Stable isotope and groundwater flow dynamics of agricultural irrigation recharge into groundwater resources of the Central Valley, California

Intensive agricultural irrigation and overdraft of groundwater in the Central Valley of California profoundly affect the regional quality and availability of shallow groundwater resources. In the natural state, the δ18O values of groundwater were relatively homogeneous (mostly -7.0 ± 0.5 per-thousand), reflecting local meteoric recharge that slowly (1-3m/yr) flowed toward the valley axis. Today, on the west side of the valley, the isotope distribution is dominated by high 18O enclosures formed by recharge of evaporated irrigation waters, while the east side has bands of low 18O groundwater indicating induced recharge from rivers draining the Sierra Nevada mountains. Changes in δ18O values caused by the agricultural recharge strongly correlate with elevated nitrate concentrations (5 to >100 mg/L) that form pervasive, non-point source pollutants. Small, west-side cities dependent solely on groundwater resources have experienced increases of >1.0 mg/L per year of nitrate for 10-30 years. The resultant high nitrates threaten the economical use of the groundwater for domestic purposes, and have forced some well shut-downs. Furthermore, since >80% of modern recharge is now derived from agricultural irrigation, and because modern recharge rates are ∼10 times those of the natural state, agricultural land retirement by urbanization will severely curtail the current safe-yields and promote overdraft pumping. Such overdrafting has occurred in the Sacramento metropolitan area for ∼40 years, creating cones of depression ∼25m deep. Today, groundwater withdrawal in Sacramento is approximately matched by infiltration of low 18O water (-11.0 per-thousand) away from the Sacramento and American Rivers, which is estimated to occur at 100-300m/year from the sharp 18O gradients in our groundwater isotope map