A heating planet and expanding commercial agriculture are putting increasing pressure on America’s vital aquifers — underground reservoirs that supply water to an estimated 145 million Americans , as well as supporting much of the nation’s food supply.
New research published Tuesday in Nature uncovered rapid and accelerating declines in underground water sources across the world, with some of the fastest and most significant collapses impacting aquifers that supply the American West.
Researchers told The Hill that declines aren’t inevitable, and that they can be reversed — but doing so requires a clear understanding of where the losses are happening, and what is driving them.
Based on the data gathered by the scientists behind the Nature study, here are six states where the collapse of groundwater supplies poses the biggest challenge.
California
The collapse of groundwater reserves beneath California’s Central Valley stands out as particularly severe — even among all the global losses.