Free Net Recharge

[Theo Pontbriand]

For parties obtaining new water rights, there are different water right applications that are available for groundwater recharge: standard and temporary. The type of application needed depends on the project operation length, intended use, and urgency. Standard water rights are ideal for long term projects. Temporary permits are best for short term diversions. Temporary permits are not water rights. Temporary permits are a conditional approval to divert and use available water that has not been claimed by a water right holder.

Capturing surface water to artificially recharge groundwater aquifers is an important method for achieving groundwater sustainability and complying with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). Accordingly, Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) pursuing new standard rights for purposes of implementing SGMA may elect to compile an application designed according to the streamlined criteria.

NOTICE: When considering the impact of applications for a new or amended permit for groundwater recharge projects on public trust resources or other matters of public interest, the State Water Board intends only to consider those adverse changes that may result from approval of the new permit or amended permit or license and not existing conditions.

Recharge Resources is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on exploring and developing the production of high-value battery metals to create green, renewable energy to meet the demands of the advancing electric vehicle and fuel cell vehicle market.

Around 90% of battery demand will come from electric vehicles (EVs) over the next two decades. Battery metals are the raw materials used in the production of batteries such as lithium, nickel, manganese, and graphite. These battery metals are commonly used in batteries for electric vehicles, consumer electronics, and other applications.

Recharge Resources is uniquely positioned to acquire mining properties to produce numerous battery metals. With high potential exploration projects in three categories of battery metals, including Lithium, Nickel and Cobalt, Recharge Resources is capitalizing on numerous opportunities to enhance the electric vehicle and battery power markets.

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are an advanced battery technology that uses lithium ions as a key component of its electrochemistry. In batteries, lithium ions move from the negative electrode through an electrolyte to the positive electrode during discharge, and back when charging.

Nickel makes up one-third of Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) cathodes and 80% of Nickel Cobalt Aluminum (NCA) cathodes. In battery power nickel helps deliver higher energy density and greater storage capacity at a lower cost. Specifically in EVs, nickel battery power provides a longer driving range for vehicles.

Gold is used in minute quantities in circuit boards for electric vehicles. Although more costly than its counterparts, in a recent discovery researchers determined that gold nanowires can be used to store electricity and create batteries that last 400 times longer than traditional lithium batteries. Gold nanowires are able to cycle through 200,000 recharges without significant corrosion or decline.

New research by Water in the West shows that groundwater recharge is a cheaper alternative to surface storage. In fact, researchers found that the cost of recharge is cheaper than many other water supply options at $90 to 1,100 per acre-foot, or at a median cost of $390 per acre-foot, which broadly agrees with published values.

Groundwater recharge can act as a barrier to seawater intrusion in coastal basins and to the migration of contaminants. Other potential benefits include improving flows in rivers and streams, flood control, and wildlife and bird habitat.

Natural recharge is simply rain and streamflow that soaks into the ground to an underlying aquifer. Unfortunately, urban development often creates hard surfaces such as roads, rooftops, and parking lots that prevent rain from soaking back into the ground. While there is an increasing focus on identifying and protecting groundwater recharge zones (areas where the recharge to underlying basin is highest) these measures are often not enough to prevent chronic groundwater depletion.

In addition to having the right conditions for recharge, other critical elements must be in place: funding, permitting, and oversight by a water agency or entity to manage the operations and allocations.

Although relatively cheap, the costs of groundwater recharge and storage can still outstrip the finances of local communities. State assistance has therefore been critical in supporting local entities for water management, including recharge projects.

Research by Water in the West shows that state grants have provided an estimated $1.15 billion (2014 dollar value) in total funding for groundwater recharge and storage projects. Financing for these projects has come from several voter-approved bonds: Propositions 84, 1E, 50 and 13. Proposition 13 was solely dedicated to groundwater recharge and storage; the others were for general water management programs that integrated groundwater recharge and storage into projects.

In order to gain a better understanding of recharge projects in California and their role in groundwater management, Water in the West researchers obtained all available grant applications submitted to the Department of Water Resources for the four recharge-related grant programs listed above. This new study evaluated 136 grant applications filed over the past 14 years that were wholly or partly devoted to recharge. Funding requests ranged from feasibility studies and planning to construction.

Based on the grant applications obtained by Water in the West, the anticipated annual recharge capacity of funded projects is 306,727 acre-feet per year. However, if we consider both the awarded and declined recharge applications studied, the recharge potential is closer to 785,000 acre-feet per year.

The 78 awarded projects we studied were awarded at different funding levels. This map shows all grant proposals sized by their requested budget and shaded by granted percentages, including unfunded applications (0%). The number of unfunded and partially funded applications is evidence of unfulfilled need for recharge across the state.

The overlap of recharge projects with overdrafted groundwater basins suggests that there is capacity for recharge in many areas and there is interest in using recharge as a tool to address local needs and concerns.

There was considerable diversity in the purpose of the recharge-related projects submitted for grant funding. Some recharge projects would help replenish local groundwater supplies during wet years, so that it can be utilized during dry periods (i.e. conjunctive use and/or groundwater banking) while others would help mitigate land subsidence.

Some projects requested funding to buy and regrade land for recharge ponds. Others wanted to establish a groundwater bank. Some projects appeared to frame recharge as an ancillary benefit to maintenance work like dredging silt from reservoirs.

Water in the West's new research findings highlight the potential for groundwater recharge and storage to improve water reliability and security in California. However, several factors must be addressed at the local, regional, and state levels in order to take advantage of the opportunities that groundwater recharge presents.

Groundwater management is needed to ensure sustainability of groundwater resources. A number of groundwater districts have been doing this successfully for decades. Without some ability to manage groundwater demand, some agencies may be reluctant to implement recharge programs.

Funding is necessary to supplement local resources for recharge projects in many places and to aid in the implementation of groundwater management goals. Besides bonds, options for water funding include increasing the state sales tax, levying a statewide surcharge on water utility bills, providing groundwater management agencies the authority to levy fees on pumpers or other water users, or a combination of these options.

Data needs and sharing are crucial for improved groundwater management. Information on groundwater levels, along with increased transparency and accessibility of existing data, are necessary to to prioritize recharge needs and locations.

Regulatory certainty is key to investing in groundwater recharge and storage in order to guarantee that users who put water into the aquifer will be able to retrieve their investment in the future.

Research into potential issues around groundwater recharge is needed, both statewide and for individual basins, to ensure the successful implementation of recharge projects. Questions of groundwater contamination, impacts of surface flood flow diversions on groundwater-dependent ecosystems, and chemical interactions between recharge water and aquifer water are a few issues that need to be identified and studied moving forward.

Groundwater recharge will undoubtedly play an important role as part of a diversified water supply portfolio for California. It is proven, cost effective and presents a significant opportunity to help prepare the state for drier times that are sure to come. But how quickly?

Recharging freshwater aquifers that underlie coastal communities to prevent seawater intrusion from high groundwater pumping. Treated wastewater and stormwater are used where surface water is unavailable.

Creating a more robust and cost-effective water supply option through local groundwater recharge for communities to reduce their dependence on imported water, which can be expensive and unreliable during drought.

I have been using the api and lately I increased my hard limit from $120 to $500. The soft limit was previously when I spent $90. I hit $90 on my credits used and I had received an email that my auto-recharge failed. I changed my soft limit to like $450. But previously I have used the payment method to use $90 worth of access, my credit card limit was not reached and I have the funds, yet my card is being declined. When I try to use the api I get back a syntax saying my credit limit is reached, and yes when I check my usage it is. However I am unable to use the payment method to increase my credits, just getting declined.

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