Pumped groundwater dries up streams in the Emerald Triangle: Study

Groundwater pumping to support cannabis cultivation could cause Emerald Triangle streams to dry up during summer months, according to a new peer-reviewed study by researchers at Simon Fraser University, UC Berkeley and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The reduced flow can damage salmon habitats and downstream water systems.

Published in the Journal of Hydrology, the study analyzed how groundwater pumping affects headwater streams in two Emerald Triangle watersheds. By modeling 580 scenarios with a new technique, researchers found that under realistic conditions . . .