- Author: Marshall Foletta
Until recently I figured that my water supply was safe. While I preached conservation as the socially responsible thing to do during our extended drought, I assumed that my own well would allow me to remain self-sufficient and well-watered.
But last week I talked to friend with a small horse ranch in the Briones Valley near Martinez. His well, he lamented, was beginning to fail. It had never been all that productive—at 6.5 gallons a minute or roughly 10,000 gallons a day, it barely served all his personal and ranching needs. But after three years of drought, the well's flow had fallen to less than a half gallon a minute—only 500 gallons a day.
Groundwater typically fills about 40% of California's water needs. During droughts, when other water sources run dry, that figure usually rises to about 60%. In the past, the increased pressure on underground water sources has been accepted as a necessary short-term measure with few negative consequences. But our extended drought has placed unusual pressure on our aquifers and water basins and produced a record number of failed wells. As a result, well drillers in the Central Valley are in high demand—and the wells they are drilling are going deeper and deeper. Farmers, anxious to ensure their water supply for the years to come are regularly drilling more than 1000 feet. At about $225/ft, a completed system can cost more than $300,000.
Some counties have begun to respond. Orange County has regulated ground water usage for some time. San Luis Obispo County recently imposed a moratorium on new development and irrigation projects impacting groundwater. And in Sacramento, legislators are debating a bill that would empower local authorities to conduct inspections and impose pumping restrictions. If the measure is passed, California will be taking a perhaps long overdue step—we are the only state that does not require users to post water logs so that public officials and scientists can track the pressure on our aquifers.
A team of scientists from UC Irvine recently confirmed what my rancher friend described—California's underground water supply has fallen to critical levels. Using satellite imaging they concluded that between 2003 and 2010, the Sacramento and San Joaquin River Basins lost about 30 cubic kilometers of freshwater—that's enough water to fill Lake Mead. In 2012 and 2013, these same basins lost an additional 20 cubic kilometers—enough water to meet all of the state's household and industrial (not agricultural) needs.
I'm sort of embarrassed that it took a friend's well running dry for me to get the message—especially since scientists have been warning us about ground water use for some time. But I'm paying attention now—and sleeping a little worse at night.