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Troubling water report: Better policies needed

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 20, 2009 at 8:26 am

From the Vacaville Reporter:

“It’s no secret that farmers in California’s Central Valley have had to rely more on groundwater in recent years as they struggled to keep crops alive during drought conditions and while facing reductions in the amount of Delta water they could tap.

What surprised many people this week was the realization of just how much Central Valley groundwater has been used up during the past six years: Enough to fill the nation’s largest reservoir, Lake Mead in Nevada.

That is not a rate that can continue indefinitely.

Not only will the water eventually run out, there are already concerns that emptying underground aquifers will destabilize the land above them, perhaps even causing the California Aqueduct to sink. That’s a major source of drinking water for Southern California residents.

Unfortunately, the water taken from the underground aquifers has not been enough to save the agricultural industry in the Central Valley, which is suffering widespread unemployment because so many farms have been forced to reduce or eliminate production.

Now comes word that a $40 million federal stimulus proposal to boost the Central Valley economy would drill up to 50 new wells.

This is a plan that needs more thought. … “

Read more of this editorial by clicking here.

December 20, 2009 · Filed Under Groundwater

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