24 Jan CAL MATTERS: California ranks high worldwide for rapidly depleted groundwater
Researchers found that the world’s most rapidly declining basins are in farm regions, especially drier areas like the San Joaquin Valley. Wells are drying out and land is sinking.
By Rachel Becker, Cal Matters
In a sign of the ongoing threats to its precious groundwater stores, half a dozen regions in California rank among the world’s most rapidly declining aquifers, according to research published today.
Globally, lack of local water drives migration, poverty, starvation and violence — while in California, it drives decades-long regulatory battles over how to stop over-pumping by growers.
Aquifers in Spain, Iran, China and Chile top the list of the 100 most rapidly dropping groundwater levels. In California, California’s Cuyama Valley, north of Santa Barbara, ranked 34th worldwide. Its underground basin has been dropping almost 5 feet a year, and residents, farmers and even the school district are locked in a court battle with carrot growers who sued them over groundwater rights.