California cracks down on another Central Valley farm area for groundwater depletion

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LATimes

California water regulators are cracking down on a second farming area in the San Joaquin Valley for failing to take adequate steps to curb overpumping that is depleting groundwater, causing the land to sink and damaging a canal that transports water for 1 million acres of farmland and more than 250,000 people.

The State Water Resources Control Board has voted unanimously to place the Tule groundwater subbasin {area includes the communities of Porterville, Pixley and Alpaugh} on probationary status, a step that brings additional state oversight, new water fees and requirements for most well owners to report how much they are pumping.

Farms in the area depend on groundwater to irrigate hay, corn, grapes, almonds, pistachios, oranges and other crops. As large amounts of groundwater are extracted, layers of sediment and clay can collapse and cause the land surface to subside.

In one area of the Tule subbasin west of Tipton, state officials said, the ground has sunk more than seven feet since 2015.