Innovative Technologies to Expand California’s
Water Supply – LBNL - Nico
8/1/2018
Copyright 2018
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Aquifer Recharge: Saving Rain for a
Sunny DayPeter S. NicoResilient Energy, Water, and Infrastructure Program Domain, Earth and Environmental
Sciences Area
Innovative Technologies to Expand California’s Water Supply
Jonny Rutqvist, Don Vasco, Craig Ulrich, Yuxin Wu, others
Aquifer Recharge: Saving Rain for a
Sunny Day
Innovative Technologies to Expand California’s Water Supply
Innovative Technologies to Expand California’s
Water Supply – LBNL - Nico
8/1/2018
Copyright 2018
Contact [email protected] for distribution 2
Groundwater is critical to life in
California (and much of the world)
and current use is unsustainable
By SGMA and by necessity
groundwater management must
change
Why Groundwater?
Over 96% of liquid fresh water is
groundwater
Overdraft ~1-2 million AF/yr
Science can help improve
management practices
Groundwater Management Grand Challenge
Precipitation Comes in Pulses
How to connect short term
extreme events to long
term groundwater storage?
Innovative Technologies to Expand California’s
Water Supply – LBNL - Nico
8/1/2018
Copyright 2018
Contact [email protected] for distribution 3
“Seeing” Underground
Where is there suitable subsurface for recharge?
“Seeing” Underground
Where is there suitable subsurface for recharge?
Innovative Technologies to Expand California’s
Water Supply – LBNL - Nico
8/1/2018
Copyright 2018
Contact [email protected] for distribution 4
“Seeing” Underground
Where is there suitable subsurface for recharge?
“Seeing” Underground
Where is there suitable subsurface for recharge?
Innovative Technologies to Expand California’s
Water Supply – LBNL - Nico
8/1/2018
Copyright 2018
Contact [email protected] for distribution 5
“Seeing” Underground
Where is there suitable subsurface for recharge?
Land Use:
Which orchards? Which parts of the orchard?
Management:
How much water can be applied?
Will it keep the roots wet?
Will it transport/dissolve contaminants?
Etc.
The Downs and Ups of Groundwater Changes
Innovative Technologies to Expand California’s
Water Supply – LBNL - Nico
8/1/2018
Copyright 2018
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Assessing the Risk to Energy Infrastructure
s
Corcoran
El Nido
Tulare
Visalia
Fresno
1st acquisitionR1
2nd acquisition R2
ΔR
Area affected by surface deformation
Detection of possible
range variations
SAR Interferomatry
Jonny Rutqvist
Tracking Groundwater Budgets
Dis
pla
cem
en
t (c
m)
0
-15
-30
-45
-60
2015 2016 2017
-75
Don Vasco
Innovative Technologies to Expand California’s
Water Supply – LBNL - Nico
8/1/2018
Copyright 2018
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Tracking Groundwater Budgets
20
200
0
Dis
tan
ce
Distance
Tulare Irrigation District
Vo
lum
e C
ha
ng
e(a
cre
/ft)
175,000
95,000
15,000
1/2017 5/20176/2016
City of
Tulare
Total Recharge Over All of
Tulare Irrigation District
A Challenge with Groundwater Management
Preserving Water Quality
Innovative Technologies to Expand California’s
Water Supply – LBNL - Nico
8/1/2018
Copyright 2018
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Wells with
Arsenic
contamination
above regulated
level (10ppb)
Tulare Basin Subsidence
Smith, Knight, Fendorf, Nature Com. 2018
Innovative Technologies to Expand California’s
Water Supply – LBNL - Nico
8/1/2018
Copyright 2018
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Arsenic Release
As (mg/L)
10
>100
Pore Pressure
(Subsidence)
Mechanism
Natural Contaminants
Source
Management
Innovative Technologies to Expand California’s
Water Supply – LBNL - Nico
8/1/2018
Copyright 2018
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Mechanism
Pressure
(Subsidence)
Salts/Dissolved Minerals
(Sorption/Desorption)
Oxygen
(Solubility)
The Promise of Groundwater Management
Source: USGS
Adapted from Stanford Water in the West
15 million
Acre-feetCA snowpack
between 1956-
2000
Innovative Technologies to Expand California’s
Water Supply – LBNL - Nico
8/1/2018
Copyright 2018
Contact [email protected] for distribution 11
My Contact Information
Dr. Peter S. Nico:
Resilient Energy, Water, and Infrastructure Program
Domain
Berkeley Lab, Berkeley, CA
Phone: 510-486-7118
E-mail: [email protected]