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The Regional Water Authority (RWA) announced recently that local water providers banked 35,231 acre-feet of water in the Sacramento Regional Water Bank during the 2024 calendar year.
The Water Bank is a network of groundwater wells, pumps, and pipelines that enable local water providers to store excess water in underground aquifers. It is estimated that the region’s aquifers can store twice the volume of water as Folsom Reservoir. The Water Bank is crucial for adapting the region’s water system to climate change, which is expected to reduce snowpack and cause more extreme droughts and floods.
“Once again, water banking has proven to be an effective solution for storing water that will be available when it’s needed most,” said Jim Peifer, RWA Executive Director. “In a year with near-average conditions in the American River watershed, local water providers were still able to bank a significant amount of water to support both our communities and the environment during dry periods.”
In 2024, all deposits into the aquifer were made through In-lieu recharge, the combined management of both surface water and groundwater use, resulting in the replenishment of groundwater supplies within the aquifers. Every gallon of surface water served to customers in lieu of groundwater results in water saved in the groundwater aquifer, helping to maintain sustainable groundwater supplies.
In 2024, several agencies contributed to boosting groundwater levels by increasing their use of surface water and reducing reliance on groundwater to build reserves. North of the American River, the City of Sacramento and Sacramento Suburban Water District participated, along with the Carmichael Water District and California American Water. South of the American River, the Sacramento County Water Agency was also a key contributor.
“These actions represent a powerful tool for us to store water during good years to protect against shortages in dry periods ahead,” said Brett Ewart, Board Chair of RWA and Supervising Engineer with the City of Sacramento. “We’re giving the same level of focus to managing surface water when it’s plentiful as we do to managing groundwater during times of scarcity.”
