By Jim Mayer and Michael Saunders
By any honest measure, California is living in water extremes.
Long droughts empty reservoirs, idle farmland, and impact our environment. Then, atmospheric rivers roar through the Sacramento Valley, sending millions of acre-feet of freshwater to the ocean in a matter of days. We lurch between scarcity and surplus—yet act as though we can’t store the water when it is most abundant.
That paradox is no longer acceptable. A solution is beneath our feet.
Groundwater recharge—intentionally moving high flows onto fields, floodplains, and dedicated basins so they percolate into aquifers, or shifting water supplies to leave more groundwater in storage—is a practical, affordable, and scalable storage system in California. When done through managed programs with clear accounting and sustainability safeguards, it allows regions to capture water during wet times for use during dry times. And now, after a decade of experience under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), it is clear we need legislation that makes recharge easier, faster, more affordable, and more certain.
A simple idea with enormous payoff
Aquifers are California’s largest reservoirs. They don’t evaporate. They shouldn’t require years of permitting that cost a million dollars. And they sit directly under the farms, communities and habitats that need the water most.
Recharge turns winter floods into summer security. It supports:
- Water supply reliability for cities and farms.
- Flood protection, by safely spreading peak flows.
- Ecosystem benefits, by reconnecting rivers and creeks to floodplains and healthy aquifers and reducing pressure on rivers during dry periods.
- SGMA implementation, by helping Groundwater Sustainability Agencies and water suppliers balance basins within established sustainability limits.
This is not theory. It’s already happening across California: winter-flooded fields and wetlands, orchard infiltration, aquifer storage and recovery wells, in-lieu recharge programs that intentionally leave groundwater in the basin, and purpose-built recharge basins that soak up stormwater and refill depleted aquifers.
Yet the policies meant to enable this work often slow it down in practice.
We’ve encouraged recharge—without fully enabling it
For years, governors, state agencies and the legislature have urged local agencies to “maximize every opportunity” to recharge groundwater.
State leadership has repeatedly encouraged recharge, and the Governor recently asked his state agencies to work with local agencies to develop specific recommendations to guide legislation to “further increase groundwater storage and remove impediments to recharge.”
And many policy experts agree. Groundwater recharge is described as “cost-effective and scalable,” essential for reliability, and critical to SGMA success—but hindered by “infrastructure constraints, cumbersome permitting processes, and a complex set of regulations.”
In other words: everyone supports recharge, but the regulatory system still makes it too hard to deliver water and recharge our aquifers in a predictable and durable way.
Flood-flow diversions are narrowly defined. Temporary diversion permits are expensive and time consuming. Local agencies hesitate to invest millions in projects if approvals are uncertain or short-lived. During the very wet winters of 2023 and 2024, when the Valley floor was covered with water, only a tiny fraction of permitted water was physically diverted because of restrictive conditions.
That’s not a hydrology problem. That’s a policy problem.
What the next generation of legislation should do
California doesn’t need to reinvent recharge—we just need to implement the intent of SGMA and remove friction. We appreciate the leadership of Assembly Member Aguiar-Curry in introducing legislation, AB 2026, to improve policy for groundwater recharge and to remove friction where needed.
The legislative direction in their bill is clear:
- Make it easier to capture flood flows safely.
When rivers are managed for flood protection and flows exceed downstream needs, local agencies should be able to divert water for recharge without navigating a maze of approvals—while still protecting communities, water rights, and the environment. - Modernize permitting.
Temporary permits should transition to mid-term or permanent pathways that recognize prior investments. Agencies that build infrastructure and demonstrate responsible, sustainable operation should not have to start from scratch every season. - Keep protections intact.
Recharge legislation must protect downstream water rights, the state and federal projects, environmental flows, and water quality. Smart policy can remove friction and increase flexibility without sacrificing these important safeguards. - Incentivize local investment.
Groundwater Sustainability Agencies, irrigation districts, flood managers, and landowners are ready to build systems and divert water. They simply need predictable rules that align with adopted groundwater sustainability plans.
These refinements don’t weaken oversight—they make it workable.
How this works in the Sacramento Valley
We see the Sacramento Valley, where we live and work, as uniquely positioned to show what modern recharge looks like.
We have:
- Broad floodplains and permeable soils.
- Working farms and wetlands that can double as recharge fields.
- Existing bypasses and flood infrastructure.
- A long history of regional coordination among water managers, flood agencies, and conservation partners.
Recharge here isn’t just a technical strategy; it’s a regional ethic. It mirrors how our landscapes historically functioned—slow water, spread water, soak water, supported today by shared rules, monitoring, and accountability.
And for agriculture, recharge is often the most effective way to achieve SGMA’s goals. Instead of pumping cuts that idle land and shrink rural economies, we can refill the aquifer and keep working lands productive while reducing reliance on rivers during dry years.
That’s a good long-term strategy for farms, fish, and communities alike.
A common-sense investment in abundance
For decades, California’s water debates have been framed around scarcity—who loses, who cuts back, who goes without.
Recharge flips that script.
When we store water underground during wet times, we create abundance to share in dry ones. We reduce conflict and make water more affordable. We increase resilience. We build flexibility into the system rather than rationing it.
Legislation that advances groundwater recharge is not partisan or regional. It is practical and it can be very collaborative and thoughtful. It is fiscally responsible and will make water more affordable. And it is exactly what a hotter, drier future in California demands.
When the next big storms arrive—and they will—California should be ready not just to survive them, but to save the water for times of need.
——————————–
Jim Mayer chairs the Northern California Water Groundwater Management Task Force, as a Board representative of the Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, a leading conjunctive water management district pursuing groundwater recharge for the past decade. He farms olives in Yolo County and has previously led California Forward and the Little Hoover Commission.
Michael Saunders is the Chair of the Regional Water Authority, the President of the Georgetown Divide Public Utility District Board of Directors, and the Chair of Region 3 for the Association of California Water Agencies.
