Stanislaus County groundwater proposal sets threshold, monitoring levels

by Sergio Musetti on 05/01/14

California drought.

Stanislaus County it's also affected but was not included in this list.

Although Stanislaus County Code, Title 14, Chapter 14.12, specifies Water Conservation Ordinances a proposal that includes financial help for families whose wells go dry and requirements that farmers report how much they’re pumping may help.

“When a neighbor started using a big well on his farm, all our wells went dry,” Anita Kirkpatrick told the committee. She and her husband, Tom, live on North Sperry Road near Denair. They had to spend $13,000 to drill a new well.

Lila Thayer, who also lives on Sperry, said her water dried up, too. The 75-year-old widow said she ended up paying nearly $20,000 to repair and then to replace her well.

Thayer told The Bee another Sperry resident plus four more families in nearby homes had their wells stop working about the same time.

“We’re all angry about it,” Thayer said. “They’re pumping all over (in the agricultural area surrounding our homes). It’s very scary.”

“We have a real water problem out there," warned Pam Vierra, who lives on North Gratton Road near Denair. She said her 126-foot-deep well has started pumping up sand. “There’s been four new wells go in right around us in the last few months, and new trees (are being planted).”

There has been a dramatic increase in new agricultural wells in Stanislaus during the past year, triggered by the drought, reduced water allocations from irrigation districts and farming expansion. The committee has been looking into the impact all those new wells are having on groundwater levels.

There is a proposal that the Water Advisory Committe will continue discussing on May 14. Read the full article by J.N. Sbranti.