Latest Groundwater Stories

DM Crumbliss for RedOrbit.com Groundwater is being used faster than it can be replenished in the High Plains states and in California’s Central Valley, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Most of the water brought up in wells is used for irrigation in these vital agricultural regions. A new study based at the University of Texas finds that rapid depletion of groundwater is a threat to the country’s food supply. Scanlon and her...

LAKEWOOD, Calif., May 17, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- California Senate members from both sides of the isle voted today by a margin of 31-4 to approve Senate Bill 1386, a measure that would clarify existing language in the California Water Code, making it explicitly clear that the Water Replenishment District of Southern California (WRD) would maintain the sole responsibility for storing and managing groundwater in southeast Los Angeles County, thereby avoiding costly duplication...

State High Court Rejects Legal Challenges by Cities of Downey, Signal Hill and Cerritos, the Central Basin Municipal Water District and Tesoro Oil Company LAKEWOOD, Calif., May 14, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The California State Supreme Court delivered an important legal victory to the Water Replenishment District of Southern California (WRD) and to district ratepayers when it rejected appeals by the Central Basin Municipal Water District (CBMWD) and the cities of Downey,...

As people pump groundwater for irrigation, drinking water, and industrial uses, the water doesn’t just seep back into the ground — it also evaporates into the atmosphere, or runs off into rivers and canals, eventually emptying into the world’s oceans. This water adds up, and a new study calculates that by 2050, groundwater pumping will cause a global sea level rise of about 0.8 millimeters per year. “Other than ice on land, the excessive groundwater extractions are fast becoming...

LAKEWOOD, Calif., May 9, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the Natural Resources & Water Committee of the California State Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 1386, a bill aimed at clarifying the authority and roles of water agencies in southern Los Angeles County. The bill was introduced earlier this year by South Bay veteran lawmaker, Senator Alan Lowenthal. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110121/DC34153LOGO ) "WRD is pleased to see this important senate...

LAKEWOOD, Calif., May 4, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Water Replenishment District of Southern California (WRD), which provides groundwater for more than 10% of the state's population, has decided NOT to increase its groundwater pumping rates for the next fiscal year. Avoiding a water rate increase is a sharp contrast to the 5% to 28% increases in other water rates in the Los Angeles region. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110121/DC34153LOGO) "WRD is very proud...

A new analysis of streams in the western United States with long-term monitoring programs has found that despite a general increase in air temperatures over the past several decades, streams are not necessarily warming at the same rate. Several factors may influence the discrepancy, researchers say, including snowmelt, interaction with groundwater, flow and discharge rates, solar radiation, wind and humidity. But even after factoring out those elements, the scientists were surprised by the...

There is potential to store large volumes of Australia’s precious fresh water underground, to offset climate change, avoid evaporation losses and meet national water needs into the future, leading water scientists say. Following a major national scientific workshop in Canberra last week, researchers in the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training (NCGRT) say that managed aquifer recharge – the injection or infiltration of excess surface water into underground aquifers –...

Federal funds secured by WRD to construct a vital groundwater monitoring well ensuring safe water LAKEWOOD, Calif., May 1, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Water Replenishment District of Southern California's (WRD) groundwater monitoring well in the City of Bell across from the Bell Community Center, continues to ensure groundwater safety for Bell residents. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110121/DC34153LOGO) In 2009, WRD worked with Congresswoman Lucille...

There was no change in concentrations of chloride, dissolved solids, or nitrate in groundwater for more than 50 percent of well networks sampled in a new analysis by the USGS that compared samples from 1988-2000 to samples from 2001-2010. For those networks that did have a change, seven times more networks saw increases as opposed to decreases. The analysis was done by the USGS National Water Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) to determine if concentrations of these constituents have...