Abstract

Managed aquifer recharge, which uses available water to augment groundwater resources, holds promise as a strategy to reduce chronic groundwater overdraft. However, water management agencies often confront hurdles when implementing managed aquifer recharge. Favourable sites for recharging water are often located on private land, and common-pool resource conflicts frequently disincentivize voluntary private participation. We introduce recharge net metering (ReNeM), a conceptually novel, market-based mechanism to help overcome these barriers and achieve multiple extractive and non-extractive benefits from improved groundwater management. ReNeM enables an agency to incentivize practices that enhance infiltration and groundwater recharge. Here we formalize the basis for incentivizing recharge and conduct a multi-party cost–benefit analysis of an operating ReNeM programme in California’s Pajaro Valley. Calculations show that water supply from ReNeM can be achieved at a lower cost than many viable alternatives and can produce multiple benefits for collaborating entities and stakeholders.