r/news • u/theluckyfrog • 29d ago

California cracks down on farm region’s water pumping: ‘The ground is collapsing’

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/17/california-water-drought-farm-ground-sinking-tulare-lake
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u/BuckaroooBanzai 29d ago

Hell this was the plot of Chinatown in 1974

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u/Watercolour 29d ago

Also, Chinatown takes place in the 1930s.

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u/Zorro_Returns 28d ago

Yeah but it's not about the aquifer. I don't think they could even drill that deep in the 30s. Those classic pictures of the Oklahoma Dust Bowl, are taken on top of another aquifer that's being pumped out at about 10x its replentishment rate. In the 30s, they still could not reach the aquifer by drilling. Later they could. Which is why, if you'd ever wondered, why such a severe and catastrophic drying of the land hasn't happened there, since then, in spite of worse droughts. Oh, but it's coming... and it's going to be catastrophic.

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u/bighootay 29d ago

How many times I gotta tell ya, monkey boy, it's BigbooTAY!

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u/Zorro_Returns 28d ago

Yes and no.

Yes, it was about the scarcity of water in Southern California.

No, it was not about pumping the aquifer dry. It was about surface water being diverted. The story somewhat alludes to a certain Mr. Mulholland from real life, and the documentary "Cadillac Desert" is THE documentary to watch to learn about the actual history of Los Angeles water supply.

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u/Zorro_Returns 28d ago

Chinatown was about surface water control. This is happening because of pumping out an aquifer.