CASWELL BELL & HILLISON LLP
FRESNO, CALIFORNIA

PUMPING GROUNDWATER FROM THE CENTRAL VALLEY

One of the largest human alterations of the Earth's surface topography has resulted from excessive groundwater pumpage in the Central Valley.

Take a look at this remarkable photograph:

This picture shows researcher Dr. Joseph F. Poland standing at the location of maximum land subsidence identified in the Central Valley.  The signs on the pole show the approximate altitude of the surface of the land  in 1925, 1955, and 1977.  The site is in the San Joaquin Valley southwest of Mendota, California.

It’s hard to believe the level of the earth subsided by more than 28 feet at this location near benchmark S661 southwest of Mendota, due to the pumping of groundwater.

While water may be a renewable resource, it also behooves us to use it wisely.

More information can be obtained from the U.S. Geological Survey.
http://water.usgs.gov/ogw/pubs/fs00165/

And from this article:
“Land Subsidence in the United States,”
by  Devin Galloway, David R. Jones, and S.E. Ingebritsen

U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1182
http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/circ1182/

Thanks to Gayle Rousey for bringing this fact to my attention in her recent article, “Groundwater: Uniform Control of a Critical and Limited Resource” (San Joaquin Agricultural Law Review, 2005-2006, Vol. 15, No. 1, pages 169-192). 

© Caswell Bell & Hillison LLP          Attorneys and Lawyers, Fresno, California