The data released yesterday (December 14) by the North American Space Agency (NASA) paints a bleak picture for the state, which has suffered a drought for the past three years.

The University of California Irvine has looked at the data and found a water use is draining the vast underground pools used to supply farmers, towns and cities across the state.

This is because the underground pools have been ‘aggressively’ agriculturally pumped by famers.

A spokesman for the report says: “The data reveals groundwater in these basins is being pumped for irrigation at rates that are not sustainable if current trends continue.

“This is leading to declining water tables, water shortages, decreasing crop sizes and continued land subsidence.

“The findings have major implications for the US economy as California’s Central Valley is home to one-sixth of all US irrigated land and the state leads the nation in agricultural production and exports.”

Luke Walsh

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