I live in Orcutt. I believe the water shortage due to the climate-change-driven drought (reference James Hansen, Michael Mann, UC Santa Cruz research team who predicted drought 10 years ago) demands we be highly protective of our groundwater resources.
This is the wrong time to disturb aquifers containing our only source of water. If University of California researchers at Santa Cruz are correct that the drought will continue and worsen, places in the county will start running out of water in less than two years. Supposedly the Santa Maria Valley has an extensive aquifer containing 2 to 3 million acre feet of water, but proof of this reserve is hard to come by. It almost seems like local legend or rumor. It gets referred to often, but never accompanied by a respected research paper or study.
No drilling, no fracking until the drought is resolved. Protect our water as the most important resource we have. Without water, all the jobs in the world here will be meaningless.
Let’s not make the mistake our national economy has been making—grab the quick profits and let the long run take care of itself.
