True, and its a competition between farming and industry for that scarce resource. Its being used much faster than its being replenished.
It's more than just farming and industry. People use the water too.
Here's a big part of the problem. More and more farmers are drilling wells to supply irrigation systems in dry times and on dry soils to improve crop health and this draws water from the aquifer. At the same time, many also install pattern tiling to draw surface water off the fields in wet times and on wet areas to improve crop health and this diverts water to rivers and eventually the ocean that would otherwise be soaking into the soil to replenish the aquifer. As a result there is a net loss for the aquifer.
Industry falls into the same group as people. Both draw water from city or local wells to draw water from the aquifer for processing, cooking, washing, waste management, etc. Many of the city sewage treatment facilities have open systems where water is collected in pools where it evaporates rather than being allowed to permeate back into the soil to replenish the aquifer. The end result is a net loss for the aquifer.
Also, when it comes to people and industry, every building, street, highway, parking lot, etc. occupies surface area, preventing rain water from permeating back into the soil to replenish the aquifer. Additionally, most if not all cities also employ storm water controls to handle the rain water and just like farmers' tiling systems, the water is diverted to rivers and eventually the ocean that would otherwise be soaking into the soil and replenishing the aquifer.
Over the past 50 years, the average family in the US has dropped from about four down to about 2.5 while at the same time the average size family home in the US has increase almost double. This means that every man, woman, and child today consumes approximately 4x the land surface area as we did 50 years ago. Plus, the population of the US has increased by 60% in the same 50 year span. This all translates into more water consumption and less water being allowed to permeate into the soil to replenish the aquifer and results in a net loss for the aquifer.
Although I haven't found any information about this, it is also my belief that I am not going too far out on a limb to say the amount of land consumed by cities per capita has increased quite a bit in the last 50 years as well. This too means less land area to absorb water and replenish the aquifer resulting in a net loss.
We are all part of the problem and pointing fingers elsewhere is self righteous.