Known For Its Floods, Louisiana Is Running Dangerously Short Of Groundwater

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A wastewater treatment plant in West Monroe, La., uses microalgae to biologically purify water. It's the first step in a process that helps supply water for a local paper mill, saving the area's stressed aquifer for residents.
Austin R. Ramsey/IRW





Known For Its Floods, Louisiana Is Running Dangerously Short Of Groundwater

https://www.npr.org/2021/03/19/975689866/known-for-its-floods-louisiana-is-running-dangerously-short-of-groundwater?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social



March 19, 20215:00 AM ET

Tegan Wendland Austin R. Ramsey

From
WWNO - New Orleans Public Radio

Christian Richard stands next to a groundwater well on his southwestern Louisiana farm. A centuries-old law allows landowners in the state to use as much water as they want for free.
Austin R. Ramsey/IRW

Louisiana is known for its losing battle against rising seas and increasingly frequent floods. It can sometimes seem like the state has too much water. But the aquifers deep beneath its swampy landscape face a critical shortage.

Groundwater levels in and around Louisiana are falling faster than almost anywhere else in the country, according to U.S. Geological Survey data. An analysis by the Investigative Reporting Workshop and WWNO/WRKF traced the problem to decades of overuse, unregulated pumping by industries and agriculture, and scant oversight or action from legislative committees rife with conflicts of interest.

Experts warn that all of these factors threaten the groundwater that nearly two-thirds of Louisianans rely on for drinking and bathing. Combined with the expected effects of climate-fueled heat and drought, it puts Louisiana on the brink of a groundwater crisis more common in Western states.

"Will restaurants no longer be able to put a giant glass of water on your table when you go in to have your seafood platter?" asks Craig Colten, a Louisiana State University professor who has studied water issues for years. "Will there be limits on how frequently you can wash your car in your driveway or water your lawn?"