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Aerial panoramic view of brown and green farmland beneath a blue, lightly clouded sky near Escalon, San Joaquin County, Central Valley, California
Project

Near real-time land use mapping in California

This project supports the real-time management of the Central Valley, California water system during times of drought by developing a tool that maps the extent of irrigated agricultural cropping.

Active project

2026–2028

SEI is developing an automated tool that processes remote sensing data from satellites and other NASA-developed technology to determine where irrigated cropping is present throughout California’s Central Valley.

The tool will provide the California State Water Resources Control Board with monthly maps showing the extent of irrigated cropping. This information allows the Water Board to make water management decisions that allocate resources more efficiently to farmers, cities and ecosystems during droughts.

Project team

Profile picture of Charles A. Young
Charles A. Young

Senior Scientist

SEI US

Marina Mautner

Senior Scientist

SEI US

Romina Díaz-Gómez

Scientist

SEI US