Giant earth cracks are appearing in the southwestern United States

 The ground is cracking in the southwestern United States. Cracks are observed in the states of Arizona, Utah, and California.

According to experts, these are the effects of groundwater depletion. Groundwater, a key source of fresh water, provides about half of the drinking water needed by humans and accounts for 40% of the world's irrigation resources. However, excessive extraction leads to soil subsidence and the formation of cracks, which have far-reaching consequences for both the environment and the population.

Joseph Cook of the Arizona Geological Survey points out that what we are observing is not a natural phenomenon, but the result of human activities. The withdrawal of groundwater at a rate that exceeds its natural replenishment leads to the subsidence of large flat areas and the formation of cracks, which pose a threat to infrastructure such as houses, roads and dams, but also to people and livestock. Monitoring since 2002 by the Arizona Geological Survey has identified 269 miles of cracks.

To further understand the scale of the problem, The New York Times conducted an investigation examining water levels in tens of thousands of locations across the country. The results are alarming. About 90% of the water in the United States comes from aquifers that have already been so depleted that they may be impossible to restore. In many monitored locations, groundwater levels have dropped significantly over the past forty years, and in some have reached record lows.

Trying to restore the balance of aquifers can take hundreds or even thousands of years. Some regions, especially in Arizona, have already reached the tipping point from which there is no return. Constant and excessive water consumption prevents the natural replenishment of aquifers, which leads to irreversible changes in the ecosystem.

Equally worrying is the impact of climate change on the situation. Varigia Bowman, a water resources expert and law professor at the University of Tulsa, points out that as global temperatures rise, rivers like the Colorado River are shrinking. Temperature increases of even a few degrees by 2050 could lead to further reductions in river flows, which in turn will increase reliance on underground water resources and deepen the water depletion crisis.