Groundwater vanishing in Central Valley

February 8th, 2011, 3:38 pm
by Pat Brennan, science, environment editor

Over-pumping is pulling vast and unsustainable amounts of groundwater from the heart of California farming, the Central Valley, a new UC Irvine satellite study shows – with enough lost over four years to fill two-thirds of Lake Mead.

The phenomenon shows no sign of slackening despite two wet winters in a row, and the rate of extraction is likely greater than the estimated depletion rate, said Earth System Science professor Jay Famiglietti, the study’s lead author.

“It’ll be an impact on food prices for sure,â€