Without Enough Water To Go Around, Farmers In California Are Exhausting Aquifers

Well water is pumped into an irrigation system at a vineyard in Madera, California. California is suffering from drought, and farmers in the state's Central Valley are pumping more groundwater from their well to make up for a shortfall in water from the state's reservoirs. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption

Well water is pumped into an irrigation system at a vineyard in Madera, California. California is suffering from drought, and farmers in the state's Central Valley are pumping more groundwater from their well to make up for a shortfall in water from the state's reservoirs.

The next time you pick up some California-grown carrots or melons in the grocery store, consider the curious, contested odyssey of the water that fed them. Chances are, farmers pumped that water from underground aquifers on a scale that's become unsustainable, especially as the planet heats up.

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