Fri, 26 May 2023 23:30:43 +1000
Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>
<https://civileats.com/2023/04/17/these-farmers-recharged-groundwater-by-catching-atmospheric-rivers/>
"After the first of California’s winter storms, Michael Naito went out into his
dormant fields to open his water valves, intentionally flooding the land. The
fields filled up like a bathtub over the next three days. The water rose until
it covered the feet of his leafless pistachio and almond trees, as well as the
tangles of barren grape vines. It looked like an ephemeral pond that
disappeared over the next few weeks.
“It’s kind of a deep irrigation,” said Naito, who has continued this practice
over the past few months, flooding 250 acres of his 600-acre farm in
California’s Central Valley.
As the water sinks in, it travels deeper underground to slowly percolate into
the underlying aquifer. The practice, called managed agricultural groundwater
recharge, probably looks strange to the uninitiated, but it’s seen as an
increasingly important task during years with a water surplus in the state.
After a series of very dry years in California, this year 31 atmospheric rivers
have brought reams of moisture from the tropics, drenching once-dry basins,
capping the Sierra Nevada mountains with snow, and flooding several regions.
The state’s water cycle is broken, and it has created a crisis of misplaced
water. In addition to an ongoing war over surface water, in which the
agriculture industry and conservation community have often been at odds,
there’s widespread consensus that the disappearing groundwater has reached
crisis level. Wells have run dry, deeper wells have been dug, and the land in
many counties is literally sinking after water was rapidly drained from
underground aquifers.
That’s why Naito and several other farmers have been intentionally flooding
farmland to stow water underground, helping restore underground aquifers."
Via Future Crunch:
<https://futurecrunch.com/good-news-women-uzbekistan-conservation-colombia-river-florida/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
"After the first of California’s winter storms, Michael Naito went out into his
dormant fields to open his water valves, intentionally flooding the land. The
fields filled up like a bathtub over the next three days. The water rose until
it covered the feet of his leafless pistachio and almond trees, as well as the
tangles of barren grape vines. It looked like an ephemeral pond that
disappeared over the next few weeks.
“It’s kind of a deep irrigation,” said Naito, who has continued this practice
over the past few months, flooding 250 acres of his 600-acre farm in
California’s Central Valley.
As the water sinks in, it travels deeper underground to slowly percolate into
the underlying aquifer. The practice, called managed agricultural groundwater
recharge, probably looks strange to the uninitiated, but it’s seen as an
increasingly important task during years with a water surplus in the state.
After a series of very dry years in California, this year 31 atmospheric rivers
have brought reams of moisture from the tropics, drenching once-dry basins,
capping the Sierra Nevada mountains with snow, and flooding several regions.
The state’s water cycle is broken, and it has created a crisis of misplaced
water. In addition to an ongoing war over surface water, in which the
agriculture industry and conservation community have often been at odds,
there’s widespread consensus that the disappearing groundwater has reached
crisis level. Wells have run dry, deeper wells have been dug, and the land in
many counties is literally sinking after water was rapidly drained from
underground aquifers.
That’s why Naito and several other farmers have been intentionally flooding
farmland to stow water underground, helping restore underground aquifers."
Via Future Crunch:
<https://futurecrunch.com/good-news-women-uzbekistan-conservation-colombia-river-florida/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
