Zinfandel will flow like the water once did in Paso Robles this weekend. Bottles will pop open during a wine festival as rigs drill deep across the city to find a resource whose scarcity threatens Paso Robles to its core: water.
How scant has the crucial underground water supply become around the San Luis Obispo County city? Sue Luft can tell you anecdotally. The water levels in wells that feed homes and wineries around her 10-acre property just south of Paso Robles have dropped 80 feet in some areas, leaving many with no choice but to take out loans to drill farther down. Luft calls it a “race to the bottom.”
Casting blame for depleting underground supplies is at the center of a bitter debate about who, if anyone, should be monitoring withdrawals.
http://www.sfgate.com/science/article/California-drought-Strife-over-groundwater-boils-5319209.php
