Storing Water for a Dry Day Leads to Suits | Verdant World News

In California, water shortages due to water banking are stirring up a heated debate over water rights. Water banking is a common practice in the rural west and involves storing water in underground reservoirs for future use or leasing. Water banking, which is operated by water-rights holders, allows areas to better mediate the volatility of water supplies due to climate change; when early snow melts create a water surplus, that water is stored for times of drought which are becoming more frequent during summers. Though the system has long satisfied both environmentalists and farmers, two groups who traditionally disagree over water management, pumping out stored water in dry years is proving to affect underground geology.

Residents in Bakersfield, California, have recently experienced the consequences of these actions. Despite spending $14,000 to deepen wells in one community, residents are still frustrated by low water pressure. Engineers believe that pumping for the purposes of water banking altered the underground geology of Bakersfield, so that wells are no longer able to access the water table. Three law suits have been filed against water banking groups in the area. Those involved are anxiously awaiting the settlement, as a ruling in favor of the community could cause water banking to ?come to a screeching halt.?

Source: New York Times

Source: http://verdantworldnews.org/?p=574

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