CompetitionOverGroundwater

From Water Wiki

As groundwater levels dropped in the droughts from 2000 through 2008, there were increasing reports of disputes and threats of disputes over groundwater withdrawals believed to be drying up the wells of neighbors.

 

Summer 2008 in Charlotte story

A woman called CMUD and ended up with me (a summer intern) on the phone. She was distraught because her neighbors, who she claimed did not even live in the property full-time, were watering from their well and using City water for all other uses. This woman, on the other hand, used only well water for all of her water needs. The entire neighborhood was located within Charlotte city limits.
She said that she had been going to a friend's house to take showers because she was so concerned the groundwater would run out. Meanwhile, her neighbors continued to irrigate their lawn "excessively."

We discussed her option of connecting to City water, but the financial hurdle of doing so (around $5,000 for her specific location) was too expensive. (CMUD has financial assistance for interconnection which ended up being my only suggestion - that and contacting her elected officials.) She wanted me to give her neighbors a ticket for watering. When I told her that CMUD had no authority to tell a well-user how to use their water, she became extremely upset and began crying. She had not spoken to her neighbors directly and was afraid to do so.