Importance of river water recharge to the San Joaquin Valley groundwater system

Visser, Ate; Moran, Jean E.; Singleton, Michael J.; Esser, Bradley K.

doi:10.1002/hyp.11468

Title: Importance of river water recharge to the San Joaquin Valley groundwater system

Journal Article · Thu Feb 15 00:00:00 EST 2018 · Hydrological Processes

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.11468· OSTI ID:1458687

^[1]; Moran, Jean E. ^[2]; Singleton, Michael J. ^[1]; Esser, Bradley K. ^[1]

Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States). Nuclear and Chemical Sciences Division
California State Univ. (CalState), Hayward, CA (United States). Dept. of Earth & Environmental Sciences

Groundwater is not a sustainable resource, unless abstraction is balanced by recharge. Identifying the sources of recharge in a groundwater basin is critical for sustainable groundwater management. In this paper, we studied the importance of river water recharge to groundwater in the south-eastern San Joaquin Valley (24,000 km², population 4 million). We combined dissolved noble gas concentrations, stable isotopes, tritium, and carbon-14 analyses to analyse the sources, mechanisms, and timescales of groundwater recharge. Area-representative groundwater sampling and numerical model input data enabled a stable isotope mass balance and quantitative estimates of river and local recharge. River recharge, identified by a lighter stable isotope signature, represents 47 ± 4% of modern groundwater in the San Joaquin Valley (recharged after 1950) but only 26 ± 4% of premodern groundwater (recharged before 1950). This implies that the importance of river water recharge in the San Joaquin valley has nearly doubled and is likely the result of a 40% increase in total recharge, caused by river water irrigation return flows and increased stream depletion and river recharge due to groundwater pumping. Compared with the large and long-duration capacity for water storage in the subsurface, storage of water in rivers is limited in time and volume, as evidenced by cold river recharge temperatures resulting from fast infiltration and recharge. Finally, groundwater banking of seasonal surface water flows and expansion of managed aquifer recharge practices therefore appear to be a natural and promising method for increasing the resilience of the San Joaquin Valley water supply system.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

View Accepted Manuscript (Publisher)

Cite

Export

Save

Research Organization:: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE; LLNL Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program; California State Water Boards (United States)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC52-07NA27344

OSTI ID:: 1458687

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1432559

Report Number(s):: LLNL-JRNL-735797; 888241; TRN: US1901507

Journal Information:: Hydrological Processes, Vol. 32, Issue 9; ISSN 0885-6087

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Citation Metrics:

Cited by: 15 works

Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (57)

Anthropogenic warming impacts on California snowpack during drought Berg, Neil; Hall, Alex Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 44, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL072104	journal	March 2017
Spatial distribution and seasonal variation in ¹⁸ O/ ¹⁶ O of modern precipitation and river water across the conterminous USA Dutton, Andrea; Wilkinson, Bruce H.; Welker, Jeffrey M. Hydrological Processes, Vol. 19, Issue 20 https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.5876	journal	December 2005
Isotope hydrology of voluminous cold springs in fractured rock from an active volcanic region, northeastern California Rose, Timothy P.; Lee Davisson, M.; Criss, Robert E. Journal of Hydrology, Vol. 179, Issue 1-4 https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1694(95)02832-3	journal	May 1996
Twenty-First-Century Snowfall and Snowpack Changes over the Southern California Mountains Sun, Fengpeng; Hall, Alex; Schwartz, Marla Journal of Climate, Vol. 29, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-15-0199.1	journal	January 2016
Global aquifers dominated by fossil groundwaters but wells vulnerable to modern contamination Jasechko, Scott; Perrone, Debra; Befus, Kevin M. Nature Geoscience, Vol. 10, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2943	journal	April 2017
Impact of Irrigation over the California Central Valley on Regional Climate Yang, Zhao; Dominguez, Francina; Zeng, Xubin Journal of Hydrometeorology, Vol. 18, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1175/JHM-D-16-0158.1	journal	May 2017
A paleotemperature record derived from dissolved noble gases in groundwater of the Aquia Aquifer (Maryland, USA) Aeschbach-Hertig, Werner; Stute, Martin; Clark, Jordan F. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 66, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7037(01)00804-3	journal	March 2002
Hydrogen isotope study of large-scale meteoric water transport in Northern California and Nevada Ingraham, Neil L.; Taylor, Bruce E. Journal of Hydrology, Vol. 85, Issue 1-2 https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1694(86)90084-3	journal	June 1986
The effect of snowmelt on the hydrogen isotope ratios of creek discharge in surprise valley, California Ingraham, Neil L.; Taylor, Bruce E. Journal of Hydrology, Vol. 106, Issue 3-4 https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1694(89)90074-7	journal	April 1989
Enhancing drought resilience with conjunctive use and managed aquifer recharge in California and Arizona Scanlon, Bridget R.; Reedy, Robert C.; Faunt, Claudia C. Environmental Research Letters, Vol. 11, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/3/035013	journal	March 2016
Determination of tritium by mass spectrometric measurement of 3He Clarke, W. B.; Jenkins, W. J.; Top, Z. The International Journal of Applied Radiation and Isotopes, Vol. 27, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1016/0020-708X(76)90082-X	journal	September 1976
Seasonal variation of high elevation groundwater recharge as indicator of climate response Segal, Daniel C.; Moran, Jean E.; Visser, Ate Journal of Hydrology, Vol. 519 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2014.10.051	journal	November 2014
Noble Gas Excess Air Applied to Distinguish Groundwater Recharge Conditions Ingram, Richard G. S.; Hiscock, Kevin M.; Dennis, Paul F. Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 41, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1021/es061115r	journal	March 2007
Stable isotopes in precipitation Dansgaard, W. Tellus, Vol. 16, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusa.v16i4.8993	journal	January 1964
Mountain runoff vulnerability to increased evapotranspiration with vegetation expansion Goulden, Michael L.; Bales, Roger C. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 111, Issue 39 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1319316111	journal	September 2014
Impact of Artificial Recharge on Dissolved Noble Gases in Groundwater in California Cey, Bradley D.; Hudson, G. Bryant; Moran, Jean E. Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 42, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1021/es0706044	journal	February 2008
Anthropogenic warming has increased drought risk in California Diffenbaugh, Noah S.; Swain, Daniel L.; Touma, Danielle Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 112, Issue 13 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1422385112	journal	March 2015
Substantial proportion of global streamflow less than three months old Jasechko, Scott; Kirchner, James W.; Welker, Jeffrey M. Nature Geoscience, Vol. 9, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2636	journal	January 2016
Implications of projected climate change for groundwater recharge in the western United States Meixner, Thomas; Manning, Andrew H.; Stonestrom, David A. Journal of Hydrology, Vol. 534 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2015.12.027	journal	March 2016
Using noble gases to investigate mountain-front recharge Manning, Andrew H.; Solomon, D. Kip Journal of Hydrology, Vol. 275, Issue 3-4 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-1694(03)00043-X	journal	May 2003
Paleotemperatures in the Southwestern United States Derived from Noble Gases in Ground Water Stute, M.; Schlosser, P.; Clark, J. F. Science, Vol. 256, Issue 5059 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.256.5059.1000	journal	May 1992
Geostatistical analysis of tritium, groundwater age and other noble gas derived parameters in California Visser, A.; Moran, J. E.; Hillegonds, Darren Water Research, Vol. 91 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2016.01.004	journal	March 2016
The influence of snow sublimation on the isotopic composition of spring and surface waters in the southwestern United States: Implications for stable isotope-based paleoaltimetry and hydrologic studies Lechler, A. R.; Niemi, N. A. Geological Society of America Bulletin, Vol. 124, Issue 3-4 https://doi.org/10.1130/B30467.1	journal	September 2011
Cooling of Tropical Brazil (5 C) During the Last Glacial Maximum Stute, M.; Forster, M.; Frischkorn, H. Science, Vol. 269, Issue 5222 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.269.5222.379	journal	July 1995
Groundwater use for irrigation – a global inventory Siebert, S.; Burke, J.; Faures, J. M. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, Vol. 14, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-14-1863-2010	journal	January 2010
Determination of the initial ¹⁴ C activity of the total dissolved carbon: A review of the existing models and a new approach Fontes, Jean-Charles; Garnier, Jean-Marie Water Resources Research, Vol. 15, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1029/WR015i002p00399	journal	April 1979
Groundwater depletion and sustainability of irrigation in the US High Plains and Central Valley Scanlon, B. R.; Faunt, C. C.; Longuevergne, L. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 109, Issue 24 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1200311109	journal	May 2012
Analysis of long-term dispersion in a river-recharged aquifer using tritium/helium data: ANALYSIS OF LONG-TERM DISPERSION IN AN AQUIFER Massmann, Gudrun; Sültenfuß, Jürgen; Pekdeger, Asaf Water Resources Research, Vol. 45, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1029/2007WR006746	journal	February 2009
Estimation of aquifer scale proportion using equal area grids: Assessment of regional scale groundwater quality: EQUAL AREA GRIDS AND AQUIFER SCALE PROPORTION Belitz, Kenneth; Jurgens, Bryant; Landon, Matthew K. Water Resources Research, Vol. 46, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1029/2010WR009321	journal	November 2010
Evapotranspiration along an elevation gradient in California's Sierra Nevada: SIERRA NEVADA EVAPOTRANSPIRATION Goulden, M. L.; Anderson, R. G.; Bales, R. C. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, Vol. 117, Issue G3 https://doi.org/10.1029/2012JG002027	journal	September 2012
Inert gases in groundwater from the Bunter Sandstone of England as indicators of age and palaeoclimatic trends Andrews, John N.; Lee, David J. Journal of Hydrology, Vol. 41, Issue 3-4 https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1694(79)90064-7	journal	May 1979
Geologically based model of heterogeneous hydraulic conductivity in an alluvial setting Fogg, Graham E.; Noyes, Charles D.; Carle, Steven F. Hydrogeology Journal, Vol. 6, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1007/s100400050139	journal	June 1998
Evaluation of Noble Gas Recharge Temperatures in a Shallow Unconfined Aquifer Cey, Bradley D.; Hudson, G. Bryant; Moran, Jean E. Ground Water, Vol. 47, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6584.2009.00562.x	journal	September 2009
Water availability and land subsidence in the Central Valley, California, USA Faunt, Claudia C.; Sneed, Michelle; Traum, Jon Hydrogeology Journal, Vol. 24, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-015-1339-x	journal	November 2015
Irrigation cooling effect: Regional climate forcing by land-use change Kueppers, Lara M.; Snyder, Mark A.; Sloan, Lisa C. Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 34, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1029/2006GL028679	journal	January 2007
Intensive rainfall recharges tropical groundwaters Jasechko, Scott; Taylor, Richard G. Environmental Research Letters, Vol. 10, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/12/124015	journal	December 2015
Effects of Water-Table Configuration on the Planetary Boundary Layer over the San Joaquin River Watershed, California Gilbert, James M.; Maxwell, Reed M.; Gochis, David J. Journal of Hydrometeorology, Vol. 18, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1175/JHM-D-16-0134.1	journal	May 2017
Distribution of oxygen-18 and deuterium in river waters across the United States Kendall, Carol; Coplen, Tyler B. Hydrological Processes, Vol. 15, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.217	journal	January 2001
Light stable isotope systematics of large-scale hydrologic regimes in California and Nevada Ingraham, Neil L.; Taylor, Bruce E. Water Resources Research, Vol. 27, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1029/90WR01708	journal	January 1991
Noble gases and stable isotopes in a shallow aquifer in southern Michigan: Implications for noble gas paleotemperature reconstructions for cool climates: NOBLE GASES IN A SHALLOW AQUIFER Hall, Chris M.; Castro, Maria Clara; Lohmann, Kyger C. Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 32, Issue 18 https://doi.org/10.1029/2005GL023582	journal	September 2005
Heliuim-3 mass spectrometry for low-level tritium analysis of environmental samples Surano, K. A.; Hudson, G. B.; Failor, R. A. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry Articles, Vol. 161, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02040491	journal	August 1992
A membrane inlet mass spectrometry system for noble gases at natural abundances in gas and water samples: MIMS system for noble gases at natural abundances in gas and water Visser, Ate; Singleton, Michael J.; Hillegonds, Darren J. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, Vol. 27, Issue 21 https://doi.org/10.1002/rcm.6704	journal	October 2013
Water movement through a thick unsaturated zone underlying an intermittent stream in the western Mojave Desert, southern California, USA Izbicki, J. A.; Radyk, J.; Michel, R. L. Journal of Hydrology, Vol. 238, Issue 3-4 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-1694(00)00331-0	journal	December 2000
A method for physically based model analysis of conjunctive use in response to potential climate changes: METHOD FOR CONJUNCTIVE USE ANALYSIS OF CLIMATE CHANGE Hanson, R. T.; Flint, L. E.; Flint, A. L. Water Resources Research, Vol. 48, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1029/2011WR010774	journal	February 2012
Distribution of tritium in precipitation and surface water in California Harms, Patrick A.; Visser, Ate; Moran, Jean E. Journal of Hydrology, Vol. 534 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2015.12.046	journal	March 2016
Insights into controls on hexavalent chromium in groundwater provided by environmental tracers, Sacramento Valley, California, USA Manning, Andrew H.; Mills, Christopher T.; Morrison, Jean M. Applied Geochemistry, Vol. 62 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2015.05.010	journal	November 2015
Intercomparison of tritium and noble gases analyses, 3 H/ 3 He ages and derived parameters excess air and recharge temperature Visser, Ate; Fourré, Elise; Barbecot, Florent Applied Geochemistry, Vol. 50 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2014.03.005	journal	November 2014
The pronounced seasonality of global groundwater recharge Jasechko, Scott; Birks, S. Jean; Gleeson, Tom Water Resources Research, Vol. 50, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1002/2014WR015809	journal	November 2014
Indications for Protracted Groundwater Depletion after Drought over the Central Valley of California Simon Wang, S. -Y.; Lin, Yen-Heng; Gillies, Robert R. Journal of Hydrometeorology, Vol. 17, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1175/JHM-D-15-0105.1	journal	March 2016
Availability of high-magnitude streamflow for groundwater banking in the Central Valley, California Kocis, Tiffany N.; Dahlke, Helen E. Environmental Research Letters, Vol. 12, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aa7b1b	journal	July 2017
A tracer study of the Floridan Aquifer in southeastern Georgia: Implications for groundwater flow and paleoclimate Clark, Jordan F.; Stute, Martin; Schlosser, Peter Water Resources Research, Vol. 33, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1029/96WR03017	journal	February 1997
Soil suitability index identifies potential areas for groundwater banking on agricultural lands O'Geen, A. T.; Saal, Matthew; Dahlke, Helen California Agriculture, Vol. 69, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.3733/ca.v069n02p75	journal	April 2015
Dissolved noble gas and isotopic tracers reveal vulnerability of groundwater in a small, high‐elevation catchment to predicted climate changes Singleton, Michael J.; Moran, Jean E. Water Resources Research, Vol. 46, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1029/2009WR008718	journal	October 2010
Stable isotopes in precipitation Dansgaard, W. Tellus, Vol. 16, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2153-3490.1964.tb00181.x	journal	November 1964
Stable isotopes in precipitation Macdonald, Elena Universität Potsdam https://doi.org/10.25932/publishup-50661	text	January 2021
Indications for Protracted Groundwater Depletion after Drought over the Central Valley of California Wang, S-Y Simon; Lin, Yen-Heng; Gillies, Robert R. American Meteorological Society https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-122587	text	January 2016
Groundwater use for irrigation – a global inventory Siebert, S.; Burke, J.; Faures, J. M. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions, Vol. 7, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.5194/hessd-7-3977-2010	journal	January 2010

Figures / Tables (5)

Similar Records

Effect of Groundwater Age and Recharge Source on Nitrate Concentrations in Domestic Wells in the San Joaquin Valley

Journal Article · Thu Jan 28 00:00:00 EST 2021 · Environmental Science and Technology · OSTI ID:1458687

Castaldo, Giovanni; Visser, Ate; Fogg, Graham E.; +1 more

California GAMA Special Study: Importance of River Water Recharge to Selected Groundwater Basins

Technical Report · Mon Mar 21 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · OSTI ID:1458687

Visser, Ate; Moran, Jean E.; Singleton, Michael J.; +1 more

Policy Innovation and Governance for Irrigation Sustainability in the Arid, Saline San Joaquin River Basin

Journal Article · Wed Jun 10 00:00:00 EDT 2020 · Sustainability (Basel) · OSTI ID:1458687

Quinn, Nigel W. T.

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Title: Importance of river water recharge to the San Joaquin Valley groundwater system

Citation Formats

References (57)

Figures / Tables (5)

Similar Records

Related Subjects