Hayduke_Abides t1_j6gm00k wrote
Reply to comment by alaninnz in Eli5....can you dig a well anywhere and hit water...and how did the early ranchers in the West know where to dig for water. Especially in the really dry areas? by pinkshrinkrn
This is also true in the Ogallala Aquifer which underlies large areas of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas (and other aquifers around the world as well). This isn't a problem unique to California.
In many places, the groundwater withdrawals are outstripping the rate at which these groundwater reservoirs can be replenished by precipitation. Dryer and warmer climates are exacerbating this problem as well. As the interstitial spaces in the aquifers are depleted of water, they lose the structural strength that the water provided and subside. The worst thing is that these losses of interstitial space are likely permanent, so even if the aquifer is re-watered, it will have a lower capacity than it used to have.
We are heavily reliant on groundwater in the US for agriculture and municipal water, and unsustainable groundwater use is a serious problem that is largely overlooked by the media and unfamiliar to most Americans.
alaninnz t1_j6gzkcu wrote
How anyone thinks this is sustainable is beyond me.
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