California is currently experiencing perhaps its worst drought ever, and its consequences are manifesting in many ways, like the ever-worsening fire season of 2014. Some of those hit hardest by the lack of rain in the state are the farmers in California's Central Valley. Farmers there are turning in droves to groundwater drillers to enhance or dig additional wells on their farmland in hopes that this will sustain them for now. In fact, the well-drilling business in California is booming.

According to National Geographic, drilling companies like Athur & Orum, owned and operated by Floyd Arthur and his son, are overbooked sometimes as much as 12 months out, meaning farmers and residents in the valley have to wait nearly a year to get any additional wells drilled on their property. And that's just one company working 24/7 in order to satisfy the demand for ground water in the state. With no significant amount of rainwater in the state to rely on, Geographic reports that farmers are "spending millions of dollars to dig increasingly deep wells," in order for their farms to survive. 

Arthur's son Steve, who mostly heads the business now, says that their company has "never been busier," and apparently has two full binders-worth of contracts of people on their waiting list, with each binder being four inches thick. 

"Farmers are going crazy right now because they can't get enough wells," Arthur explains. According to him, in the past his company could expect a 500 foot well to be adequate for most of his customers. Sadly, that is no longer the case as deeper and deeper wells must now be dug in order to find any groundwater (wells 2,000 to 3,000 feet deep are now routine).

Arthur also worries about the limits of drilling. There is only so much water that current technology can reach. He also worries what will happen if farmers run out of money to pay for more wells as "about half of the U.S.'s fruits, nuts and vegetables" come from the Central Valley, and should the farms fail, it would be disastrous for the entire country. 

Currently, there is no solution in sight apart from continued drilling. Of course, a decent rain season would be the best case scenario, but no one knows if or when that might happen. Until then, the residents of California's Central Valley will have to pay dearly for groundwater if they hope to keep their farms alive.