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California wells run dry as drought depletes groundwater

Elaine Moore's family home sits in Madera County, Calif., where many wells have gone dry this year in Chowchilla, Calif., Sept. 14, 2022. Amid a megadrought plaguing the American West, more rural communities are losing access to groundwater as heavy pumping depletes underground aquifers that aren’t being replenished by rain and snow. (AP Photo/Terry Chea) Tomas Chairez carries the buckets his tenants use to carry water from a neighbor's home because his property lost access to groundwater in Fairmead, Calif., Sept. 14, 2022. Chairez is trying to get the county to provide a storage tank and water delivery service. For now, his tenants have to fill up 5-gallon (19-liter) buckets at a friend’s home and transport water by car each day. (AP Photo/Terry Chea) Ethan Bowles of Hefner and Drew Well Drilling operates a well-drilling rig at a home in Madera County, Calif., where many wells have gone dry this year on Sept. 14, 2022. As California’s drought deepens, more rural communities are running out of water. “It’s been almost nonstop phone calls just due to the water table dropping constantly,” Bowles said. (AP Photo/Terry Chea) Madeline Harris, policy manager with the advocacy group Leadership Council for Justice and Accountability, stands next to a municipal well that's gone dry in Fairmead, Calif., Sept. 14, 2022. “Municipal wells like this one are being put at risk and are going dry because of the groundwater overdraft problems from agriculture,” Harris said. “There are families who don’t have access to running water right now because they have dry domestic wells." (AP Photo/Terry Chea) A well-drilling rig works to install a new well at a home in Madera County, Calif., where many wells have gone dry this year on Sept. 14, 2022. As California’s drought deepens, more rural communities are running out of water. (AP Photo/Terry Chea) Tomas Chairez stands next to a faucet that doesn't work because his property has lost access to water after a domestic well went dry in Fairmead, Calif., Sept. 14, 2022. Chairez is trying to get the county to provide a storage tank and water delivery service. For now, his tenants have to fill up 5-gallon (19-liter) buckets at a friend’s home and transport water by car each day. (AP Photo/Terry Chea) Water levels are low at San Luis Reservoir, which stores irrigation water for San Joaquin Valley farms, in Gustine, Calif., Sept. 14, 2022. As climate change brings hotter temperatures and more severe droughts, cities and states around the world are facing water shortages as lakes and rivers dry up. (AP Photo/Terry Chea) Elaine Moore stands next to a dry irrigation canal and almond orchard near her property, where two wells have gone dry this summer in Chowchilla, Calif., Sept. 14, 2022. Amid a megadrought plaguing the American West, more rural communities are losing access to groundwater as heavy pumping depletes underground aquifers that aren’t being replenished by rain and snow. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)