Underground storage may be a key for Western states navigating water shortages and extreme weather.
Aquifers under the ground have served as a reliable source of water for years. During rainy years, the aquifers would fill up naturally, helping areas get by in the dry years.
But growing demand for water coupled with climate change has resulted in shortages as states pump out water from aquifers faster than they can be replenished.
The fallout can also lead to damaged vegetation and wildlife as streams run dry and damage to aqueducts and flood control structures from sinking land.
Municipalities and researchers across the country are working on ways to more efficiently replenish emptied-out aquifers.
By overpumping aquifers “you’ve created space. There’s space under the ground that used to be filled with water,” explained Michael Kiparsky, water program director at the Center for Law, Energy & the Environment at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.
“And what we can do with these groundwater recharge projects is take advantage of […]
We really have to watch how much these large farms abuse their water rights. I believe many more people should become vegetarians which give a lot more water to the people instead of giving it to cows who use way more than a farm whose main job is to grow the food for people who would take much less than the cows do if people would become vegetarians. Then the underground aquifers would not be drained so fast! Composting could also become something everyone should become involved in, in order to enrich the soil.