What We Do

This interdisciplinary project analyzes the complex relationships between surface and groundwater supply, agricultural land use decisions, and economic wellbeing of California-designated disadvantaged communities ( a community with a median household income less than 80% of the statewide average, PRC Section 75005(g)) in the Tulare Lake Basin of California. The Tulare Lake Basin is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world. However, this region relies heavily on groundwater, which is at risk.

Decades of unrestricted groundwater pumping and diminished groundwater supplies pose significant threats to the environment, water quantity and water quality. These risks could potentially harm the resilience of rural communities and the agricultural economy. With a better understanding of the connections between surface and groundwater stores and a better understanding of how these are influenced by human use, water resources can be managed more effectively.

The goal of this project is to increase the resilience of disadvantaged communities to water supply shortages induced by climate and environmental change while meeting the agricultural and ecosystem needs.

Learn more about our research here!

This project is funded by the National Science Foundation Coupled Natural Human Systems program (Award #1716130).