Some streams in California’s Emerald Triangle have flowed every day of every year since long before anyone was measuring them.
A new study suggests that’s starting to change, and not for any of the reasons you’d expect. No drought hit hard enough to blame on its own and nobody diverted the water outright. Instead, the culprit sits underground, invisible, pulled up through wells drilled to keep cannabis crops alive through the dry months.
Streams that used to run year-round are drying up completely by summer. Seasonal streams are shutting off weeks earlier than they used to.
