Groundwater Pumping-Related Land Sinking Threatens California Water Infrastructure

The rapid rate of land subsidence, or sinking, occurring in California’s San Joaquin Valley due to the over-pumping of groundwater poses a threat to the Delta-Mendota Canal and other water delivery infrastructure, according to a new report by the U.S. Geological Survey.

Released Nov. 21, the report builds on an earlier report on subsidence along the 117-mile Delta-Mendota Canal that carries water along the west side of the valley southward to supply farms and cities.

“The subsidence is reducing the capacity of the Delta-Mendota Canal, the California Aqueduct and other canals that transport floodwater and deliver water to agriculture, cities, ...