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.
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