Thanks to a wet winter, California’s water supply is being replenished. One of the state’s crucial outlets is groundwater. The Kern Water Bank’s uses ponds to soak water into the ground, adding to the supply of groundwater. However, these ponds have been dry for the past six years because of the drought. This year, the two-feet-deep ponds are full again and the groundwater supply is being restored.

With the full ponds comes wildlife that utilizes the wetlands. More than 200 species of birds can be found at the water bank.

“So the water was back this year and so the wildlife out here is really spectacular when the ponds are full of water,” said Jon Parker, general manager at the Kern Water Bank.

In the next couple of weeks, both the water and birds will disappear. This Thursday, the water supplying these ponds will be cut off. This means in the next couple of weeks, the ponds will soak into the ground and not be replenished, so they will dry out. Parker says this is part of their normal migration pattern.

The amount of water California gets this upcoming year will determine if the wildlife returns next summer.