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Water draw on groundwater aquifers is so high that the ground is sinking by meters. https://www.hcn.org/articles/south-water-the-central-california-town-that-ke

Water draw on groundwater aquifers is so high that the ground is sinking by meters. https://www.hcn.org/articles/south-water-the-central-california-town-that-keeps-sinking https://www.hcn.org/articles/south-water-the-central-califor...

s1artibartfast 5y ago
That's not an argument for putting it back in or even stopping. It fails to answer the question of "so what?"
- ako 5y ago
  Plants? Plants means animals, food, oxigen... No ground water -> desert, is that where you want to live?
  - s1artibartfast 5y ago
    Since when do plants and animals care if their relative Elevation to sea level is off by a few meters ?
    - arbitrary_name 5y ago
      California roads and water pipes and aqueducts are being damaged by the drop in elevation. The costs to address the damage are high. Is that good enough, besides preventing seawater intrusion, and not draining what is effectively a nonrenewable resource? At best, it takes centuries for the aquifers to replenish naturally.
    - ako 5y ago
      Plant roots need to be able to grow deep enough to reach water. If the groundwater level is too deep they can’t reach it, and they won’t be able to grow at all.
      - s1artibartfast 5y ago
        That is like worrying about satellites hitting birds. We are talking literally orders of magnitude difference. Many areas have water aquifer levels that start a hundred or more feet down. No tree roots are in that, let alone other plants.
- bobthepanda 5y ago
  lowering ground levels is pretty bad * a lot of these areas also flood, so you either now have more flooding or now you have to shore up levees and other flood protections at great expense * land subsidence due to groundwater draw is not necessarily evenly spread. most buildings and infrastructure are not supposed to unevenly shift large distances.
  - s1artibartfast 5y ago
    >* a lot of these areas also flood, so you either now have more flooding or now you have to shore up levees and other flood protections at great expense My most familiar example is the central valley of CA, which is a basin, and which will flood either way, >* land subsidence due to groundwater draw is not necessarily evenly spread. most buildings and infrastructure are not supposed to unevenly shift large distances. this is absolute nonsense, no building has ever seen differential elevation gain. we are talking about meters across many kilometers.
    - bobthepanda 5y ago
      Sure they do. Here’s an article discussing how subsidence caused by overdrawn aquifers in Mexico City is causing buildings to noticeably tilt. https://amp.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article1938721.html https://amp.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article1938721.html
      - s1artibartfast 5y ago
        any stories from California? The article about Mexico city wildly conflates building settling with groundwater subsidence - Like old buildings where the entire first floor is below ground level.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]

s1artibartfast 5y ago

That's not an argument for putting it back in or even stopping. It fails to answer the question of "so what?"

ako 5y ago
Plants? Plants means animals, food, oxigen... No ground water -> desert, is that where you want to live?
- s1artibartfast 5y ago
  Since when do plants and animals care if their relative Elevation to sea level is off by a few meters ?
  - arbitrary_name 5y ago
    California roads and water pipes and aqueducts are being damaged by the drop in elevation. The costs to address the damage are high. Is that good enough, besides preventing seawater intrusion, and not draining what is effectively a nonrenewable resource? At best, it takes centuries for the aquifers to replenish naturally.
  - ako 5y ago
    Plant roots need to be able to grow deep enough to reach water. If the groundwater level is too deep they can’t reach it, and they won’t be able to grow at all.
    - s1artibartfast 5y ago
      That is like worrying about satellites hitting birds. We are talking literally orders of magnitude difference. Many areas have water aquifer levels that start a hundred or more feet down. No tree roots are in that, let alone other plants.
bobthepanda 5y ago
lowering ground levels is pretty bad * a lot of these areas also flood, so you either now have more flooding or now you have to shore up levees and other flood protections at great expense * land subsidence due to groundwater draw is not necessarily evenly spread. most buildings and infrastructure are not supposed to unevenly shift large distances.
- s1artibartfast 5y ago
  >* a lot of these areas also flood, so you either now have more flooding or now you have to shore up levees and other flood protections at great expense My most familiar example is the central valley of CA, which is a basin, and which will flood either way, >* land subsidence due to groundwater draw is not necessarily evenly spread. most buildings and infrastructure are not supposed to unevenly shift large distances. this is absolute nonsense, no building has ever seen differential elevation gain. we are talking about meters across many kilometers.
  - bobthepanda 5y ago
    Sure they do. Here’s an article discussing how subsidence caused by overdrawn aquifers in Mexico City is causing buildings to noticeably tilt. https://amp.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article1938721.html https://amp.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article1938721.html
    - s1artibartfast 5y ago
      any stories from California? The article about Mexico city wildly conflates building settling with groundwater subsidence - Like old buildings where the entire first floor is below ground level.
deleted 5y ago
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