As domestic water wells run dry in California, many rural individuals cannot afford to drill another one

Access to water is becoming more of a challenge in California, especially for rural communities in the Central Valley. Many rural families across California get water from domestic wells that tap into groundwater, but some of these wells are drying up due in part to climate change and the overconsumption of groundwater resources. This sets the stage for many political and legal battles across California.

Many households across California are not connected or do not have access to municipal water or sewer services. My family was one of them. 

When my family and I lived in Mount Shasta, California, we had a domestic water well that sat about ten yards from the house. When my parents began to have problems with the well, a pump company we paid to investigate the problem told us the well was dry. The only solution was to hire a drilling company to drill a new domestic water well.

My parents soon discovered that there were only nine drillers licensed to drill domestic water wells in all of Siskiyou County. All were booked out for months due to the high demand for water wells in Siskiyou County. In the meantime, my parents bought a 1,000-gallon water tank and would have potable water trucked in every two weeks.

After two months, the well-drilling company called with an opening for the next week. My parents promptly said yes, but the cost was beyond what anyone anticipated. While this was four years ago, the price of drilling a domestic well has only increased. Today, drilling a well costs an average of $5,500 in the United States, but the price “can range between $1,800 and $24,500, or around $25 to $65 per foot.”

Well Drilling. Credit: Paul Hamann

Well Drilling and Pipe Welding. Credit: Paul Hamann

My family was fortunate enough to be able to afford the hefty price tag for the new 360-foot well, but many California families cannot.

The past two years have been relatively wet, reducing the number of domestic wells going dry. As as result, press coverage of the issue has also fallen. Before that, California was experiencing a major drought, and thousands of wells went dry. Climate change and overconsumption of groundwater mean that policy makers and politicians cannot ignore this problem. 

In 2023 the Rural Community Assistance Corp. published a study analyzing water supply issues in California’s Central Valley. The study found that “32% of the 29,567 domestic wells analyzed are at risk” and that this creates a “burden that’s likely to fall disproportionately on rural disadvantaged communities.”

In numerous instances, the California State Government has stepped in. The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) was implemented in 2014 to help tackle groundwater management issues in California. The Rural Community Assistance Corp. study also identified the overpumping of groundwater as a major concern for those in rural communities. Large farming operations often have more resources and can afford to drill deeper wells than the surrounding residential homes and communities, but agricultural overpumping of groundwater lowers the water table, which raises the risk of domestic wells going dry. 

With so many domestic water wells going dry, non-profit organizations, like Self Help Enterprises have stepped in to help people in the Central Valley. Self Help Enterprises owns 1500 water storage tanks that they loan out to people whose wells have gone dry. While these tanks are not a permanent solution, they help those who cannot afford immediately to drill a new domestic well. Self Help Enterprises also offers domestic well drilling services to those who qualify for the program.

While the past two years have provided more rainfall to California than prior years, many people's wells are still drying up. Many of these wells are dated and were drilled before the effects of climate change and overconsumption of groundwater were fully recognized. Rural communities and families will be hit the hardest as many will not be able to afford the massive price tag for a new domestic well.

This is a very complicated issue, and many stakeholders are implicated. All Californians will continue to fight for access to dependable sources of water. Future policy decisions regarding groundwater usage need to consider potential impacts on rural communities as domestic water wells in rural areas will continue to be at risk.