Thursday May 14, 2026
Ebb and Flow —
We have all heard the warnings and seen after-the-fact images of the earth shifting — literally sinking beneath one’s feet — because thirsty water users in the Central Valley have pumped too much groundwater for too many years.
But as California continues to expand the state’s water supply, with drought always around the corner, one community in Stanislaus County is celebrating the completion of a $16 million project that captures and stores stormwater to protect against flooding and refill the critically over-drafted Delta-Mendota Subbasin.
Located 15 miles south of the city of Patterson, hugging the east side of I-5, with rows of broccoli and assorted crops visible in the distance, the Orestimba Creek Recharge and Recovery Project is an example of how innovation and a decades-long commitment — coupled with a $5.6 million grant and five-year temporary water right permit from the State Water Resources Control Board — can benefit multiple parties and interests.