What is Subsidence and How Does it Impact the Ground Beneath Our Feet

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California Department of Water Resources’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Office installs new equipment to enhance the monitoring and understanding of land subsidence in California.  The newly installed GPS station and remote sensing calibration equipment will be firmly anchored into the ground to ensure precise positioning and detect vertical movement of the Earth’s surface. Photo taken January 16, 2025.

California Department of Water Resources’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Office installs new equipment to enhance the monitoring and understanding of land subsidence in California. The newly installed GPS station and remote sensing calibration equipment will be firmly anchored into the ground to ensure precise positioning and detect vertical movement of the Earth’s surface. Photo taken January 16, 2025.

You may have heard of the term subsidence but what does it mean? Subsidence is the sinking of land which can be caused by various factors including groundwater pumping. In California, subsidence has been documented for over a century and is a growing issue that impacts our water infrastructure and the communities who rely on it.

This summer, DWR plans to release a draft best management practices document to help local agencies minimize subsidence impacts around the state. For more information about
DWR’s efforts to sustainable manage groundwater and reduce the impacts of subsidence visit DWR's Groundwater Management page.