“We’re learning from growers about the trees and the time of year, and finding that growers have pushed the limits far beyond UC recommendations,” Mountjoy said.

Sustainable Conservation hopes to enlist 10 growers of different crops, including almonds, to participate in a demonstration this winter for monitoring. The group hopes to encourage other growers to apply excess surface water independently to unmonitored blocks.

Mountjoy says the group focused on almonds since the nut crop covers more than one million acres of crop land in the state.

“We’re very interested in almonds since they have such a large footprint.”

Gabriele Ludwig, the ABC’s director of sustainability and environmental affairs, says the almond industry wants to help maintain a healthy groundwater supply.

“Fundamentally, better groundwater management is both important and mandatory for the long-term health of the Central Valley,” Ludwig said. “Given that almonds make up about one million acres, it makes sense to see if almonds can be part of the solution to groundwater management.”

Of the 10 sites, UC researchers will monitor three in almonds to document tree health, root conditions, and other physiological changes.

Ludwig says questions exist about pushing potential contaminants down to the groundwater, yet dilution could already be underway.

In almonds, she says the other big question is when the trees can handle irrigations with large amounts of water.

Sustainable Conservation has reached out to other commodity groups, including the California Association of Winegrape Growers and the California Fresh Fruit Association, to seek their participation.

In addition, the group is seeking partnerships with irrigation districts. The Madera Irrigation District will hold an informational meeting for growers on this issue in December.

Not only could the groundwater recharge help growers and local water managers, but Mountjoy hopes the results could aid state regulators involved in developing sustainable groundwater plans.

Mountjoy said some groundwater sustainability planning efforts focus more on reduced pumping, instead of on-farm flooding as a solution to increase the groundwater supply.