Grower’s Corner: Austin Hubbell
Farmers are adaptive people by nature. We can adapt our irrigation practices today for our…
Grower Resources
Sustainable Irrigation Guides
North Kings GSA is working in cooperation with Fresno Irrigation District (FID) to encourage growers to retain their flood irrigation systems so they can use surface water when available. Improving groundwater conditions and making it through future droughts requires conscious water management decisions by all.
Learn more by downloading the Stop Before You Convert flyer for growers below.
Grower’s Corner
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On-Farm Recharge Info and Tools
Five factors that determine the feasibility of groundwater recharge on agricultural land
1. DEEP PERCOLATION: Soils must be readily able to transmit water beyond the root zone (1.5 m, 5 ft).
2. Root zone residence time: The duration of saturated/near saturated conditions after water application must be acceptable for the crops grown on lands under consideration for groundwater banking throughout the entire crop root zone.
3. Topography: Slopes that negatively influence the even distribution of water will be more difficult to manage.
4. Chemical limitations: High soil salinity may result in saline leachate (poor water quality) that must be avoided to protect groundwater quality.
5. Soil surface condition: Certain soils may be susceptible to compaction and erosion if large volumes of water are applied. Surface horizons with high sodium are prone to crusting that may contribute to decreased surface infiltration rates.
(Source: UC Ag and Natural Resources, California Agriculture, “Soil suitability index identifies potential areas for groundwater banking on agricultural lands”. https://calag.ucanr.edu/Archive/?article=ca.v069n02p75.)
Soil Agricultural Groundwater Banking Index (SAGBI) – California Soil Resource Lab at UC Davis and UC-ANR
The Soil Agricultural Groundwater Banking Index (SAGBI) is based on the five major factors that are critical to successful agricultural groundwater banking: deep percolation, root zone residence time, topography, chemical limitations and soil surface condition. Click the link below to find your farm on the SAGBI map, and assess groundwater recharge suitability:
Groundwater Recharge Assessment Tool (GRAT) – Sustainable Conservation, the Earth Genome
The Groundwater Recharge Assessment Tool’s (GRAT) cloud-based application integrates hydrologic, agronomic and geologic science with best-available data from local, state and federal sources to create an indexed ranking of suitable recharge sites. The map includes data layers for crop type, GSA boundaries, and recharge suitability. Learn more on the map at the link below:
