BOUQUET CANYON, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Since the Los Angeles Residential Community Ranch opened in 1959, it's relied on several wells on the property for water to support its residential and day programs for developmentally disabled adults.
But starting in December, they noticed there was less and less water. It all happened very quickly.
"It was so beautiful and so much water and so plentiful. Then suddenly one day it was like someone just pulled the plug and it was gone," said Kathleen Sturkey, executive director of LARC Ranch.
Stephanie Castle with UC Irvine said the entire state has seen more wells go dry.
According to a new study by NASA and UC Irvine, more than 75 percent of the water loss in the Colorado River Basin since late-2004 came from underground resources. That's more than double the size of Lake Mead.
"Surface water is very resilient. It can get filled back up with a wet year," Castle said. "With groundwater, it's really an unrecoverable resource. Once it's gone, it's likely not coming back."
Officials at the LARC facility in Bouquet Canyon are hoping to dig deeper wells or possibly get water from other resources. But they wonder if there is any water left underground?
"Digging for wells is not a finite science. It's going to be a hit or miss if we can find it. Ideally, we would like to get city water for our people," Sturkey said.
For now, they're relying on water brought in by trucks four-to-five times a day.
"It's about $66,000 to $67,000 at this moment," Sturkey said.
Even if they do find a new water supply, getting it in place is still months away.