Groundwater Overdraft and Pollution Rising in California

Long-term uncontrolled mining has led to a steady decline in California’s groundwater levels, with groundwater basins in agricultural-intensive areas such as the San Joaquin Valley declining by an average of nearly 4 feet per year. At the same time, nitrate contamination, soil salinization, and natural elemental contamination (e.g., boron, mercury) threaten the safety of drinking water, affecting the wells of more than 200,000 people in areas such as the Tulare Basin. Despite adding 8.7 million acre-feet of storage through artificial recharge in 2023, the long-term “insolvency” situation has not fundamentally changed.