California farmers flood fields to boost groundwater basin

By AMY TAXIN
Associated Press

With water gushing through California’s rivers, some farmers have started devoting a portion of their land to capture these flows and let them seep into the ground. The move is part of a push to increase a practice known as on-farm recharge, where farmers divert floodwaters from rural communities fields used for grapes and nuts. The idea is to help replenish groundwater after years of pumping and drought. State officials don’t know how many farmers are involved in on-farm recharge, or how much water is being captured. But interest is booming as California muddles through an especially wet winter. A federal pilot program to encourage on-farm recharge in California could be replicated in other Western states.