(CN) — A new study of groundwater in California’s Sacramento Valley shows that the ground sank faster than expected during the 2020-2022 drought due to heavy groundwater pumping, resulting in less water storage capacity in the aquifer.
The authors of the study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences say the damage to the aquifer may be long-term and irreversible.
Land subsidence occurs when excessive groundwater is withdrawn from rocks and sediment, causing the ground to sink, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. As groundwater is depleted, aquifers become more susceptible to compaction because the water no longer provides enough underground pressure to support the overlying land…