Unsustainable Groundwater Use in Sonoma Valley

Groundwater resources in Sonoma Valley are already in deficit, depleted by over-pumping of approximately 9% according to USGS modeling. There are 2,500 wells already drilled in Sonoma Valley. In some areas, wells have already run dry, and salt water is intruding, creating long-term damage to the aquifer.

This short video provides a good introduction to the key issues:

This longer video explains how the Sonoma County Water Agency is responding to this crisis by trying to get people to listen to one another and take action to solve it:

Learn more about the science of groundwater here in the Valley:

Geohydrological Characterization, Water-Chemistry, and Ground-Water Flow Simulation Model of the Sonoma Valley Area, Sonoma County, California

Sonoma Valley Groundwater Management Program: Five-Year Review and Update FINAL REPORT, March 2014. Sonoma County Water Agency

Once you watch these videos you will see that each one of us who operates a well needs to do our part. Only the truly greedy among us could refuse to take action to preserve this precious water resource that belongs to all of us.