New Study: Parched Central Valley farms depend on Sierra for groundwater
New research shows that California’s Central Valley, known as America’s breadbasket, gets as much as half of its groundwater from the Sierra Nevadas. This is significant for a farming region that, in some parts, relies almost entirely on groundwater for irrigation. … Scientists have long recognized that the Sierras are a key water source for the Central Valley aquifer, but this new UC Riverside-led study is the first to quantify the groundwater contribution from the mountains. Published in the journal Water Resources Research, the study shows that contribution is as much as 53% in the southern Central Valley.
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