And we had historic days
of winter would
felt like endless amounts of snow and rain.
But now we're taking a look at f
California is wasting water opportunities,
if they're wasting any chances
to save all this water.
And the ABC10 team has really bn
looking into this question and r
next upcoming series called Water Wasted.
So tonight meteorologist Carly
Gomez takes a look at the power
of water right under our feet
after three years of record
drought in California.
The floodgates have opened.
Record snowpack has hit the Siea
prime time to capture that extra water.
But we have to be able to hold e
of that water back or store it o
that we can release it at a rate
where it can soak into the grou.
Third generation farmer Daniel
Bays knows the importance of
water stored underground down
there, and there might be enough water for a.
A domestic well for a house.
But if you were going to try and farm
with it, the amount of water you get out
of there would be such a minimal amount.
That's because after years of drought,
over pumping this water has lefr
largest natural reservoir parch.
And now restoring groundwater
is the state's biggest focus.
Lake Shasta is the biggest
reservoir we have in the state,
well above ground in the reservr
systems we have in California,
we have the equivalent.
Of nine Lake Shastas below the ground,
we have the equivalent
of 30 Lake Shastas. Being
able to map out the best areas o
store that water has been Stanfd
geophysicist Rosemary Knights Life's work.
After years of airborne and ground surveys,
we're getting a better understag
of the road map to water storag.
So if we can connect our engined
infrastructure to our natural infrastructure.
And think about managing our war
that way and getting water back
into our groundwater systems.
That's when I look at these data and go,
wow, what an opportunity. But
until we can come up with a plan
and pass bills, a big portion of
California's water will run out to sea.
We're going to be expecting
more intense droughts,
more intense floods and a quickr
transition from one to the next.
So this managed groundwater
recharges is really important.
And joining me now is
meteorologist Carly Gomez.
And Carly, this is really just a
preview of a larger piece that u
and the weather team have been
working on really analyzing the
water here in our own state, ri?
That's right. And you know,
with all this access water,
it's going into the snow packag,
dropping into the reservoirs,
downstreams, rivers, everyone's asking,
well, where is this all going?
I mean, it's pretty much going t
to see if it's not being stored.
I mean, we've had so much the excess here.
Has to go somewhere the
reservoirs can't hold anymore.
But are we doing enough to actuy
save this water and put it in motion?
Well, the truth is there has been something
in motion for almost 10 years a,
and it's called the Sustainable
Groundwater Management Act.
But that's just what it does.
It manages and it records how
much water is underground.
And whether someone is over
pumping and overusing,
but they're not necessarily buig
up that water with a longterm p.
But with the incredible year that we've seen,
is that going to become a prior?
Well, we hope so.
And that's the biggest thing with this
is the Department of Water Resources.
They're coming together to figure out how
they can continue to store the water.
But of course, these things take time.
It takes a lot of time.
Red tape, there's water rights.
Grandfathered in water rights.
I mean, there's so much that goes into this.
The plans even go as late as 200
to 2040 and their proposals.
So they're not even necessarily
implemented as they we must do this now.
It's kind of like maybe we should do this.
We'll look into it more.
We still have all this red tape
and that's what people like forr
Daniel Bays there is saying that it's
going through a lot of litigati.
And that's one of those things s
like we need to do of acts alrey
already. Yeah. And groundwater, I mean,
is really important, like you s,
to future proof against climate change.
But another thing that the state
is proposing to help with climae
change is the Delta tunnel, rig?
That's right. And it's one of te
big controversial issues that we
been dealing with because that
specific zone they push water through
to help ecological delta smelt.
It's a fish out there that
they've been trying to save.
But people are saying we
haven't seen very many of those.
It's a huge controversial issue.
Of course, Brendan,
meteorologist Brendon Minchev, .
Going to be discussing all of this with
you tomorrow. All right,
Carly, thank you so much.
And also don't forget tomorrow on April 20th,
all ABC News programs and platfs
will be featuring content about
the issues surrounding water.
You can catch the power of waten
all ABC News platforms this Thursday.