New report highlights California’s vital work to recharge groundwater

“Groundwater plays a critical role in our state’s water supply and this  report shows what we’ve already known: our changing climate and warmer temperatures will continue to increase demand on groundwater supplies as our hydrology changes and tests our water systems,” said Paul Gosselin, DWR Deputy Director of Sustainable Water Management. “It’s more important than ever that state and local agencies continue to work together to achieve the goals we set for California in order to protect this precious resource and the people who rely on it.”

DWR’s new report outlines a comprehensive report of groundwater monitoring, conditions, and management across California – providing a guide for the state and local agencies to continue to manage and protect groundwater supplies. The report shows considerable progress made by California and local agencies towards reaching the goals of groundwater sustainability outlined in the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), even as the state continues to recover from the effects of a historic multi-year drought. Among the successes noted in the report, California has seen improvements in groundwater recharge efforts, drinking well protection, and increased funding for Tribal projects.

Just beneath the surface – what you need to know about groundwater sustainability 

• Groundwater is central to California’s water resilience, supplying about 40 percent of statewide demand in average years and nearly 60 percent in dry years. 

• California’s groundwater basins are the state’s largest and lowest cost water storage and a critical natural infrastructure asset, with storage capacity exceeding 1 billion acre feet.

• More than 32 million Californians rely on groundwater for some portion of their water supply. This includes about 8.5 million people in small to mid-sized towns who are 100% reliant on groundwater for their drinking water supply.

• Groundwater is vital for sustaining groundwater-dependent ecosystems. It contributes to the baseflow of rivers and streams, which provides important water supply benefits, and helps maintain the water levels of wetlands and supports critical habitat for many aquatic and riparian species.

• From 2020 to 2022, California experienced its three driest consecutive years on record leading to reduced surface water supplies and increased reliance and stress on groundwater basins. As a result, hundreds of wells went dry across the state, and many groundwater basins are still recovering.

• The state cannot rely on groundwater alone. California’s water system is dependent on both surface water and groundwater and the state is working hard to be prepared for the hotter and drier future.

Actions the Newsom Administration has taken to increase a sustainable groundwater supply

• Investments in projects to save groundwater – Governor Newsom and DWR have allocated over $500 million in sustainable groundwater management planning and implementation grants across the state. Additional funding for Department technical assistance programs, such as the Basin Characterization Program and Statewide Groundwater Monitoring Program, provides the latest data and fills data gaps that lead to an increase in information about California’s groundwater basins, which help local communities better understand their aquifer systems and basin conditions. 

• Assembling projects and management — Through the Newsom Administration’s goal setting to continue implementing SGMA and increase annual groundwater recharge, local groundwater sustainability agencies (GSA) have advanced Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) implementation and assembled more than 1,500 projects and management actions, and achieved an annual average reported managed recharge of approximately 2.5 million acre-feet across 2022-2024, resulting in a cumulative three-year total of 7.4 million acre-feet of reported recharge.

• Helping farmers during droughts — In 2022, Governor Newsom launched the LandFlex Grant Program which provides immediate relief for farmers who reduce pumping to protect water during droughts. The state has since provided $25 million in grants for immediate drought relief, helping save over 100,000 acre-feet of groundwater, 16,500 drinking water wells, and reducing over-pumping of groundwater on Central Valley farms.

• Assisting tribal communities — The Underrepresented Communities Groundwater Technical Assistance Program has been created and entered a $15 million funding agreement for Tribal water supply projects. 

• Looking to the future – This year, Governor Newsom announced the modernization of the California Water Plan 2028, the most ambitious water plan in California history which includes a statewide planning target of meeting 9 million acre-feet by 2040, which is the amount of water supply California could lose as climate change reduces snowpack and intensifies drought. Roughly equal to two Shasta Reservoirs, or enough for 18 million homes, the target is a shared benchmark that includes supply, conservation, recharge, and storage strategies to close projected water supply gaps and strengthen long-term water reliability. This adds to ongoing work by the state, including the 2022 Water Supply Strategy 2020 Water Resilience Portfolio (2020) and California’s Water Supply Strategy (2022), which set goals to continue implementing the SGMA and to increase annual groundwater recharge by 500,000 acre-feet. 

Staying Informed on California’s Groundwater

Californians can stay informed through DWR’s California’s Groundwater Semi-Annual Groundwater Updates, released every spring and fall, and by visiting California Groundwater Live for near real-time information.

Visit here for more information on the entire report.