Video explains Water Accounting System and lays the foundation for future public dashboard
The Regional Water Authority (RWA) has released a new educational video explaining the Sacramento Regional Water Bank’s Water Accounting System (WAS), the transparent framework that tracks groundwater stored, recovered, and managed through the Water Bank.
Like a savings account, the Water Bank makes it possible for participating water providers to deposit water during wet times and withdraw it during dry times. The Water Bank can store enough water to fill Folsom Reservoir twice, and is essential to helping the region adapt to climate change by strengthening long-term water supply reliability.
The approximately two-minute video explains how the WAS works, including its foundational “recharge first” principle: water must be added to groundwater storage before it can be recovered. It also explains how deposits and withdrawals are tracked, the safeguards that protect groundwater sustainability, and why transparent accounting is essential to the Water Bank’s success.
“Groundwater banking has enormous potential for California, but it has to start with transparent accounting,” said Jim Peifer, executive director of the Regional Water Authority. “The accounting system described in this video puts into practice our ‘recharge first’ approach, with clear rules for what goes into the Water Bank, what can come out, and what stays behind to benefit the basin.”
Watch the video at SacWaterBank.com/water-bank/WAS
Tracking Every Deposit and Withdrawal
Like a financial institution tracks deposits and withdrawals, the WAS records groundwater recharge, recovery, and storage while incorporating safeguards that protect long-term groundwater sustainability. The system establishes a consistent accounting framework that enables participating agencies to receive credit for groundwater recharge while providing transparency and accountability across Water Bank operations.
“The Water Accounting System establishes a common set of rules for measuring groundwater banking across participating agencies,” said Trevor Joseph, RWA’s director of technical services. “It creates a consistent accounting framework that recognizes groundwater recharge, tracks withdrawals, and incorporates safeguards that support long-term groundwater sustainability.”
Developed by 15 participating water suppliers through the RWA, Groundwater Sustainability Agencies, and regional partners, the WAS supports implementation of California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) by tracking groundwater banking activities against established operational baselines. The framework includes safeguards such as recharge before recovery, geographically balanced recharge and recovery, leave-behind requirements that protect groundwater resources, expanded monitoring, and adaptive management.
The educational video is part of RWA’s ongoing effort to make the Water Bank accessible and understandable to a broad audience. It builds on years of technical reports, stakeholder briefings, and educational resources developed throughout the Water Bank’s phased implementation. Later this fall, RWA plans to launch a public Water Accounting Dashboard that will provide annual reporting on Water Bank operations using the same accounting framework introduced in the video.
The video is available at SacWaterBank.com/water-bank/WAS.
