Legislation to protect California’s aquifers and groundwater resources from permanent damage due to over-pumping has been approved by the state Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water on a 6-2 vote.

“This is a serious problem that affects everyone, and it’s getting worse,” says Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, the author of the legislation.

Groundwater extraction through new and deeper drilling has sharply increased across the Central Valley and much of the rest of the state during the drought, including in water basins critically overdrafted by established water demands.