Image - AP
California, one of the most visited places in the United States of America, you might stop seeing the sun rise over the horizon sooner than expected. As NASA explains, it's getting totally submerged. The cause? The drought.
Californians obtain most of their fresh water through underground extraction, which is causing subsidence rates in the San Joaquin Valley, the largest in the state, to be very worrying, according to a report from the Propulsion Laboratory to Reaction.
California Department of Water Resources Director William Croyle said that “subsidence has long hit several regions of California, but the current level endangers an infrastructure serving millions of people. The extraction of groundwater puts at risk the very system that supplies the San Joaquin Valley with water.
The San Joaquín Valley is one of the tributaries of the Central Valley, and extends from the delta of the San Joaquín and Sacramento rivers to the north of the Tehachapi mountain range in the south and from several Coastal Sierras of the country to the north. The land is used by farmers, but also by drinking water companies that bring the precious little liquid to Californians.
However, every cause has its effect: Due to its extraction, the water level in this valley has dropped 8,5 meters since 1920. And not only that, but subsidence has damaged thousands of groundwater wells and can also permanently reduce the storage capacity of aquifers in the area. So the situation is very serious, because in the future they could have a lot of problems getting water.
You can read the report here (It is in English).