In a new study, Stanford researchers have claimed that drought-stricken California is sitting on top of a large and previously unrecognized water resource in the form of deep groundwater.

Website Washingtonpost.com reported these reserves resided at depths between 1,000 and nearly 10,000 feet below the surface of the Central Valley.

The resource amounts fo 2,700 billion metric tons (MT) of fresh water, mostly less than about 3,250 feet deep, according to the paper published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The study added there was even more fresh or moderately salty water at more extreme depths that could potentially be retrieved and desalinized for drinking water use in agriculture.

"There’s a lot more fresh groundwater in California than people know," Stanford’s Rob Jackson, who conducted the research with the lead author Mary Kang, was quoted as saying.

"It’s like a savings account. We can spend it today, or save it for when we really need it….There’s definitely enough extra groundwater to make a difference for the drought and farmers."

However, Washingtonpost.com reported it had been contacted by two other groundwater researchers who questioned aspects of the findings and suggested the freshwater portion of the resource may already have been used, or that its existence would do little to change California’s water plight.

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