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Groundwater recharge also encompasses water moving away from the water table farther into the saturated zone. [1] Recharge occurs both naturally (through the water cycle) and through anthropogenic processes (i.e., "artificial groundwater recharge"), where rainwater and/or reclaimed water is routed to the subsurface.
Groundwater recharge projects are expected to increase in number in future years throughout California due to the comparatively low cost and massive storage capabilities of aquifers. The total volume of groundwater capacity is estimated to be 850 million acre-feet, while there is only around 50 million acre-feet of available surface freshwater ...
This groundwater boost was driven in part by deliberate efforts to recharge the state’s vast underground reservoirs, which accounts for about 40% of California’s total water supply and is ...
Groundwater is fresh water located in the subsurface pore space of soil and rocks.It is also water that is flowing within aquifers below the water table.Sometimes it is useful to make a distinction between groundwater that is closely associated with surface water, and deep groundwater in an aquifer (called "fossil water" if it infiltrated into the ground millennia ago [8]).
Groundwater is water that is found underground in cracks and spaces in the soil, sand and rocks. Where water has filled these spaces is the phreatic (also called) saturated zone. Groundwater is stored in and moves slowly (compared to surface runoff in temperate conditions and watercourses) through layers or zones of soil, sand and rocks: aquifers.
The effectiveness of the groundwater recharge through the soil was studied from 1971 to 1980. Over that period, the average recharge rate was 10,848 acre feet per year at 86 percent facility efficiency. The 10-year mean actual recharge rate based on actual water delivered, total ponded area, and total days of recharge was 4.7 inches per day.
Factors that affect the recharge include the size of the area in which groundwater is captured, the amount of precipitation, the size of capture points, and the size of the spring outlet. Water may leak into the underground system from many sources including permeable earth, sinkholes, and losing streams .
When groundwater is extracted from an aquifer, a cone of depression is created around the well.As the drafting of water continues, the cone increases in radius. Extracting too much water (overdrafting) can lead to negative impacts such as a drop of the water table, land subsidence, and loss of surface water reaching the streams.