Drought means more groundwater will be pumped south of the Delta

Well-drilling industry can’t keep up with demand, expert says

Cecilia Parsons
Capital Press

February 26, 2009

A well rig sits idle at the site of a new well at T&D Farms, west of Madera. The well is currently at 280’ with more drilling to come. - John Tipton/ZUMA Press

Central Valley farmers, cut off from surface water sources and facing a third year of drought, are relying more heavily than ever on groundwater for irrigation.

As growers drill more and deeper wells, experts say there's a danger that more water will be drawn from aquifers than can be replaced by rain and snowfall.

Groundwater pumping to irrigate crops is a normal practice throughout California, but in dry years without supplementation of surface water supplies, it is a must.

According to state figures, groundwater is a major contributor to the state's water supply - more so in dry years. Overall, where surface supplies are available, groundwater provides 30 to 40 percent of the water needed. About 40 percent of Californians use groundwater for drinking.

Increased groundwater pumping is a sign of the dry times.

"Farmers have either just finished dropping pumps, are in the middle of it or they're on a waiting list," says Tulare farmer Mark Watte. During a break from their World Ag Expo volunteer duties, Watte and fellow grower Jerry Silva shared their observations of a year shaping up to be a dry one.

Watte said farmers who know they must pump have a host of strategies to get water to their crops. They range from a new hole in the ground and new pump, at a cost of around $50,000 depending on water depth, to lowering a pump and lining existing holes.

Watte said that it cost him $110,000 to drill a well to irrigate about 600 acres.

"You just do it. Not farming is not an option," he said.

Silva said farmers or their landlords who have to bear the costs to put in new wells or upgrade existing ones really don't have a choice. They will work the cost into their operating plan with the bank, he said.

Silva said he is in an area with standing water at 80 to 100 feet. Watte has to pump from about 200 feet down. As water tables drop, pumps have to work harder and growers may have to increase their horsepower to keep them efficient.

The pumping picture in Kern County is about the same.

Curtis Creel, water resources manager for Kern County Water Agency, said ground water levels there have dropped as pumping has increased.

Last year, he said, ag water users pumped out 380,000 acre-feet. This year, he expects only 60 percent of that total will come out of the ground, mainly because water levels aren't recharging. Total water demand for agriculture in Kern County is about 2.2 million acre feet per year, Creel said.

This year KWCA, which contracts for state water project deliveries, will receive about 15 percent of its contract - about 150,000 acre feet. Prior to Delta restrictions, the district received about 700,000 to 750,000 acre feet annually.

Four Kern County water districts receive Friant water deliveries, allocations the Bureau of Reclamation projects will be only 25 percent of normal this year.

With less groundwater to pump and less surface water available, Kern County farmers will not have all the water they need for permanent and row crops. Still, holes continue to be punched.

There were 230-240 new ag wells drilled in the county last year, Creel said, and more are expected this year.

Farmers who didn't plan ahead for a new well or well extension last year face a long wait for well drilling services. Creel said the average wait is 50 weeks after a permit is secured.

Sarge Green, a consultant for the Fresno-based California Water Institute and manager of the Westside Resource Conservation District, agreed that farmers are drilling "like crazy" to make sure they have water for crops.

In Westlands alone, a district that includes 600,000 acres in Fresno and Kings counties, 625,000 acre feet were pumped last year.

Not all was of high quality, Green noted. Some areas have groundwater with higher salt content or other pollutants. It's not due to irrigation or fertilizer use, he said, but naturally occurring soil conditions.

The well drilling industry in the valley can't keep up with demand right now, said Green.

The San Joaquin Valley is sitting over one of the largest water aquifers in the nation, he said, and it is a tremendous resource for the agriculture industry, but it comes at a cost. Not only do pumping costs increase as the water table drops, but the land itself can subside when water is overdrafted - that is more is pumped out than recharged.

Creel said the main Kern County aquifer, under an alluvial fan of the Kern River, is capable of recharge, even though the cycle is long. Continued well drilling in that area is probably feasible, he said.

Still, less water delivered from the Delta could have an effect on groundwater levels throughout Kern County. Districts with water banking projects store that water and Creel said unless there are ample, regular deliveries those projects could become obsolete in a decade.

Water attorney Gary Sawyers told growers at Madera County Farm Bureau's annual water conference that as groundwater supplies diminish, the state might pursue some restrictions on pumping. Conservation legislation may be coming for urban and ag water users, he warned.

Cecilia Parsons is a staff writer based in Ducor. E-mail: cparsons@capitalpress.com.

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