Evaluation of Groundwater Resources in Response to Agricultural Management Scenarios in the Central Valley, California
Publication: Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 144, Issue 12
Abstract
Dependence on groundwater throughout the Central Valley of California has resulted in severe and unsustainable groundwater depletion. In this research, we used the Central Valley hydrologic model (CVHM) to model how crop types and drought scenarios impact groundwater storage throughout the Central Valley. Simulations that decreased the abundance of water-intensive crops, such as fruits and nuts, observed the largest recovery in groundwater storage. Two drought scenarios, which respectively decreased surface water availability by 25% and 75%, were also tested. Combined drought and crop type scenarios were explored to understand the relative influence of either surface condition on groundwater storage. The results showed that water-intensive crops can decrease groundwater storage by over 20 m under water deficit conditions, whereas water-saving crops can recover groundwater storage and alleviate the impact of droughts. This research suggests that under drought conditions, groundwater storage will decline substantially to compensate for the need of water-intensive crops due to loss of surface water. Policy and management implications from this research suggest decreasing water demands, such as decreasing crop water intensity, can mitigate groundwater depletion.
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Acknowledgments
We thank the Natural Resources Defense Council for generous funding support that made this research possible. We are grateful for the kind help from Dr. Claudia Faunt from the US Geological Survey for technical assistance with using the CVHM.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 144 • Issue 12 • December 2018
Copyright
©2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 8, 2018
Accepted: Jun 21, 2018
Published online: Oct 8, 2018
Published in print: Dec 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Mar 8, 2019
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