The impacts of this season’s “El Niño” — now tied as the strongest on record — have been felt across the country in the form of record breaking warmth across the Midwest and Northeast, the deadly tornadoes and flooding in the Midwest and Southeast, and now the conveyor belt of storms slamming into southern California.

 

But the El Niño effect isn’t limited to the United States — it’s a worldwide phenomenon.

In South America, for example, heavy rains are to blame for some of the worst flooding in 50 years for parts of Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil.

At Wednesday’s meeting, the Lodi City Council unanimously voted to adopt a resolution to form a groundwater sustainability agency (GSA) in Lodi city limits.

 

This resolution will ensure that the city of Lodi has declared to form an agency within the 90-day window required under the state Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).

Water experts in Yolo County are actively monitoring water wells to measure the groundwater supply.

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“It’s certainly going to have an impact,” said Tim O’Halloran, general manager of Yolo County’s Flood Control and Water Conservation District.

 

O’Halloran monitors 150 wells daily and 11 of them on a real-time basis using remote cameras from his Woodland office.

He said that while the recent rains have helped, many more storms are needed to make a dent in California’s four-year drought.

“The groundwater is depleted,” O’Halloran said.

 

The rain and snow hitting California this week — partly fueled by an El Niño now tied with the strongest on record — will put a dent in the state’s 5-year-old drought, but there’s a catch.

 

“This week’s storms will help but will not end drought conditions in California,” said Michael Anderson, the state climatologist. The heavy rain brings a double-edged sword: the likelihood of floods and landslides in parts of the state, 97.3% of which is experiencing drought.

California’s historic drought has forced the state to rely on underground water reserves to an extent unseen in decades. One of the biggest water issues facing the state is how to maintain and rebuild its groundwater supply.

 

“After four years of drought, farmers are looking to gather up more water than ever,” said Jay R. Lund, director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at UC Davis. “People are going to be trying to refill aquifers with increased motivation due to the fourth year of drought.”