With farmers having nowhere else to turn, they pull more water from the ground, but that resource is depleting.
A majority of California residents rely on the underground aquifer to supply them with water, with many communities in the Central Valley dependent on getting water from wells to drink. Recently, some basins have been having people draw more groundwater than what can be replaced. There are many negative effects from these basins getting depleted such as families who are dependent on wells having their wells go dry. As a result, the family would have to drill a new deeper well, sometimes with worse quality water. In addition to wells running dry, depleting basins can cause the land to sink damaging roadways and other infrastructure.
“During the latest drought, the pace of well drilling increased as farmers and communities sought new sources of water. As water tables dropped, more than 3,500 domestic wells went dry.” - Public Policy Institute of California
Efforts are being made to "recharge" these underground basins by putting water back into wells and spreading water over the soil in order to sink back down into the basin. Some areas in the state have been aiding in the recharge process by charging fines to those who overdraft the aquifer, then using that funding in order to help provide funding to programs working on the recharge process.
The overall aim of this process is to bring the aquifer back to a sustainable state, where the water being drawn out is able to be replenished. Creating programs and enforcing plans for this system is critical for being able to increase the longevity of the underground basins. Sustainable practices of drawing from underground water sources and retaining water within the soil are essential to surviving droughts to come.
Source
Person, et al. “Groundwater in California.” Public Policy Institute of California, Public Policy Institute of California, 7 Nov. 2021, https://www.ppic.org/publication/groundwater-in-california/#:~:text=Groundwater%20is%20a%20vital%20component,portion%20of%20their%20water%20supply.