New Orchards Drying Up Wells

California currently has no restrictions on how much well water a property owner can draw. New orchards in eastern Stanislaus County are springing up around Oakdale and they need a lot of water.

Neighbors like Neil Hudson say all the new wells are lowering the groundwater level.

"Putting in the large volume wells is going to reduce the aquifer by a lot, we don't know the numbers, there's no way you can calculate the numbers." - Neil Hudson

Hudson says some people are forced to drill their wells deeper to find water. For some whose wells maybe 50 years old or more, it's a very expensive operation.

"So they have to drill a new well which costs around $20,000," Hudson says.

Stanislaus County supervisors expect to establish new groundwater rules by the end of this month.