Water Education Foundation
This is just one post in the Groundwater Category
Click here to view all posts

Groundwater in so. San Joaquin Valley draining fast

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 11, 2009 at 10:46 am

From WaterTech Online:

A new, three-dimensional water-modeling tool has already led to some interesting observations about California’s Central Valley, the focus lately of sharp debate about water availability and use.

The tool is designed to provide a detailed picture of how water flows below ground and how it relates to surface water in rivers and canals, and it has been used to model groundwater levels in the Central Valley, the US Geological Survey (USGS) announced July 8.

USGS scientists found that groundwater levels in the southern Tulare Basin portion of the San Joaquin Valley — the southern part of the 400-mile-long Central Valley — are declining as more water is pumped out than is recharged naturally. But the southern Central Valley also shows the most promise for large-scale artificial groundwater recharge, particularly along the eastern side, according to research led by USGS hydrologist Claudia Faunt.

In contrast, groundwater levels in the Sacramento Valley (the northern part of the Central Valley) and the northern portion of the San Joaquin Valley are generally stable, the USGS reported.

Read more from WaterTech Online by clicking here.

July 11, 2009 · Filed Under Groundwater

Comments

Leave a Reply