California drought: Pajaro Valley land is sinking at slow rate
When an excessive amount of groundwater is pumped from wells, it can cause the land above the wells to sink, causing buildings to crumble and pipes to burst. A new report prepared for Pajaro Valley water managers, however, shows that from 2015 to 2018 the land above the valley’s aquifer subsided only 2 inches — hopeful news as coastal communities battle a severe drought. Just over the coastal mountain range in the Central Valley, the “land subsidence” in over-pumped water basins is a lot more dire. Some areas of the fertile valley have reached a subsidence rate of nearly a foot a year …