From KCRW, I'm Evan Kliman and you're listening to good food.

The Tulare Lake Basin in the southern end of California San Joaquin Valley has a problem.

It's sinking. Why? Because of persistent

over pumping of groundwater. But the major landowners pumping most of that H2O have no desire to stop. What does that mean for everyone

else who lives and works there and what does it mean for the future of farming in the region?

Oh and better yet, why should you care?

People are using groundwater, they are irrigating their fields, the land is sinking,

and the public is paying for the infrastructure repair.

And that's an estimated billions with a B in repairs.

Los Angeles Times reporters Suzanne Suzanne Rust, Jessica Garrison and Ian James have been covering the

brewing confrontation between state regulators and the Agra Barons who are pulling all that water out of the land and they're here to

unravel this complicated thread. Welcome Suzanne, Jessica and Ian, thank you so much for

coming. Thanks for having us. Thank you for having us. Yeah, thank you so much for coming. Thanks for having us.

Thank you for having us.

Yeah, thank you.

Can one of you start by explaining how over pumping has caused geologic transformations

across the Tulare Lake Basin?

Sure, this is a problem that has emerged in the Tulare Lake Basin.

It's really an epicenter of sinking ground in California.

But to understand that we have to go back in time.

This was once the largest freshwater lake

west of the Mississippi, and it was drained generations ago to serve farmland in that area.

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