After years of intense drought and diminishing groundwater, California just saw its greatest year-over-year water gains in two decades, according to data from a U.S.-German satellite mission.
Early data showing the greatest net gain of water over the winter in nearly 22 years was compiled by the GRACE-FO (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On) satellite mission, a partnership between NASA and the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ).
This past winter's bonanza of atmospheric rivers alleviated some of the water deficit that the state incurred during periods of drought over the last 10 years, which included the three driest years on record in California.
GRACE-FO measurements include all the water contained in the lakes, rivers, soil, snowpack, and underground aquifers within the state's Central Valley region. Between October 2022 and March 2023, storms provided enough water to raise the amount of water within all the water bodies in the region by about 20 inches.
That is about twice as much as the average winter water gain since satellite-based water storage measurements began in 2002 with the first GRACE mission.
While surface water basins are filling, underground stores of fresh water (aquifers) that are tapped for irrigation and other needs could take years to fully recharge as the state's groundwater levels still suffer from the effects of years of drought. "One good winter of rain and snow won't make up for years of extreme drought and extensive groundwater use," said Felix Landerer, GRACE-FO project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
The GRACE-FO team will continue to track how California's water storage evolves through the summer after the snowpack melts and water levels in the state's lakes, rivers, and reservoirs start to recede during drier weather.
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