When advocates for farmland preservation argue that urban sprawl is destroying prime farmland, their critics have a ready response: “Now that we can rip soil and grow crops anywhere, what’s the need to preserve farmland around cities?” Developers and their allies also cite impressive increases in acreage for irrigated farmland, and they’re right. In Stanislaus County alone, tens of thousands of acres of irrigated farmland have been added in just […]
Stanislaus County aquifer
Will Supervisors Pass the Water Test?
To hear the Modesto Bee tell it, Stanislaus County Supervisors’ attempts to formulate a groundwater policy are explorations into terra incognita: “Being first can make you the focus of a lot of attention. That’s just one of the reasons Stanislaus County’s efforts to deal with water issues are important. We’re among the first in the Valley coming to grips with finding and supplying enough water to keep agriculture not just […]
More California Water Bills Coming Due Soon
Maybe the rumors were true. Maybe the Stanislaus aquifer really is flowing uphill. That’s one explanation for what’s going on near Hughson and Denair, where people’s wells have suddenly started running dry. Both towns are considerably downslope from the thousands of acres of new orchards on Stanislaus County’s east side. That’s where powerful pumps have been spreading millions upon millions of gallons of groundwater on what was once arid […]
Giant Sucking Sound Threatens Stanislaus County Aquifer
No one knows where the rumor started, and so far no one’s been able to confirm it—the story around Stanislaus County is that the aquifer has started flowing uphill. Implausible as it may seem, the tale is based on growing awareness of just how many giant pumps are operating twenty-four hours a day in the eastern portion of the County. Over the last decade or so, land that once featured […]