Confronting the fourth consecutive year of drought, California faces extensive water shortfalls, and the visible impacts are everywhere, from dry vegetation and stream beds to dwindling reservoir levels and river flows. There are also hidden and more devastating impacts: declining aquifers and drying wells are leaving people desperate for alternative water sources. 

Drying wells are occurring throughout the state, though the Central Valley region has been hardest hit, with some people forced to rely on community water tanks or to haul water from other sources. During periods of consistent precipitation, surface water provides 60 percent of the state’s water; however, drought and scarcity necessitate increased pumping of groundwater, and then the figures flip with groundwater providing 60 percent of the water. Accordingly, water table levels quickly fall off, and homeowners with shallow wells are the first to feel the consequence.

California has enacted legislation to address the ramifications of climate change and drying wells; however, the value of said legislation is questionable. In 2012, the state passed the Human Right to Water Act to ensure that all have access to safe, clean, and affordable drinking water; however, the number of households with dry wells continues rise with limited resources to address the crisis. California’s Groundwater Live currently reports that 64% of monitored wells are below normal water levels. Additionally, 1,400 domestic wells have been reported dry to the Dry Well Reporting System this year, the most reported since the system was launched by the California Department of Water Resources in 2013. This represents a 40 percent increase from the same period last year, although the actual figure is likely higher since reporting is not mandated.[1] The LA times reported that continued drought conditions will jeopardize 15,000 domestic wells, putting them in danger of going dry in the next five years.

In 2014, the state passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), its purpose to “halt overdraft and bring groundwater basins into balanced levels of pumping and recharge.”[2] Although a sound concept, SGMA does not protect water for all. Under the Act’s minimum water threshold plans, as many as 12,000 wells will be partially or completely dry in the San Joaquin Valley alone by 2040, affecting as many as 127,000 people.[3]

Rural communities are more susceptible to water vulnerability due to a lack infrastructure and a higher water demand to meet irrigation needs. To support households affected by drought-related issues, drinking water assistance programs are available. Some organizations, like Self-Help Enterprises, serve specific counties and provides a myriad of services ranging from bottled water or hauled water deliveries to well repair and replacement. Statewide, the Rural Community Assistance Corporation provides domestic well repair and replacement; however, there is a lengthy wait for these services. In the interim, people are struggling to find an alternative solution as the right to drinking water is not preventing the wells from going dry.

[1]  Pineda, Dorany, and Gabrielle LaMarr LeMee. “Household Water Wells Are Drying up in Record Numbers as California Drought Worsens.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 8 Dec. 2022, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-12-08/california-water-wells-are-drying-up-in-record-numbers.

[2] California State Water Resources Control Board. “Groundwater Management Program.” SWRCB.gov, 26 Oct. 2022, https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/gmp/.

[3] Pineda, Dorany, and Gabrielle LaMarr LeMee. “Household Water Wells Are Drying up in Record Numbers as California Drought Worsens.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 8 Dec. 2022, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-12-08/california-water-wells-are-drying-up-in-record-numbers.