Groundwater has been affected, too. In the area where oil shale is mined in Estonia, there used to be three layers of groundwater suitable for human consumption. The oil shale industry has permanently destroyed two of these layers. People in the area cannot use that water for drinking anymore. Near the mines, the natural wetlands are suffering from low water tables. And in open mine areas, farmers will not be able to return to their fields for at least a century, if ever. Unlike Utah, we have vast water resources, but the damage from oil shale mining cannot be undone.