Water Well Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/451364
California DWR Releases Updated Report on Groundwater Basins T he California Department of Water Resources released an updated re- port December 2 on groundwater basins that details groundwater level changes, potential water shortages, land subsi- dence, farmland fallowing, and gaps in groundwater monitoring. Drought conditions typically result in an increase in groundwater well activity and pumping to compensate for surface water supply shortages. Collectively, groundwater basins are the state's largest reservoir, 10 times the size of all its surface reservoirs combined. More than 80% of Californians rely, in part, on groundwater for their drinking water. Directed by Governor Jerry Brown's proclamation of a state of emergency in April and following a previous DWR re- port on groundwater in April, the report shows groundwater basins in most areas of the state at historically low levels. Key findings of the report include: • More than 350 new water supply wells are reported in Fresno and Tulare counties, more than 200 new water supply wells were reported in Merced County, and more than 100 were reported in Butte, Kern, Kings, Shasta, and Stanislaus counties. • A total of 34 high- and medium- priority basins and sub-basins are partially or fully unmonitored under the California Statewide Groundwa- ter Elevation Monitoring Program. • Significant data monitoring gaps exist in the San Joaquin River, Tulare Lake, and Central Coast hydrologic regions. • Subsidence is occurring especially in the southern San Joaquin River and Tulare Lake hydrologic regions. • Areas with a higher potential for fu- ture subsidence are in the southern San Joaquin, Antelope, Coachella, and western Sacramento valleys. A multi-agency research project led by the National Atmospheric and Space Administration estimated that peak sum- mer acreage of farmland idled in Cali- fornia in 2014 was 1.7 million acres, almost 700,000 acres more than in 2011, a recent wet year. To view the report, visit www.water .ca.gov/waterconditions/index.cfm. Groundwater Levels Drop as Drought Forces More Pumping T he Associated Press reports the Upper Rio Grande Basin has been struggling with drought for most of the past decade, forcing cities and farmers from southern Colorado to Hudspeth County in Texas to pump water from the ground to make up for the lack of snow and rain. Experts have said it has resulted in the groundwater levels dropping in the border region as much as 200 feet in the past 10 years. The precipitous drop is especially disturbing because it is taking place in an area where it recharges too slowly to make up the loss. Worse, many experts predict a future in which even less water in the river will mean even more pumping. Even if the region gets through the present drought, the basin's groundwa- ter will be overexploited, said Brian Hurd, president of the Universities Council on Water Resources, a national organization. Hurd expects river flows to diminish and populations to rise in the Rio Grande Basin, increasing demand for groundwater. NEWS from page 8 10 February 2015 WWJ waterwelljournal.com 2215 SOUTH VAN BUREN · ENID, OKLAHOMA, USA 73703 · PHONE +1 580.234.4141 * ## *$## ·''' #$%#$"# !) "# " !)#!$## '$$"&" $" $#"&#'$"'"#%$) ' "#! %$'$$ !!" "$) "#$))#! "$$$ $"%### !" &#$#)$) ") $ #%"(%!" %$&$) ""!" $ #!"$ "# '%! "!"#$'$"'#-##-' '$$)"%" #!"# $ #$#)##$#! $ '$"' $%#$ "$%#$")