Science: California Central Valley drought and groundwater pumping caused permanent land subsidence and aquifer storage loss

Science Magazine posted on X on Aug. 3 that a 2020 drought in California's Central Valley caused farmers to pump vast amounts of groundwater, reducing water pressure in deep sediments and leading to land subsidence of more than half a meter in the Sacramento Valley over two years. Researchers report the aquifer compacted so quickly and extensively in 2021 that it likely permanently lost its capacity to store water. Typically, such subsidence is reversible as rainfall refills sediment pores and causes the surface to rebound, but the speed and extent of compaction in 2021 changed that outcome.