California’s Biggest Water Source Shrouded in Secrecy

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A groundwater pump in Kern County. Groundwater levels have dropped to all-time lows in some parts of the San Joaquin Valley. Photo by Craig Miller/KQED

By Lauren Sommer, KQED News Fix/KQED Science

There’s an “alarming lack of information” about California’s biggest reservoir, finds a major new analysis of the state’s groundwater resources.

As water levels dwindle in California’s rivers and reservoirs, many farmers and water districts are relying on the state’s vast underground reservoirs instead. In drought years, groundwater provides up to 60 percent of California’s water supply, according to rough estimates by state officials.

Read the complete story at KQED News Fix/KQED Science

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