Research and Development Office

Evaluation of Land Subsidence Impacts Due to Groundwater Pumping

Project ID: 3117
Principal Investigator: Kirk Nelson
Research Topic: Water Operation Models and Decision Support Systems
Funded Fiscal Years: 2015 and 2017
Keywords: None

Research Question

How does modeling the land subsidence/groundwater pumping relationship support managing land subsidence risk?

Need and Benefit

There are four types of subsidence occurring in the San Joaquin Valley: (1) subsidence caused by groundwater overdraft and the associated water-level declines; (2) subsidence related to the hydrocompaction of moisture-deficient deposits above the water table; (3) subsidence related to fluid withdrawal from oil and gas fields; (4) subsidence caused by deep-seated tectonic movements; of these groundwater overdraft caused by pumping is the leading cause (Ireland et al., 1984). Thus, understanding and being able to model the land subsidence/groundwater pumping relationship is of prime importance in managing the land subsidence risk, especially in the context of water management decisions in the San Joaquin Valley.

Contributing Partners

Contact the Principal Investigator for information about partners.

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