I really would like to see the math used to back up the thinking our groundwater on the Island would not be affected by irrigating through dry growing periods.
If it is dry, nothing is going back in, then a void is being created in the aquifer with millions of tonnes of earth pressure above the air space in the aquifer.
In 2015 scientists estimated nearly 1200 square miles of California was sinking at a rate of 2 inches per month.
Simply check out the link provided to see a 2017 NASA Observatory picture of “subsidence” (sinking) in California.
Some areas are so affected the irrigation canals are useless due to collapsing ground.
We are surrounded by saltwater, where does our freshwater come from? I will not be personally affected by this decision, but our future generations surely will be.
Check the California Nasa link to see actual subsidence.
Chris Wakaluk,
Souris, PE