News release
The California Department of Water Resources has released the latest Semi-Annual Groundwater Conditions report, and the data show that California 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.
Water Year 2023 is the first year since 2019 that there has been a reported increase in groundwater storage. 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 actually saw a rebound (uplift) in ground surface elevation from reduced pumping in the deeper aquifers and refilling of groundwater storage.
The groundwater report includes, for the first time, groundwater sustainability plan Annual Report data reported by local groundwater sustainability agencies across 99 groundwater basins, which make up over 90% of the groundwater use in the state.
Nearly 85% of Californians depend on groundwater for some portion of their water supply, and in dry years when surface water supplies are lacking, communities turn to groundwater to fulfill the needs of households, agriculture and businesses. California’s ecosystems also rely on groundwater to sustain natural plant and animal communities.
Long-term groundwater storage remains in a deficit of nearly 40 million acre-feet over the past two decades, due in part 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.
“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,” Paul Gosselin, DWR deputy director of sustainable water management, said in a news release. “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.”
During the 2023 Water Year, more than 1.2 million acre-feet of groundwater recharge was permitted by state agencies, more than 400,000 acre-feet of flood water was recharged using the governor’s executive orders, and millions more acre-feet of managed and naturally occurring recharge was achieved.
