Yolo conservation district’s groundwater recharging efforts lauded

Jun 18, 2016 at 1:00pm

Jim Smith, Woodland Daily Democrat

The project is part of the ongoing efforts to sustainably manage groundwater in the Sacramento Valley and throughout California.

The District started recharging the groundwater in Yolo County this past spring by diverting and percolating 11,000 acre-feet of additional surface water from Cache Creek into its existing unlined canal system, part of which is outside of Winters.

This project was facilitated by Gov. Jerry Brown’s Executive Order in November 2015 “to accelerate approvals for projects that enhance the ability of local agencies to capture high precipitation events... for local storage or recharge” and the State Water Board issuing temporary permits. Consistent with the Governor’s Executive Order, this project “demonstrates the feasibility of projects that can use available high water flows to recharge local groundwater while minimizing flooding risks... ”

The concept itself wasn’t difficult as there was already a large volume of water running through the canal system from heavy winter rains. Yolo County Flood Control District manager Tim O’Halloran sought a temporary permit to divert the available high flows coming from Cache Creek for groundwater recharge within the District’s service area.

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