Colusa County | Managed Aquifer Recharge: benefitting aquifers, farmers, and migratory birds

In partnership with growers and the Colusa Groundwater Authority (CGA), The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is implementing a pilot multiple-benefit managed aquifer recharge (MAR) program on farmland in California’s Central Valley, Colusa County. This program will benefit local groundwater users by replenishing critical domestic and agricultural groundwater supplies in a Severely Disadvanateged Community (SDAC). Participating farmers will benefit economically through incentive payments, and migratory shorebirds will benefit through the creation of critical winter habitat on farms through our specific field and water depth specificiations. MAR sites will be selected where and when it is appropriate and cost-effective to do so based on farming practices, soil suitability, water availability, basin water balances, and migratory/shorebird habitat requirements. The relevance and success of this program for Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs), Severely Disadvantaged Communities (SDACs), and Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs) will require all of these stakeholders and project participants to collaborate on its design. Thus, TNC will engage growers, water managers, and other stakeholders in a variety of formal and informal ways to ensure that this program will meet the needs of all parties involved in GSP development. This program serves as a model for other GSAs and stakeholders seeking to deliver multiple benefits through on-farm recharge in the Central Valley where such a program is appropriate.