As California's drought deepens, Elaine Moore's family is running out of an increasingly precious resource: water. The Central Valley almond growers had two wells go dry this summer.
FAIRMEAD — As California's drought deepens, Elaine Moore's family is running out of an increasingly precious resource: water.
More than 1,200 wells have run dry this year statewide, a nearly 50% increase over the same period last year, according to the California Department of Water Resources. By contrast, fewer than 100 dry wells were reported annually in 2018, 2019 and 2020. Farmers are getting little surface water from the state's depleted reservoirs, so they're pumping more groundwater to irrigate their crops. That's causing water tables to drop across California. State data shows that 64% of wells are at below-normal water levels.
Madera County, north of Fresno, has been hit particularly hard because it relies heavily on groundwater. The county has reported about 430 dry wells so far this year. Residents with dry wells can get help from a state program that provides bottled water as well as storage tanks regularly filled by water delivery trucks. The state also provides money to replace dry wells, but there's a long wait to get a new one.Thomas Chairez said his Fairmead property, which he rents to a family of eight, used to get water from his neighbor's well. But when it went dry two years ago, his tenants lost access to running water.
His company must now drill down 500 and 600 feet to get clients a steady supply of groundwater. That's a couple hundred feet deeper than older wells.
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