Tuesday June 3, 2025
Redding Record Searchlight —
Parts of Tehama County, including areas around Red Bluff, Corning, and Antelope, are sinking. — a condition that could cause damage to infrastructure and deplete groundwater permanently if the ag-producing county does not reverse it, geologists say.
For those who wonder, Redding and the rest of Shasta County aren’t having the same problem, in part because Shasta’s groundwater is replenished by the ACID Canal, flowing from the Sacramento River. It’s also because Shasta doesn’t have as much agriculture stressing the groundwater supply, according to groundwater experts in both counties’ public works departments.
Mid- to southwestern parts of Tehama County are suffering land subsidence, a drop in the Earth’s crust when too much groundwater is removed. The soil collapses into the space left by the lack of water, making the ground above it sink.
One cause is groundwater partially dried up during years of heavy drought. But the main issue in Tehama County is people are pumping too much water out of the ground in places like the Red Bluff and Corning sub-basins, said Justin Jenson, Tehama’s public works deputy director. More than 90% of that pumped-out groundwater goes to the county’s agriculture — mostly almond, walnut and pistachios orchards, Jenson said.