California water wells are drying up in record numbers- Household water wells are drying up in record numbers as California drought worsens

BY DORANY PINEDA, GABRIELLE LAMARR LEMEEPTCORNING, Calif. —  

For almost four decades, water flowed faithfully from Fred and Robin Imfeld’s private well here in rural Tehama County, a region where thirsty orchards of walnuts, almonds, plums and olives stretch across thousands of acres.

But that reliable supply of household water began to sputter last year, and then ceased completely this summer amid California’s driest three-year period on record.

Now, the Imfelds and other residents here are scrambling to find alternate water sources, and trucking in supplies to fill massive, portable water tanks that have sprouted up throughout the community.

“I call it a silent disaster because it’s not like hurricanes where everything is getting blown over,” Fred Imfeld, 70, said of the well failures. “It’s just like, one after another of these wells just keep popping dry, and if we have another hot summer like this year and last year, or [another year with little] rainfall, it’s going to double.”

Across California, domestic wells are drying up in record numbers due to severe drought and the overpumping of underground aquifers. The crisis has hit rural farming areas particularly hard and left some families to fend for themselves or wait years for permanent solutions as nonprofits, state water officials and well drillers struggle with a growing backlog of assistance requests…….More Here

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