CENTRAL VALLEY, CA – As West Coast temperatures continue to heat up and the sun beats down, California scientists have discovered potentially good news for the dried state. A reservoir containing 713 trillion gallons of water has been discovered underneath the Central Valley.
While this development could be a breaking boost for California in terms of water supply, scientists and professors in the surrounding region have cautioned that as of now, nothing is for sure.
“We don’t want to fool the public into thinking that we suddenly have increased our water supply by a factor of ten,” said Hydrologist Jay Famiglietti, a Professor at UC Irvine and a Senior Water Scientist at JPL, according to new source KPCC.
Scientists stated that water is located 1,000 to 3,000 feet underground, which poses significant dangers of sinking ground into the reservoir; an issue which is already prevalent in the Central Valley region.
“There are places where there is good fresh water available, but we’re not saying to run out and drill,” stated Robert B. Jackson, Stanford Professor and Co-Author of a study on the California reservoirs. “We’re saying, let’s quantify this resource, let’s understand it, and ideally let’s save it for the future as a rainy day fund.”
Scientists cautioned that the water could also be contaminated from oil and gas drilling which has occurred in the region. Famiglietti also stated to KPCC, that while deep groundwater basins are a resource, their usefulness tends to vary.
“It’s not clear at what rate we should extract them, and when we will be able to do that without significant consequences," Famiglietti finished.
As California continues to struggle through the legalities of an ongoing drought, this reservoir could make a sizable impact on water use for citizens and farms, if deemed usable.
AndNowUKnow will keep you updated as more information on the reservoir, and the state of California's drought, continues to be released.
