To the editor: This article (“Central Valley homeowners are watching property values sink with the land,” Aug. 13) makes clear subsidence is not just an environmental crisis. Decades of unreliable surface water left San Joaquin Valley farmers no choice but to pump groundwater — with severe consequences. Sinking land, cracked infrastructure and reduced capacity to the California Aqueduct that delivers water to millions in Southern California.
The good news: Subsidence can be slowed — and potentially reversed.
Since 2023, Westlands’ farmers recharged over 470,000 acre-feet of groundwater, restoring water levels by 200 feet in some areas. Injection wells have lifted land by half a foot. In one important location, subsidence stopped completely.
These gains strengthen water supplies and assist Valley farms that produce much of the nation’s fruits, nuts and vegetables, but Westlands cannot do it alone. California should advance Proposition 4 investments to restore aquifers, safeguard the California Aqueduct and secure the food and water millions depend on.
Allison Febbo, Fresno
The writer is general manager of the Westlands Water District.