- Author: Leigh Bernacchi
It's been a busy couple weeks for Andy Fisher, a hydrogeology professor at UC Santa Cruz. Two of his students presented research in Mexico while another finished his master's thesis and hurriedly returned to active duty with the Coast Guard. At the same time, Fisher prepared instruments for a new groundwater observatory in the Pajaro Valley and gave two presentations at an international groundwater and agriculture conference. If the reach of his program is any indication of intellectual stamina, Fisher never tires, particularly when it comes to preaching the possibilities of groundwater recharge.
Fisher's large body of work has had a big influence in...
- Author: Faith Kearns
Sedimentation is a common water quality problem in California. So, it's a big deal that a new study indicates that changes in irrigation technology might help. Researchers have found that large-scale adoption of drip irrigation techniques likely played a considerable role in reducing suspended river sediments in one of the state's largest agricultural areas.
“Widespread conversion from furrow irrigation to less erosive drip techniques in the early 1990's seems to be helping decrease suspended sediment concentrations in Salinas River watershed,” says Andrew Gray of the...
- Author: Rachael Long
Guest post from Rachael Long, UC Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor, Yolo County
The Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District (YCFC) is an agency that supplies water to farmers in northern California. The agency is at the forefront of innovative efforts aimed at banking groundwater by diverting flood waters into their unlined canals. This gives flood waters time to infiltrate soils and recharge groundwater.
Using a water right permit that they recently obtained from California's State Water Resources Control Board, flood waters from recent storms are being captured from Cache Creek as it enters the Sacramento Valley. YCFC recently opened their lateral gates, allowing the flood waters to...
- Author: Faith Kearns
Groundwater wells can fail in many ways. Sometimes the water table sinks below the level of the well. Sometimes minerals cause buildup in well systems. And, sometimes, wells get clogged with lots and lots of microbes.
Microbes can form large, jelly-like mats that lead to well failure from what is known as biofouling. Biofouled wells can be both expensive and technically challenging to repair. There are even times that repair is not possible and replacement is the only option. In Washington State, for example, researchers have encountered well pipes completely clogged by mats of bacteria....
- Author: Faith Kearns
California's Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta region, commonly referred to simply as the Delta, is often described as a unique part of the world. Although it is located between two big urban centers – the greater Sacramento and San Francisco Bay areas – the Delta can feel like another world altogether.
This is something Michelle Leinfelder-Miles, a farm advisor with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, knows well. She comes from a sixth-generation farming family in San Joaquin County and, after accepting her position several years ago, was happy to return “home”...