• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Valley Citizen

Nature, Environment, History & Politics

The Valley Citizen

  • Arts
  • Education
  • Environment
  • History
  • Nature
  • Politics
  • Wit
  • About
  • RSS Icon

Coming Soon to a Well Near You

August 8, 2015 By Eric Caine Leave a Comment

skull and cityUntil last year, California was the only state without regulations for pumping groundwater. Many thought new rules would remedy problems brought about by overdrafting. They overlooked the fact that even in states with groundwater regulation, major aquifers have been depleted beyond recovery in any reasonable time frame.

The great Ogallala Aquifer, which covers parts of eight Midwestern states, has been severely depleted. In Kansas, one study estimated that in order to achieve true sustainability for groundwater, farmers would have to reduce pumping by 80 percent. The Colorado River Basin is also nearly drained. Recovery won’t happen for decades, if ever. Both the Colorado River Basin and the Ogallala aquifer are in states with groundwater regulation.

Though sustainability is the key word in California’s new Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), many observers think groundwater in parts of the state is already stressed well beyond recovery. The epicenter of well failures in the San Joaquin Valley is Tulare County, where the most recent count stood at 1491 dry wells; the tally increases almost daily. The drought has only accelerated what was already a severe groundwater deficit.

Tulare County was one of the earliest sites for industrial agriculture. The Boswell and Salyer corporations perfected agriculture on a grand scale and in so doing managed to exhaust all nearby surface and groundwater resources. The result was salty soil, ground subsidence, and an increasing thirst for water from up north.

By the time the current drought came along, the state had five times more demand for water than it could deliver. The problem was compounded when farmers both big and small began planting permanent crops like almonds and pistachios in lieu of row crops. Whereas land for row crops can be fallowed in dry years, permanent crops need constant supplies of water every year.

Many of these permanent crops are solely dependent on groundwater. North of Tulare County, Stanislaus County farmers have planted over 40,000 acres of new crops in the eastern foothills, mostly almonds. Most of the new nut orchards are wholly dependent on groundwater; a few receive supplemental surface water in wet years.

When the groundwater crisis escalated, many hydrologists thought the sensible first response would have been to calculate a “mass” water balance region by region. Mass balance equations offer rough estimates of sustainability using a “water-in minus water-out” formula in part based on the geology of aquifers in a given region.

Resistance to mass balance calculations was widespread. One of the most common responses was, “we need more data.” Even though the water needs of crops have been calculated almost to the gallon, regional leaders claimed to need more pumping data. And even though the state has hundreds of monitoring wells and the geology of most regions is fairly well understood, the cry went out for more studies.

Anyone familiar with groundwater depletion nationwide shouldn’t need much reflection to comprehend why the only call for mass balance studies has come from scientists. Reliance on groundwater for large-scale permanent agriculture is unsustainable on the face of it. Mass balance studies would only confirm this fact. Absent reliable access to surface water, groundwater sustainability can be achieved only with a reduction in demand.

In the San Joaquin Valley, demand can be reduced on a large scale only by retiring agricultural acreage—lots of it. The economic hit would be devastating. Nonetheless, failure to reduce demand will result in depletion of groundwater resources entirely.

Despite SGMA, California is reacting to overdrafting of groundwater in much the same way other states have: It’s deferring action that would address real causes and using public resources to mitigate problems due to failed domestic wells on a case-by-case basis.

Absent sustained public outcry, the outcome will be the same as it’s been elsewhere; that’s why it’s virtually inevitable that wells in and north of Tulare County will continue to fail and groundwater levels continue to drop—features coming soon to a well near you. Expect the public to pay both ways—via loss of an irreplaceable public resource as well as by shouldering the financial burden both for short-term remedies and long-term devastation.

 

 

Filed Under: Environment, Featured Tagged With: Stanislaus County almond orchards, Stanislaus County groundwater

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Enter Captcha Here : *

Reload Image

Note: Some comments may be held for moderation.

Primary Sidebar

Off The Wire

Here are the companies suspending political contributions following the Capitol riots
Here are the companies suspending political contributions following the Capitol riots
thehill.com
How the Capitol Riot Thrust Big American Companies Deeper Into Politics
How the Capitol Riot Thrust Big American Companies Deeper Into Politics
“Words alone are not enough.” Corporate moves to halt political funding and decry the forces behind the Jan. 6 riot have accelerated a broader movement in business to address social and political issues.
www.wsj.com
I've hesitated to call Donald Trump a fascist. Until now | Opinion
I’ve hesitated to call Donald Trump a fascist. Until now | Opinion
After last week the label seems not just acceptable, but necessary.
www.newsweek.com
The Cheney-McCarthy rift busts open
The Cheney-McCarthy rift busts open
The Republican leaders’ split on impeachment presages a bigger battle over Trump and the GOP.
www.politico.com
Beaten, sprayed with mace and hit with stun guns: police describe injuries to dozens of officers during assault on U.S. Capitol
Beaten, sprayed with mace and hit with stun guns: police describe injuries to dozens of officers during assault on U.S. Capitol
Authorities say many officers face long recovery following riot
www.washingtonpost.com
Trump Authoritarianism Denial Is Over Now
Trump Authoritarianism Denial Is Over Now
Just weeks, ago, conservatives insisted Trump would concede if he lost the election.
nymag.com
Fact check: Men who stormed Capitol identified by Reuters are not undercover Antifa as posts claim
Fact check: Men who stormed Capitol identified by Reuters are not undercover Antifa as posts claim
Social media users have been sharing content online that suggests those who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 were Antifa, not Trump supporters. Many have been using compilations of pictures as purported evidence, but examination of these images shows they do not support…
www.reuters.com
Who Funded the Putsch of January 6, 2021?
Who Funded the Putsch of January 6, 2021?
We must investigate the riots and find out who was behind it, who organized and financed it.
billmoyers.com

Senior Trump Official: “We Were Wrong, He’s a Fascist”

“The legacy of the Trump administration is going to be that the president sparked an insurrection and people died.”
nymag.com
35 times Capitol Police arrested more demonstrators than the 14 insurgents arrested Wednesday
35 times Capitol Police arrested more demonstrators than the 14 insurgents arrested Wednesday
They have arrested more than 3,600 demonstrators since 2016.
www.motherjones.com
Perspective | The pro-Trump media world peddled the lies that fueled the Capitol mob. Fox News led the way.
Perspective | The pro-Trump media world peddled the lies that fueled the Capitol mob. Fox News led the way.
Even today, they are still at it.
www.washingtonpost.com
Joe Scarborough Drops F-Bomb on MSNBC, Calls for Arrest of Donald Trump After Capitol Raid
Joe Scarborough Drops F-Bomb on MSNBC, Calls for Arrest of Donald Trump After Capitol Raid
“If they are not arrested and brought to justice today, then we are no longer a nation of laws and we only tell people they can do this again,”
Morning Joe host says, referring to the…
www.rollingstone.com
Here's What Trump Said Right Before His Supporters Stormed The Capitol
Here’s What Trump Said Right Before His Supporters Stormed The Capitol
Just moments before hundreds of his supporters stormed the Capitol and interrupted a step in the peaceful transfer of power…
talkingpointsmemo.com

Find us on Facebook

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Footer

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Subscribe for Free

* indicates required

Search

• Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 The Valley Citizen

Dedicated to the memory of John Michael Flint. Contact us at thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Editor and publisher: Eric Caine

Website customization and maintenance by Susan Henley Design