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FID’s Efforts to Achieve Sustainability

Over the last 20 years, Fresno Irrigation District (FID) has added 395 acres of groundwater recharge and regulation basins at 11 sites within FID’s district boundaries. Groundwater banking facility projects are partially funded through partnerships and grants, allowing FID to continue its efforts with managing and protecting groundwater towards SGMA goals with reduced budgetary impact.

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Efforts completed over the last several decades show that aquifer sustainability is not new to FID. FID intends to stay the course by maintaining a renewed commitment to construct an additional 420 more acres of groundwater basins as a response to SGMA.

FID's Current Efforts

Since 2020, FID has added 150 acres of additional recharge basins, including the expanded Savory Basin, the new James P. Irwin Basin and Wagner Basin, and Central Basin project locations at East & Malaga and Orange & Lincoln avenues. Many of these recharge projects have multiple benefits, including improving groundwater levels and water quality for FID growers and domestic well owners downstream of the basins. These new recharge basins are expected to be capable of recharge totaling about 4,900 acre-feet of water per year.

Central & Hughes
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East & Malaga
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Orange & Lincoln
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Wagner Basin
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Savory Basin
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Collaborative Efforts

FID has collaborated with the Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District (FMFCD) and Cities of Fresno and Clovis for the cooperative development and implementation of a comprehensive surface and groundwater management effort. The program involves the use of flood control basins for recharge during the summer when they are not needed to control urban storm runoff.

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FID serves three Cities: Fresno, Clovis and Kerman, and other communities: (Focus on SGMA Lens) Biola, Easton, Pinedale, and Malaga within Fresno County.

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FMFCD Basins

100 total | 1,365 Acres

City Basins

4 total | 366 Acres

FID Basins

35 total | 890 Acres

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A History of Recharge Within FID

FID is a long-time believer in groundwater banking and recharge and has built about 870 acres of groundwater recharge facilities, which have recharged over 500,000 acre-feet of water into the aquifer since 2005, for agricultural and urban use alike.
 

FID’s previous recharge efforts include the 11 basins added within our district between 1920-1997, with 20 more added between 1997-2019.The renewed requirement of SGMA reinforced FID’s commitment to sustainability and groundwater recharge, with FID planning to acquire another 420 acres of groundwater recharge by 2023.

Commitment to acquire another 420 acres by 2023.

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A Portion of Waldron Pond at Belmont and Bishop avenues northeast of Kerman is part of a complex that pioneered FID's groundwater banking program. The facility includes six basins and 160 acres.

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Lambrecht Pond (Shaw and Goldenrod avenues, west of Biola) with 60 acres, four recharge cells and three recovery wells. 

Resources

Flood vs drip irrigation
To make it through future droughts, FID needs to store water supplies in underground aquifers. FID strongly recommends having both drip/micro and surface water flood irrigation systems because of the following benefits:

  • Improves local groundwater levels

  • Increases water supply reliability

  • Proactive approach for drought preparedness

  • Improves groundwater quality

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