Archive: San Joaquin's Thirst: orangegrove2-8346

A typical orange grove in the Central Valley. Water is disbursed to trees from various pumps situated inside the grove via piping that runs along the ground. The water used to irrigate crops comes directly from the Sierra Nevada mountains, whereas groundwater which is contaminated by decades of fertilizer and pesticide use and nitrate runoff from dairies, is the source of local drinking water.

A typical orange grove in the Central Valley. Water is disbursed to trees from various pumps situated inside the grove via piping that runs along the ground. The water used to irrigate crops comes from the Sierra Nevada mountains, whereas groundwater which is contaminated by decades of fertilizer and pesticide use and nitrate runoff from dairies, is the source of local drinking water.