aquifer

A multi-year experiment in California is testing the idea of flooding fields and orchards with excess river water during the winter as a way to recharge underground aquifers, says Western Farm Press.

Dry wells are a common problem in drought-stricken California, but the state has reservoirs, rivers and snowmelt from the Sierra Nevada.

Vegetable and fruit growers in the Salinas Valley on California's Central Coast "are actually thriving despite historically dry conditions - at least for now," says the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

NASA research shows 21 of the world's 37 largest aquifers, from Asia and Europe to California's Central Valley, "have passed their sustainability tipping points, meaning more water was removed than replaced during the decade-long study," says the Washington Post.

Drawing too much water from aquifers “could lead to difficult choices affecting not only domestic food security but also international markets,” says a University of Illinois study of three over-pumped U.S. groundwater sources. Reliance on the aquifers – the Central Valley aquifer in …

With California headed for a fourth year of drought, the outlook for the growing season is grim. "But our situation is not hopeless," says Helene Dillard, dean of agriculture at UC-Davis.

Researchers say the Global Positioning System, which helps drivers navigate the roads and which monitors tiny movements of the earth's surface as a possible indicator of developing earthquakes, has measured the huge loss of water due to severe drought in the West, says National Geographic.