Water Well Journal

February 2015

Water Well Journal

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Trillions of Gallons of Water Needed to Replenish Drought Losses It will take about 11 trillion gallons of water—around 1.5 times the maxi- mum volume of the largest U.S. reser- voir—to recover from California's continuing drought, according to analy- sis of NASA satellite data. The finding was part of an update on the state's drought made possible by space and airborne measurements and presented by NASA scientists on December 16, 2014 at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco. Such data are giving scien- tists the ability to identify key features of droughts, data that can be used to inform water management decisions. A team of scientists led by Jay Famiglietti, Ph.D., of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Cal- ifornia, used data from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites to develop the first- ever calculation of this kind—the vol- ume of water required to end an episode of drought. Earlier in 2014, at the peak of Cali- fornia's current three-year drought, the team found water storage in the state's Sacramento and San Joaquin river basins was 11 trillion gallons below nor- mal seasonal levels. Data collected since the launch of GRACE in 2002 shows this deficit has increased steadily. GRACE data revealed since 2011 the Sacramento and San Joaquin river basins decreased in volume by 4 trillion gallons of water each year. That's more water than California's 38 million residents use each year for domestic and municipal purposes. About two-thirds of the loss is due to depletion of groundwater beneath California's Central Valley. NGWA Cosponsors Western Drought Forum Workshop N GWA participated in the 2015 West- ern Governors Association Drought Forum Workshop, December 8-9, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Featuring remarks from Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, the forum offered a unique opportunity for NGWA to have a seat at the table while state leaders and public and private sector water stakeholders discussed drought impacts and solutions for water supply management. Lauren Schapker, NGWA's govern- ment affairs director, attended the forum. Through the course of several panel discussions, participants explored ways municipal water officials plan for drought, how to motivate the business community to confront water chal- lenges, and new technologies available to maintain production with a limited water supply. oli uses S er et M odel 101 M he T ater Level Laser Marked W t o 1000 f ments t ell otal w or t l fo . Submersible ds r o ed traceable t t or each /100 ft ely is accurat ed k nst laser mar el ev er L t a W P7 l Meters (300 m). em depth measur obe is idea r P7 P national standa tifie mm and cer y 1/ er v ed e k mar , which flat tape oli uses S er et M t la ed F ark Laser M ch et , non-str Durable • . vailable still a a W odel 101 P2 d M Standar Ta h P ings k er with heat embossed mar et el M v e er L at eo , G oad odd R T ., 35 d t anada L olinst C S o splice tape Easy t • o tified traceable t er C • ed e k ely mar ccurat A • High Quality Groundwater an om .solinst.c w w w wn, ON L7G 4R8 o get or er v e ater Monitoring Instrumentation Wa d Surface om ts@solinst.c instrumen 3 2 0 2 - 1 6 6 ) 0 0 8 ( ; 5 5 2 2 - 3 7 8 ) 5 0 9 ( 1 + : l e Te ax: +1 (905) 873-1992; (800) 516-9081 F WWJ February 2015 11 Correction The cover photograph on the January 2015 issue of Water Well Journal was misidentified. It is Big Piney Well No. 3, one of six wells owned by the town of Big Piney, Wyoming, and constructed in 1964. Facing increased water demands associated with nearby energy develop- ment, Weston Engineering Inc. developed and completed a wellfield evaluation and rehabilitation program for the town to increase well efficiency and restore lost productivity. The program was designed by Ben Jordan, PG, carried out by Frank Coy, and supervised by Robert J. Starkey, Ph.D., PG, all of Weston Engineering Inc. Weston provides groundwater engineer- ing services in Wyoming, South Dakota, Utah, and Montana. Twitter @WaterWellJournl

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