Wells across the country are going dry or being drilled deeper according to a recent study published by researchers in the journal Nature Sustainability.
The study covered groundwater use and analyzed data from nearly 12 million wells across the country, with some of the records studied dating back decades. The wells studied were a mix of domestic, industrial, and agricultural use.
While it is known overusing groundwater is causing some wells to go dry, the researchers from the University of California-Santa Barbara found that drilling wells deeper for those who could afford it was happening all around the country.
Researchers Debra Perrone and Scott Jasechko found new wells are getting deeper between 1.4 and 9.2 times as often as they are being drilled shallower.
They also found 79 percent of the areas they looked at showed well-deepening trends growing between 1950 to 2015. The study found that the most significant areas were California’s Central Valley, the High Plains of southwestern Kansas, and the Atlantic Coastal Plain, among other regions.
“We were surprised how widespread deeper well drilling is,” Jasechko said.
The reason for the deeper wells was not just overuse. Some were drilled deeper to avoid contamination issues coming from the surface, while some wells were drilled deep due to the geology of the area.
Regardless, the researchers don’t think deep wells are a long-term solution. Increased cost and energy are two deterrents. They added some areas, especially rural communities, are vulnerable to wells going dry.
“What we’re finding is that in places where water levels are declining, some people are drilling deeper, maybe to avoid having their primary water supply go dry,” Perrone said. “Regardless of the reasons why Americans are drilling deeper, we suggest that deeper well drilling is an unsustainable stopgap to groundwater depletion.”