{"id":264656,"date":"2023-06-30T13:08:26","date_gmt":"2023-06-30T11:08:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=264656"},"modified":"2023-06-30T13:08:29","modified_gmt":"2023-06-30T11:08:29","slug":"massive-desert-solar-projects-are-sucking-up-groundwater-angering-locals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=264656","title":{"rendered":"Massive Desert Solar Projects Are Sucking Up Groundwater, Angering Locals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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From The Daily Caller<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By NICK POPE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Massive solar development projects in Southern California have strained local water availability, threatening desert ecosystems and angering residents who have been impacted by the strain on the water supply, according to an Inside Climate News report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The small communities around Desert Center, California, depend on naturally-occurring underground water reserves, known as groundwater aquifers, but the water-intensive development process for large solar<\/a> projects has caused groundwater levels to fall, according<\/a> to Inside Climate News. Crucial local water wells have dried up and land beneath homes has sagged as a result of development activity, while desert ecosystems have been damaged as well, according to Inside Climate News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Locals complain that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM<\/a>) and the corporations driving the developments in California\u2019s Colorado Desert have not allowed them to provide sufficient input in the decision-making process for the developments, according to Inside Climate News. Despite the BLM\u2019s\u00a0assurances<\/a>\u00a0that \u201crenewable energy development on BLM-managed public lands will continue to help communities across the country be part of the climate solution, while creating jobs and boosting local economies,\u201d residents say that they have not reaped much benefit from the solar projects while the strain on their groundwater supply has intensified, according to Inside Climate News.\u00a0(RELATED: Biden Admin Cracks Down On Chinese Solar Panels, Undermining The Green Agenda)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo one took into consideration a community lived out here,\u201d said Teresa Pierce, a resident of a nearby community who has helped to organize other locals to respond to the resource scarcity and solar developments<\/a>, according to Inside Climate News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Developers rely on the groundwater aquifer because there is no other feasible water supply in the area, rendering transport of water from other locations to the development sites prohibitively expensive, according to Inside Climate News. The development has depleted the water reserves for local communities like one trailer park which a property manager said would be \u201cdead without water\u201d if the local scarcity continues to worsen, according to Inside Climate News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Joe Biden: "We're gonna be shutting these plants down all across America, and having wind and solar." pic.twitter.com\/dkIu80sqZa<\/a><\/p>— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) November 4, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote>