundwater was the sole source of water for many Northern California communities.

"Having the ability to have access to surface water when conditions are wet is really the way that we’ve been successful in this region at building up our groundwater basin," Ojakian said.

While aquifers got a nice boost last year, Ojakian said that there is room to improve and store much more groundwater in future wet years.

"We know that if we advance the Sacramento Regional Water Bank we can double those numbers," Ojakian said. "And then we have identified infrastructure that could allow us to triple those numbers."

That advancement would come from making the water management process more nimble; allowing water managers to more quickly take advantage of incoming storms as weather forecasts improve.

The Sacramento Regional Groundwater Bank has twice the water storage capacity of Folsom Lake. Increasing underground water storage can help make Northern California's water supply more resilient as weather and climate patterns shift.

See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app.

Here's how last winter's big rain and snow benefitted Sacramento's groundwater storage

According to the Sacramento Regional Water Authority, water agencies opted to use 17% less groundwater in 2023 compared to 2022.

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