IT’S CURRENTLY AT A 89% CAPACITY. CITY AND THE DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES ALSO SHARED SOME ENCOURAGING NEWS ABOUT THE STATE’S GROUNDWATER STORAGE. YEAH, OUR METEOROLOGIST HEATHER WALDMAN JOINS US NOW WITH THOSE NUMBERS. YEAH. AND REMEMBER, GROUNDWATER IS SUPPOSED TO ACT LIKE AN EMERGENCY SAVINGS ACCOUNT PROVIDING WATER WHEN THE STATE’S RESERVOIRS ARE LOW. HISTORICALLY, THOUGH, GROUNDWATER HAS BEEN OVERUSED, ESPECIALLY IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY LAST YEAR’S HUGE RAIN AND SNOW SEASON COMBINED WITH NEW REGULATIONS FOR GROUNDWATER USE, HAVE LED TO THE FIRST INCREASE IN THE STATE’S GROUNDWATER SINCE 2019, THE DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES SAYS THAT 4.1 MILLION ACRE FEET OF WATER WAS STORED UNDER GROUND, USING SOME SORT OF INTENTIONAL RECHARGE METHOD. THAT’S ABOUT THE CAPACITY OF LAKE SHASTA, BUT IN TOTAL, BETWEEN THE MANAGED RECHARGED AND NATURAL GROUNDWATER RECHARGING, THE STATE’S GROUNDWATER STORAGE INCREASED BY 8.7 MILLION ACRE FEET. SOME OF THAT INCREASE AGAIN COMES FROM NOT NEEDING TO PUMP WATER TO THE SURFACE. THANKS TO TWO RELATIVELY WET YEARS IN A ROW. WHILE THIS INCREASE IS GOOD NEWS AND IT SHOWS THAT BETTER MANAGING GROUNDWATER USE CAN BE EFFECTIVE IN WET YEARS, THERE IS STILL A LONG WAY TO GO TO RESTORING CALIFORNIA’S AQUIFERS. DWR ESTIMATES THAT THERE IS A 40 MILLION ACRE FEET DEFICIT THAT IS BUILT UP OVER THE LAST TWO DECADES. THE SUSTAINABLE GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT ACT, WHICH TOOK EFFECT TEN YEARS AGO, AIMS TO REPLENISH GROUNDWATER SUPPLY WHILE BUILDING WATER PLANS THAT RELY LESS ON THAT SOURCE IN THE FUTURE. THIS IS THE FIRST GROUNDWATER UPDATE THAT INCLUDES ANNUAL REPORT DATA FROM 99 DIFFERENT BASINS ACROSS THE STATE.