Groundwater banking is a water management mechanism designed to increase water supply reliability.Semitropic Water Storage District. FAQs. . Groundwater can be created by using dewatered aquifer space to store water during the years when there is abundant rainfall. It can then be pumped and used during years that do not have a surplus of water. People can manage the use of groundwater to benefit society through the purchasing and selling of these groundwater rights. The surface water should be used first, and then the groundwater will be used when there is not enough surface water to meet demands.Maliva, Robert G. "Groundwater Banking: Opportunities And Management Challenges." Water Policy 16.1 (2014): 144-156. Academic Search Complete. Web. 18 Nov. 2015. The groundwater will reduce the risk of relying on surface water and will maximize expected income. There are regulatory storage-type aquifer recovery and storage systems which when water is injected into it gives the right to withdraw the water later on. Groundwater banking has been implemented into semi-arid and arid southwestern United States because this is where there is the most need for extra water. The overall goal is to transfer water from low-value to high-value uses by bringing buyers and sellers together.
