California farmers flood fields to boost groundwater basin

California farmers flood fields to boost groundwater basin

a year ago
Anonymous $5YzO3NGzaX

https://apnews.com/article/california-farms-groundwater-recharge-drought-pumping-234e0303f9211ed8675132f3f5466ef5

A field that has long grown tomatoes, peppers and onions now looks like a wind-whipped ocean as farmer Don Cameron seeks to capture the runoff from a freakishly wet year in California to replenish the groundwater basin that is his only source to water his crops.

Taking some tomatoes out of production for a year is an easy choice if it means boosting future water supplies for his farm about 35 miles (56 kilometers) southwest of Fresno. He’s pumping 300 acre-feet a day — enough to supply hundreds of households for a year — from the gushing North Fork of the Kings River onto former vegetable fields and others dotted with pistachio trees, which can withstand heavy flooding.

California farmers flood fields to boost groundwater basin

Mar 28, 2023, 10:25am UTC
https://apnews.com/article/california-farms-groundwater-recharge-drought-pumping-234e0303f9211ed8675132f3f5466ef5 > A field that has long grown tomatoes, peppers and onions now looks like a wind-whipped ocean as farmer Don Cameron seeks to capture the runoff from a freakishly wet year in California to replenish the groundwater basin that is his only source to water his crops. > Taking some tomatoes out of production for a year is an easy choice if it means boosting future water supplies for his farm about 35 miles (56 kilometers) southwest of Fresno. He’s pumping 300 acre-feet a day — enough to supply hundreds of households for a year — from the gushing North Fork of the Kings River onto former vegetable fields and others dotted with pistachio trees, which can withstand heavy flooding.