i m standing in front of peter s canyon reservoir and that dusty patch of white behind me is where the water should be. with reservoirs running dry, farmers are turning to groundwater. over time, groundwater accumulates in vast underground aquifers. but no you, over the past few years, groundwater levels have dropped 50 feet or more as farmers drill deeper and deeper to access it. today we do set in law a framework that has been resisted for long, long time. since before my father was even governor. reporter: just last year, california became the last state in the west to regulate groundwater usage. the state s first-ever mandatory water restrictions soon followed. we re in an historic drought, and that demands unprecedented action. reporter: a 25% reduction in water usage state wide has forced residents and businesses to cut back. farmers with rights to california water dating back to over a century ago are also
there by the time that happens. it s a problem and the different water agencies will have to work together to figure that out. maybe we need to do something about this sooner than 20 or 25 years from now. in a perfect world, if we stop lowering ground water levels, subsidence will stop, but the land surface is not coming back up. stephanie said it. you have to know where to look. interesting story. we thank you for joining us this hour. i m george howell at the cnn center. i will be back after the break with another hour of news from around the world. you are watching cnn, the world s news leader. creatures take flight, soaring away from home towards the promise of a better existence. but these birds are suffering. because this better place turned out to have an unreliable cell phone network, and the videos on their little bird phones kept buffering. birds hate that.
relating to what s happening out here. there is no snow in the mountains, reservoir levels are exceptionally low, groundwater levels are declining. we re in pretty rough shape. talk to me about this gain or savings of 27%. does it make a difference? how important is that? it s real important in metropolitan regions. i think the most important thing is those numbers are telling us that people are getting it they re taking it very seriously. not everybody, not every town has reached its target but those are really encouraging numbers and really point to a very heightened level of awareness. so there is some heavy rains recently we ve reported on that in the state. does that make any real difference? psychologically, i think it makes a difference but in terms of our overall water storage deficit, that hole is so so big. you know we need a solid seven or eight big storms per year that usually happen over the winter for the next three years
more than two million bottles are filled here every day water is a lucrative business swiss food and drink giant nestlé had more than two hundred sixty million euros in sales here in the last quarter alone. but groundwater levels have sunk dramatically according to tests nestle has been pumping out thousands and thousands of cubic meters of underground mineral water for years. and this loon know this because nestle shows no consideration. that the company does not protect this water resource it exploits it. and the government is not doing its job its just looking on. a company geologist and water expert does not even trying to deny the problems with groundwater levels in the town. we draw most of the water if that s true and that s why we bear the responsibility older but we also have the responsibility and the will to find