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Irvine Ranch Water District urges law to expand groundwater recharge eligibility and treat recharge like surface storage
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Summary
Irvine Ranch Water District testified in support of the Every Drop Counts Act (referred in testimony as HR 3 3 8), which would broaden eligibility for Bureau of Reclamation small storage program funding to include larger groundwater recharge projects and measure storage by recharge/recovery capacity rather than reservoir size.
Christine Compton, director of strategic communications and deputy general counsel at Irvine Ranch Water District, testified before the subcommittee that her district has diversified supplies (85% local sources; over 50% recycled water) and uses groundwater banking partnerships to benefit urban and agricultural users. She said HR 3 3 8, the Every Drop Counts Act, would recognize groundwater recharge as a form of storage by measuring how much water can be recharged and recovered, and would raise the allowable project size under the Bureau of Reclamation small storage program from the current 30,000 acre-feet limit toward projects up to 150,000 acre-feet.
Compton described local partnerships, including with Rosedale Rio Bravo Water Storage District in Kern County, that have produced triple wins for urban, agricultural and environmental interests. She told the panel that groundwater projects often pose fewer environmental impacts than surface reservoirs and can deliver broad benefits across groundwater users when aquifers are recharged. Members questioned whether expanding project size would complicate NEPA and permitting, and Compton argued groundwater recharge projects could be easier to permit than new surface reservoirs.
Representative Costa and other members entered letters of support from state water authorities and local groups into the record. The subcommittee left the record open for written follow-ups and did not vote on the bill during the hearing.
