Additional claims on underground water were made by individual wells (the area had no running water yet) and by Taiwan Sugar Corporation's irrigated sugarcane fields, further exacerbating the situation.
就這樣，海水逐漸侵入，稻田由沿海向內陸逐年改塭，再加上當時林邊街的開發，還沒有自來水，居民都打井取水。而台糖公司在林邊溪上游開闢甘蔗園，也鑿深井灌溉。如此地下水不斷大量「出超」，地陷也愈來愈嚴重。