»California drought causes an overdraft of groundwater«
Faced with a continuous drought, Californian farmers have tried to locate a valuable natural resource: water.
In the San Joaquin Valley, a region in central California famed as the breadbasket of the world, residents have traditionally pumped water from underground basins to supplement the water supply. However, according to experts, individuals have overdrafted groundwater for decades.
Agriculture is a major business in California, employing around 420,000 people and providing more than 400 varieties of crops to consumers worldwide. But due to limited access to water and scant precipitation and snowfall, reservoir levels are at record lows. Rivers have even dried up.
While recent storms have flooded California with moisture and drought conditions have improved, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, more than 97% of California was experiencing at least moderate drought as of last week.
In response to the difficulties, many have resorted to groundwater pumping, which accounts for roughly 10 percent of water consumption in the San Joaquin Valley, which consists of vast tracts of arid territory.
Derick Grabow, a sixth-generation well driller, remarked that potable water was formerly only 60 to 100 feet below the surface. However, this has since changed.
“For good water,” he continued, “we’re going about 1,000 to 1,400 feet deep average for us.”
Aquifers are subterranean bodies of porous rock or sediment where groundwater accumulates. However, decades of pumping have substantially depleted them. Nearly two-thirds of the monitoring wells in California are below average levels.
The process was unregulated until 2014, when a state regulation was passed that intends to abolish overdrafting by 2040.
Grabow stated that, because to the continuous drought, the wait for a well is currently at least a year. Grabow stated that his wells are valued at approximately $500,000 each.
Grabow stated that drilling is required. “And, you know what … what sucks the most is, of course, the farmer, the dairyman, the customer is paying for it.”
Jesus Benitez, who has lived in the city of Visalia for fourteen years, stated that the domestic well that provides water to his home operates intermittently. This is because the industrial pump of a nearby farm gets water from the same source.
Benitez stated that as a result, his trees are drying out. Formerly, his front lawn no longer exists. Even self-care and housework can be difficult at times.
“I had to tell my wife, you know, ‘Hey, don’t wash the clothes right now because they’re pulling water,’” he added.
Susana De Anda, executive director and co-founder of the California-based Community Water Center, which works to end the drinking water crisis, stated that over one million Californians lack access to safe drinking water, and the majority are people of color with low incomes.
She stated that groundwater extraction has resulted in widespread contamination, rendering some water unfit for human consumption.
She stated, “The Central Valley is beautiful,” “Here, we grow food. However, our extensive usage of fertilizer contributes to nitrate pollution. However, we have more than simply nitrates. There are other additional pollutants. Mr. Benitez has both nitrates and uranium in his home.”
Local water districts have begun to restrict groundwater pumping.
William Bourdeau, executive vice president of Harris Farms, one of the region’s largest businesses, is on the board of his water district, the largest in the country.
“I do feel strongly that we need to come together as a water community and work together to overcome these challenges,” he said. There are plenty opportunities for all of us to achieve success.
Over the next two decades, the California Department of Water Resources estimates that the state could lose up to 10 percent of its water supply.
According to one estimate, restricted water supplies may compel farmers in the San Joaquin Valley to stop cultivating 500,000 acres of land. Even with the recent rainfall, California’s groundwater supply may never entirely recover.
»California drought causes an overdraft of groundwater«