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)
October 4, 2022
Stories this photo appears in:
October 4, 2022 12:15 p.m.
California wells run dry as drought depletes groundwater
More than 1,200 wells have run dry this year statewide, a nearly 50% increase over the same period last year