The California Department of Water Resources said data in its latest semi-annual groundwater conditions report shows the state achieved 4.1 million acre-feet of managed groundwater recharge during Water Year 2023, which is nearly the water storage capacity of Shasta Lake. The report also details an increase in groundwater storage of 8.7 million acre-feet.
The department said Water Year 2023 is the first year since 2019 that it reported an increase in groundwater storage. It said a significant reduction in groundwater pumping in 2023 also led to favorable groundwater conditions, including a decrease in land subsidence, or sinking of the land. Some areas that had previously experienced subsidence saw a rebound (uplift) in ground surface elevation from reduced pumping in the deeper aquifers and refilling of groundwater storage.
The groundwater report released includes, for the first time, groundwater sustainability plan annual report data provided by local groundwater sustainability agencies across 99 groundwater basins that make up over 90% of the groundwater use in the state.
The department said long-term groundwater storage remains in a deficit of nearly 40 million acre-feet over the past two decades due to years of pumping out more water than has been replenished. It would take nearly five consecutive above-average water years like 2023 to fill that gap, the department said.
“California is invested in preparing for weather extremes by maximizing the wet years to store as much water as possible in preparation for the dry years,” said Paul Gosselin, California Department of Water Resources deputy director of sustainable water management. “The impressive recharge numbers in 2023 are the result of hard work by the local agencies combined with dedicated efforts from the state, but we must do more to be prepared to capture and store water when the wet years come.”
The department said state agencies permitted more than 1.2 million acre-feet of groundwater recharge during the 2023 Water Year, and the agencies recharged more than 400,000 acre-feet of flood water using Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive orders.
