One of the results of prolonged drought, along with the pumping of groundwater, is a sinking land, according to a recent report by the Washington Post. The sinking, in some places a foot a year, is not expected to stop anytime soon. Repairs to infrastructure throughout the Central Valley are costing the state billions of dollars. A sparse mountain snowpack in California’s driest four-year span on record has forced farmers in the Central Valley, the nation’s most productive agricultural region, to rely on groundwater to irrigate their crops. The prolonged drought also spawned a well-drilling boom in the region. But experts claim decades of overpumping has led to sagging lands. Farmers are not the only ones taking note of sinking land. The changes have damaged utility infrastructure such as gas lines as well. With a wet El Nino winter forecast, geologists also worry that sinking may cause water to pool, prompting flooding rather than flow toward the sea.
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