From the Manteca/Ripon Bulletin – The advent of the state mandate to stabilize groundwater has prompted scientists and researchers to look at the impacts of flood irrigation differently. The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act that requires a plan in place by 2025 to work toward taking no more water out of a basin than is recharged in a given year. The SGMA mandate must be fully implemented by 2040. If using winter storm runoff in almond orchards is found to be an effective and a safe way to recharge groundwater, researchers estimate there are 3.6 to 5.6 million acres of almonds with conducive soil that could be used for recharging purposes in California. It could be a fast and effective way at getting excess winter water flows that end up in the Pacific Ocean to recharge aquifers. (more)