Water districts partner to mitigate drought risk with a nature-based solution for aquifer recharge.
Shafter, California: $12.37 million
Project Description
The city of Shafter is primarily a rural agriculture-based economy in a semi-arid climate where residential water relies 100% on groundwater. Drought impacts the community’s residents, jobs, crops, and economic stability. The project involves a partnership between the city, the Shafter-Wasco Irrigation District and the North Kern Water Storage District to implement a nature-based solution to store critical water supplies underground in an existing natural aquifer, through replenishment (recharge) of the Kern Groundwater Basin. Two parcels totaling approximately 200 acres of land will be regraded and used as water storage and recharge basins. Additional infrastructure improvements to water import pipelines will improve flood overflows from the Friant Kern Canal to these basins.