For nearly a century, Californians have drained an incredible amount of water from the ground to grow crops and water landscaping. But the practice is not sustainable, and the water has not returned.
The Secrets of the Drought
Hidden stories from California’s historic drought
Posted inEnvironment, The Secrets of the Drought
California’s sinking terrain is costly – just ask San Luis Obispo
Not too long ago in that idyllic Central Coast city, an overdependence on groundwater became a destructive and expensive problem that today could serve as a warning to cities and counties throughout the state.
Posted inEnvironment, The Secrets of the Drought
California is sinking, and it’s getting worse
While the state’s drought-induced sinking is well known, new details highlight just how severe it has become and how little the government has done to
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Posted inEnvironment, The Secrets of the Drought
California won’t identify who’s draining the state’s groundwater
A new law that attempts to preserve California’s precious groundwater comes with a catch: The state will hide the names of people draining this vast underground water source.
Posted inEnvironment, The Secrets of the Drought
How naming and shaming water wasters helps conservation
When water agencies share data on their customers’ usage, and the public learns who the most egregious water wasters are, it generally leads to stronger conservation efforts. But a 1997 law means agencies are under no obligation to release this information.
Posted inEnvironment, Food for 9 Billion, The Secrets of the Drought
What California can learn from Saudi Arabia’s water mystery
Saudi Arabia’s once massive underground aquifer system is drying up due to years of overpumping. And California, in the midst of a drought, is heading
Posted inEnvironment, The Secrets of the Drought
To shield tech executives, California’s biggest water users are secret
In the midst of a historic drought, Californians have no way of knowing who’s guzzling the most water. That’s by design, thanks to an obscure 1997 measure that weakened one of the state’s chief open government laws.
Posted inEnvironment, The Secrets of the Drought
As water dwindles, lawmakers seek access to confidential well logs
In California, well completion reports are considered confidential under a 64-year-old state law. A hearing will consider new legislation that would make these well logs public.
Posted inClimate Change, Environment, The Secrets of the Drought
Overpumping of groundwater is contributing to global sea level rise
So much water is being pumped out of the ground worldwide that it is contributing to global sea level rise, a phenomenon tied largely to warming temperatures and climate change.
Posted inEnvironment, The Secrets of the Drought
California is pumping water that fell to Earth 20,000 years ago
As California farms and cities drill deeper for groundwater in a time of drought and climate change, they are tapping reserves from the prehistoric er