1/9/2023 0 Comments California rain![]() ![]() Many communities are pumping more groundwater and depleting aquifers at an alarming pace. Department of Agriculture.Īs climate change brings hotter temperatures and more severe droughts, cities and states around the world are facing water shortages as lakes and rivers dry up. An estimated 531,00 acres (215,000 hectares) of farmland went unplanted this year because of a lack of irrigation water, according to the U.S. ![]() Water shortages are already reducing the region’s agricultural production as farmers are forced to fallow fields and let orchards wither. State data shows that 64% of wells are at below-normal water levels. That’s causing water tables to drop across California. Drought Monitor, more than 94% of the state is in severe, extreme or exceptional drought.Ĭalifornia just experienced its three driest years on record, and state water officials said Monday they’re preparing for another dry year because the weather phenomenon known as La Nina is expected to occur for the third consecutive year.įarmers are getting little surface water from the state’s depleted reservoirs, so they’re pumping more groundwater to irrigate their crops. Shrinking groundwater supplies reflect the severity of California’s drought, which is now entering its fourth year. The groundwater crisis is most severe in the San Joaquin Valley, California’s agricultural heartland, which exports fruits, vegetables and nuts around the world. By contrast, fewer than 100 dry wells were reported annually in 2018, 20. ![]() More than 1,200 wells have run dry this year statewide, a nearly 50% increase over the same period last year, according to the California Department of Water Resources. ![]()
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