Central Valley Aquifer Sarah Burns

Central Valley Aquifer in California

In Central Valley, California, there is a very important aquifer. “More than 250 different crops are grown in the Central Valley with an estimated value of $17 billion per year.” The aquifer is not only important to California but to the rest of the United States as well because it creates so many crops. The problem with the aquifer is that is depends on groundwater plumage and surface-water diversions and the population is quickly rising. If the population keeps growing the competition for water will increase as well. California is trying to monitor the situation by recording “(1) the present status of groundwater resources; (2) how these resources have changed over time; and (3) tools to assess system responses to stresses from future human uses and climate variability and change.” In Earth Science we studied both the amount of available fresh water on the Earth as well as the lack of water in warmer areas of the Earth such as California. The aquifer shows how Californians use their water. They use it in a productive way to gain crops for the people of California and other states. In class we also talked about runoff water and how it would normally go back into the ocean eventually. This plays into the problem with the depleting amount of available fresh water on the Earth. In other parts of the United States and other countries as well, runoff water is being diverted by the building of roads and houses causing it not to reach the oceans. If the water cannot reach the oceans then it cannot go through the cycle again, creating a depleting level of fresh water. The problem with the growing population is that they will bring more roads and houses to Central Valley, creating even less runoff water then there currently is, making it hard to grow the amount of crops the Aquifer normally does or causing the population to have less water than they normally would. I believe that California is making a wise move by monitoring the things that they are so that they can determine what to do if the water levels get to low or if the resources and climate are being drastically affected. The question I have however, is what will Californians do if the results are not positive? There will no agreeable way to solve it by all people. I just wonder what will be moved the Aquifer or the people.

DeLima Associates. Household Products Database - Health and Safety Information on Household Products. Web. 21 Nov. 2010. .