State of California explicitly permitted water pollution, despite drought

Since 2011, California has seen increasingly extreme levels of drought engulf the entire state, and it's still getting worse: In January, typically the rainier season, San Francisco received not a single drop of rain.

Despite this water emergency, the state government for years gave oil companies explicit permission to pollute groundwater that otherwise would have been clean enough to drink. Many of the polluted aquifers are in Central Valley, a large lowland area in the middle of the state where the ground is actually beginning to sink because there is so little water left.

Pumping the tainted water used in oil production back into the ground is considered the most environmentally friendly disposal option and would be much less cause for concern without drought conditions, but California's convoluted bureaucracy and poor record-keeping created confusion over where wastewater disposal is or is not permitted.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up