FRESNO, Calif. (AP) -- State engineers are praising a new plan to track the water being pumped up from underground aquifers, but say more should be done to safeguard structures as land levels keep sinking.

The package of water bills lawmakers passed Wednesday sets up a largely voluntary program for local agencies to monitor the state's supply of groundwater.

Officials say years of agricultural pumping in the San Joaquin Valley already has caused the land to sink up to 30 feet in some areas, and drought appears to be making that worse.

Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey are monitoring whether increased pumping is jeopardizing the California Aqueduct, the main canal that carries drinking water to millions of Southern Californians.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

APNP 11-04-09 1642PST