California Eyes Water Capture Ahead of El Niño
If a strong El Niño brings more water to California this winter, the state’s new top water official says California needs to be ready to capture it.
Thomas Gibson took over as director of the California Department of Water Resources in July. In a recent interview with California Farm Bureau’s Ag Alert, he pointed to potential wet conditions as both a flood concern and an opportunity for groundwater recharge.
That matters as farmers continue navigating the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. Gibson called water access a real challenge for agriculture and said the state is looking for ways to maximize supply while bringing groundwater use within sustainable yields.
There are some big infrastructure pieces in that conversation, too. Gibson highlighted the Delta Conveyance Project and Sites Reservoir, which he said could become the first major surface water storage project in a generation.
It’s a wide-ranging look at where California water policy may be headed and what that means for agriculture. Find the full interview at AgAlert.com.
