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Will Groundwater Sustainability Plans End the Problem of Dry Drinking Water Wells?

Will Groundwater Sustainability Plans End the Problem of Dry Drinking Water Wells?

In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, work continues on managing groundwater for long-term sustainability, as required by California’s landmark Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). In January, water users in 21 critically overdrafted basins delivered their groundwater sustainability plans to the state Department of Water Resources. In this series, we examine the 36 plans submitted for 11 critically overdrafted basins in the San Joaquin Valley—California’s largest farming region, where excess … [more…]

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Farmers Hijack Community Water Access Despite Groundwater Act, Activists Say | KCET

When a fire started on the property next door to Ray Cano’s home, the neighbors used Cano’s hose and well to fight the flames. Running the pump at full throttle, they managed to control the blaze until the fire department arrived. Then, the well’s pump sputtered to a stop.

Cano later called a well inspector, who did some basic probing and discovered the problem: The well had run dry, causing … [more…]

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Pain, cancer, death: Michigan families devastated by toxic chemicals in their water

Pain, cancer, death: Michigan families devastated by toxic chemicals in their water

Sandy Wynn-Stelt at home in Belmont. ‘I’m sitting here full of this stuff and not knowing what it’s going to do to me five years, 10 years from now.’ Photograph: Tom Perkins

In the years before 2017, Sandy Wynn-Stelt and her husband had suspicions about the water they drew from a well on their House Street property in the Michigan town of Belmont. She attributed the bad taste to it … [more…]

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Well water users warned, Air Force Academy finds toxic level of firefighting chemical

Well water users warned after Air Force Academy finds toxic level of firefighting chemical

Air Force Academy firefighters training a quarter century ago released a torrent of toxic perfluorinated chemicals that seeped into groundwater and flowed into Monument Creek, a 15,000-page Air Force report released Friday shows.

A series of tests by Air Force researchers showed groundwater had 1,000 times the level of perfluorinated compounds considered safe by state and federal regulators. Records on the training that used firefighting foam loaded with the chemicals … [more…]

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Dwindling groundwater, ever-deeper wells could spell trouble for Arizonans

Dwindling groundwater, ever-deeper wells could spell trouble for Arizonans

Araceli Silva moved to her colonia near Yuma decades ago 27 years ago. She’s struggled with her wells, which have run dry more than once. A new study finds that wells that bring groundwater to the surface are being dug deeper to tap dwindling aquifers. (Photo by Maria Esquinca/News21)

PHOENIX – Wells are drying up because groundwater is being depleted, and that affects food production and access to drinking water. … [more…]