The average American drinks around fifty-eight gallons of water annually. With a population of over three hundred million people, it is amazing how Mother Nature is able to keep so many people hydrated. But the real strain is from the depletion of water in aquifers. The groundwater contained in aquifers is one of the most important water sources on Earth; nearly thirty percent of American freshwater is from aquifers. Mankind tends to waste water foolishly, degrading the environment by draining underground aquifers faster than they can be replenished. This has resulted in the increase of water costs, reduced surface water supplies, and land subsidence. In the 1860’s, California was a fabulous place for agriculture; in addition to its ideal …show more content…
One of the contributing causes of the Californian drought is the overdraft of the Central Valley Aquifer. With an alarmingly dry winter and California reservoirs dropping fast, groundwater is increasingly being relied on keeping the state hydrated. It now accounts for about sixty percent of California’s water supply. But unlike its rivers, lakes and reservoirs, the state does not consider groundwater part of the public good, meaning it does not regulate groundwater like it does surface water so landowners can pump as much water as they please. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, between the years 1920 and 2013, forty-one trillion gallons have been drained from the Central Valley; that is amount is enough to provide every living person with water for three decades. The rate of depletion in the last decade is more than double the historic average. In addition to dry lands, subsidence has greatly affected the area. Farmers report that fields have sank over eighteen inches as the land sinks to fill the space left by the drained water. This fiasco occurred once in the 1960s when certain areas sunk over thirty feet into the ground, causing the government to spend over $1 billion to fix