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Right, that is why there are people in the central valley living of water from trucks. And the ones that do have water need to dig deeper and deeper to find it.
by 29athrowaway 3y ago
Right, that is why there are people in the central valley living of water from trucks. And the ones that do have water need to dig deeper and deeper to find it.
"Don't look up" is a film that could be perfectly be based on the California groundwater crisis.
- JumpCrisscross 3y ago> people in the central valley living of water from trucks Would these be the same communities pumping their aquifers dry [1] to export almonds and alfalfa? [1] https://www.npr.org/2021/07/22/1019483661/without-enough-water-to-go-around-farmers-in-california-are-exhausting-aquifers https://www.npr.org/2021/07/22/1019483661/without-enough-wat...
- 29athrowaway 3y agoRight. And if they stopped doing that, the water level would not be replenished. Groundwater aquifers are not a renewable water source, and when you extract the water from underground you can compact the soil causing it to sink and lose its ability to store water, which is also happening over there according to the USGS.
- Retric 3y agoThe alternative of simply never tapping these aquifers isn’t somehow better. Abstractly using up local resources until forced to import them isn’t a policy issue, it’s simply rational behavior.
- orwin 3y agoThe alternative is monitoring the water levels and stop pumping when they're under 80%.
- Retric 3y agoWith a natural recharge rate of ~0, stopping becomes permanent rather abruptly. So I’m not sure what you assume the benefit of such a stance is.
- orwin 3y agoNot what's happening in my area, the 80% (70% in case of a drought) limit seems to work pretty well, and has been working well for a decade now.
- Retric 3y agoRecharge rate isn’t consistent across different areas. It can be quite high if a river happens to be nearby, you’re next to a large park with zero use, etc.
- throwaway8877 3y agoAnd based on what evidence do you claim that these are not renewable over longer time scale?
- 29athrowaway 3y agoIt takes about 50 years for the groundwater in the aquifer system to replenish if I remember correctly, if it is not being pumped. Today it is being pumped faster than it replenishes with no signs of it slowing down.
- JumpCrisscross 3y ago> if they stopped doing that, the water level would not be replenished How is that relevant? The point is they wasted water. They’re not victims, they’re the source of the problem. People moving into California’s cities are a rounding error to its farms’ wasted water.