A new report from NASA shows the San Joaquin Valley is sinking much faster than ever before.
With reduced surface water available because of the drought, more groundwater is pumped. As the underground aquifers are tapped, land surfaces sink.
While subsidence in California isn't new, the report from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory says the rate has accelerated. Department of Water Resources Director Mark Cowin says the increased rate could damage bridges, roads and other infrastructure.
"And what this NASA report underscores for us is the need for more near term measures to reduce the effects of over-pumping in the near term,” Cowin said. “If our current drought continues or drought returns in the near future, we don't believe we can sustain this kind of pumping and the effects that are occurring."
Cowin says the DWR is launching a $10 million program to help counties with stressed groundwater basins develop or strengthen conservation plans.
The report shows areas near the California Aqueduct sank more than 12-inches — eight of those inches during just four months last year.
The report also identified an area 7 miles across northwest of Woodland subsiding at a rate of a half-inch a month. Some areas of the San Joaquin Valley are sinking at three times that rate.
This story was produced by Capital Public Radio.
