Recent stories in the New York Times highlight a groundwater crisis throughout much of the United States, including the San Joaquin Valley. While depleted aquifers aren’t news to Valley citizens, the urgency of the situation has yet to strike home, especially in the northern part of the Valley where last winter’s heavy rains have led to a false sense of security and a “it can’t happen here” mindset. Farther south, […]
Westlands Water District
Valley Water, Valley Politics: A Fact Pattern
An acre foot of water is the amount of water that it takes to occupy an acre of land at one foot deep. It’s generally assumed that a family of four in a water-rich region will use about one acre foot of water per year; two families can use the same amount if conserving water carefully. Just the facts: Because it provides water to district farmers at well below the […]