California drought caused permanent land sinkage in Sacramento Valley
A new study shows heavy groundwater pumping during California’s 2020 to 2022 drought caused the ground in the Sacramento Valley to sink faster than expected, reducing the aquifer’s ability to hold water. Published last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study found the damage to the aquifer is irreversible. One of the study’s authors, Kristel Chanard, estimated the lost groundwater storage capacity is roughly equivalent to San Francisco’s annual water consumption. … The resulting lost groundwater storage capacity is significant, Chanard said, because groundwater provides a buffer during dry periods. Groundwater provides nearly 30% of the region’s water supply, and more during dry years, according to the NCWA.
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