… The agriculture industry’s seemingly bottomless thirst gives the Valley another distinction: It is losing its groundwater – the essential stores of freshwater in underground aquifers – at a rate among the fastest on Earth. As a result, the Valley is sinking. Land subsidence is triggered by farmers drilling thousands of feet deep to tap into the aquifers and pumping the water to the surface. As water is sucked from the aquifers, layers of clay between them and the topsoil compacts, and the ground sinks. Last year, researchers from Stanford University used satellite imagery to determine that in most years since 2006, some areas of the Valley floor have sunk by a foot a year. 

Other groundwater news:

• KRCC (Colorado Springs, Colo.): Aquifers: The groundwater in Colorado’s wells and how it gets there
• AgWeb: Blog: California’s water crisis: Farmers warn water rules could cripple Central Valley agriculture
• Maven’s Notebook: Blog: From Fox Canyon to Mid-Kaweah: Insights into groundwater trading
• CitizenPortal: [Sonoma] City Council discusses groundwater monitoring and climate initiatives