California tries to harness megastorm floods to ease crippling droughts

[Auggie]

HURON, Calif., Nov 15 (Reuters)

Amid the cycles of wet and dry — both phenomena exacerbated by climate change — a coalition of local farmers and the nearby city of Huron are trying to turn former hemp and tomato fields into massive receptacles that can hold water as it percolates into the ground during wet years.

This project and others like it across California's Central Valley breadbasket aim to capture floodwaters that would otherwise rush out to the sea, or damage towns, cities and crops.

The new project, known as a recharge system, turns unused fields into large ponds to hold water so that it can percolate into the porous rock and earth below, creating or restoring an aquifer rather than rushing to the sea.

While the idea of storing water underground is not new, a recent California law regulating groundwater use has spurred a spate of projects that the state is helping to fund.

FULL STORY: https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/california-tries-harness-megastorm-floods-ease-crippling-droughts-2022-11-15/

I read about some local farmers taking the same action several years ago, but they were individual efforts sans any kind of official funding or oversight.

According to the link, "human-made aquifers and underground water banks will not solve all of California's water problems, but they can make a significant dent."

[lapfog_1]

1. This, of course, assumes that there WILL be "wet years"

that is certainly unclear now. And if there is a wet year, will this store enough to help ride through the dry years and the need to pump the water for farming.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

2. So, reservoirs ... but where nobody uses the water, until it percolates underground

Then they pump it up from underground, and use it?

This plan sounds genius if I understand it correctly.

[Auggie]

3. Yes ...

diverting runoff into unused land where it percolates downward to replenish existing aquifers.

[Ptah]

4. Tucson does this with CAP water.

Recharge refers to the replenishment of an aquifer's groundwater. An aquifer is a layer of underground sand, gravel, or spongy rock where water collects. Natural recharge takes place when rainfall, streamflow, or melting snow percolates into the ground.

Artificial recharge occurs when water is put into special basins or is directed into modified stream channels and allowed to sink into the ground. Artificial recharge also can take place when water is pumped directly in the aquifer through special wells.

Recharge takes advantage of water supplies available now and stores them for future use. Recharge also allows the slow introduction of new water supplies into our drinking water system by blending the new source with existing groundwater. Pilot recharge studies are done in advance of developing large-scale recharge facilities to determine recharge rates and quantities, water quality changes, the ability of the aquifer to store and release recharged water, and costs of recharging the water and pumping it for use.

The City has several recharge projects using CAP water. The Clearwater Renewable Resource Facility consists of two large recharge and recovery sites in central and southern Avra Valley. These projects are capable of recharging up to 140,000 acre-feet (46 billion gallons) of Colorado River water, nearly all of Tucson Water's current annual allocation.

https://www.tucsonaz.gov/water/recharged-water

[yellowdogintexas]

5. these are needed in Phoenix and Flagstaff

Flagstaff had some horrible flooding back in the spring and Phoenix's monsoon season features torrential storms (one of which dumped 2 inches of rain in 2 hours on top of my daughter's area, turning her yard into a river.) The storm drains in Phoenix are a joke - there are not enough of them and they look like letter slots compared to Fort Worth's.

At a minimum, Phoenix needs more of those collection canals. I have been told the water in them flows to the Salt River. It should go to a reservoir somewhere, or be used to develop/restore aquifers.