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question everything

(47,264 posts)
Thu Mar 6, 2014, 01:13 PM Mar 2014

In California, Drought Plays Out Unexpectedly

HEMET, Calif.—As the Golden State suffers through a three-year drought, residents of semiarid Southern California are mostly being asked to voluntarily conserve water. In typically wetter Northern California, residents are faced with mandatory rationing. In the battle for water supplies in the state, where the south has traditionally been characterized as an endlessly thirsty drain on water from the north, this turnabout is the result of years of preparation and billions of dollars of infrastructure improvements.

(snip)

Southern California agencies have invested $12 billion in water-supply improvements since a 1987-91 drought triggered widespread rationing and galvanized the region into coming up with a better safety cushion, officials say. Reservoirs in the south around Los Angeles are brimming, groundwater basins remain comfortably stocked and recycling and conservation programs have freed up abundant reserves. The region's water supplies are in such good shape that, so far, most local water districts are merely asking residents to conserve.

Much of Northern California, by contrast, is in a state of emergency: eight mostly rural communities face possible drinking-water shortages; rationing has been imposed in some Sacramento-area communities that depend on Folsom Lake, which has shriveled to just 33% of its capacity as of March 2; and prime farmland is being left fallow in the Central Valley, where many growers have been told they will get no new water shipments for irrigation.

(snip)

Also, unlike in the more populous south, which is generally served by large regional water agencies, many water agencies in the north are smaller and less able to spread the costs of large projects, said Jeanine Jones, deputy drought manager for the California Department of Water Resources.

(snip)

Meanwhile, many of the smaller agencies the Metropolitan Water District supplies have boosted water resources themselves. Riverside County's Eastern Municipal Water District, for example, has invested $55 million over the past five years to produce for delivery 35,000 acre-feet a year of recycled water at local treatment plants—a quarter of the supply for the 768,000 residents it serves, said spokesman Kevin Pearson. Another innovative approach is the Orange County Water District's Groundwater Replenishment System. The system, built in 2008 with $481 million in local, state and federal money, purifies 72,000 acre-feet of treated wastewater to drinking water quality through advanced purification techniques. The water is injected in an underground aquifer that holds up to 500,000 acre-feet of usable water.


http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303636404579397403690607412

(If you cannot open by clicking, try to copy and paste the title onto google)

24 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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In California, Drought Plays Out Unexpectedly (Original Post) question everything Mar 2014 OP
Generally the blue parts of the State have water upaloopa Mar 2014 #1
Farming comprises 2% of CA's economy, but consumes 80% of CA's water. SunSeeker Mar 2014 #3
And then we'll eat what? LeftyMom Mar 2014 #8
We'll eat food that is grown with unsubsidized water. SunSeeker Mar 2014 #10
If you don't have any idea what you're talking about you shouldn't post. LeftyMom Mar 2014 #11
I do know what I am talking about, sadly. SunSeeker Mar 2014 #14
We will eat vegetables in their season. roody Mar 2014 #20
Check your facts XemaSab Mar 2014 #6
You didn't read the OP did you? upaloopa Mar 2014 #15
You think I'm a moron? XemaSab Mar 2014 #18
"The fuck you say??!?!?!" -Sacratwofuckingriversamento LeftyMom Mar 2014 #7
I've actually looked for this information Control-Z Mar 2014 #2
Sorry about that. No I posted that paragraph about OC question everything Mar 2014 #5
I would love to know Control-Z Mar 2014 #9
Some more info question everything Mar 2014 #12
North vs. South question everything Mar 2014 #13
Thank you, question everything!! Control-Z Mar 2014 #16
I asked R. Scott Moxley from the OC Weekly question everything Mar 2014 #17
Gee, using government to plan for the future. What a concept! SunSeeker Mar 2014 #4
I know what we can do to prevent rationing up here Lordquinton Mar 2014 #19
I farm in N CA Tumbulu Mar 2014 #21
~ antiquie Mar 2014 #22
This is really heart breaking question everything Mar 2014 #23
Thanks, and there are all sorts of plans to help ranchers Tumbulu Mar 2014 #24

upaloopa

(11,417 posts)
1. Generally the blue parts of the State have water
Thu Mar 6, 2014, 01:27 PM
Mar 2014

and the red areas are dry. The Central Valley is mostly red and Fresno and Bakersfield are the metro areas and are very red. There are signs everywhere that say "Food grows where water flows" yet they haven't got the infrastructure to retain water. They need water from the southern urban areas to keep their farms growing and these are corporations not family farms.

SunSeeker

(51,367 posts)
3. Farming comprises 2% of CA's economy, but consumes 80% of CA's water.
Thu Mar 6, 2014, 06:11 PM
Mar 2014

And they get the water at deeply discounted rates compared to residential users. That has got to stop. As you noted, we're talking farm corporations, not family farms.

SunSeeker

(51,367 posts)
10. We'll eat food that is grown with unsubsidized water.
Fri Mar 7, 2014, 12:45 AM
Mar 2014

Which will force the farmers to stop wasting it.

LeftyMom

(49,212 posts)
11. If you don't have any idea what you're talking about you shouldn't post.
Fri Mar 7, 2014, 12:59 AM
Mar 2014

State and federal money is always going to go to water projects in California, not least of all because they're necessary to keep huge swaths of the state from flooding. Until flood control the valley had an ongoing problem with malaria. Because flooding equals mosquitoes equals dying horribly. That water collection and storage is ALREADY PAID FOR and would still be needed if every farm in California closed tomorrow. But all that water kept out of our living rooms in the winter grows our food in in the summer, and without it we'd be back to the days where fresh produce was an unaffordable luxury.

Demanding a capitalist system for distributing life-giving necessities like water and food is the most horrifically stupid thing I've ever heard of on this website.

SunSeeker

(51,367 posts)
14. I do know what I am talking about, sadly.
Fri Mar 7, 2014, 02:44 AM
Mar 2014

We already have a capitalist system for our water. Water is not free. We have to pay for it. And like all existing capitalist systems, there is not a level playing field. The farm corporations get their water at much cheaper rates than the rest of us do. Corporate farms get massive water subsidies in California. http://www.organicconsumers.org/corp/water013105.cfm

Because farmers get their water for such an artificially low price, they are more apt to waste it, and the water providers they get their water from aren't getting enough money to improve infrastructure so that the conveyance methods aren't so wasteful. Considering farmers consume the lion's share of California's water, we should look to them to develop better water conservation measures.

Many farmers rely on flood irrigation, which, though inexpensive, is a highly inefficient means of delivering water to plants. The Colorado's dwindling water flow threatens the supplies of seven states and has spawned a plethora of lawsuits regarding water rights. Shaving irrigation water by 10 percent would save more than is used by all other water consumers put together.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/facing-the-freshwater-crisis/

Another example of an ill-advised farming practice is growing alfalfa in the desert. Many think of alfalfa mainly in terms of the sprouts that end up on sandwiches, but the vast majority of the nation's alfalfa output feeds livestock. The relatively low-value crop uses up about a quarter of California's irrigation water but contributes only 4 percent to the state's total farm revenue, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. It's not that alfalfa itself consumes more water than other farm plants, as noted by Mark Grismer, a professor of agricultural engineering at the University of California, Davis; farmers grow alfalfa year-round in what is essentially a desert climate in the southwestern U.S.


XemaSab

(60,212 posts)
6. Check your facts
Thu Mar 6, 2014, 10:51 PM
Mar 2014

The blue counties south of Marin are all either dry or they get their water from somewhere else.

Meanwhile, the red counties in the north and in the Sierra all have plenty of water.

Control-Z

(15,681 posts)
2. I've actually looked for this information
Thu Mar 6, 2014, 01:54 PM
Mar 2014

and appreciate what you've posted. I'm in OC and have been curious about how our recycled water system was working out during this drought. Unfortunately there's a pay-wall preventing further reading. Is there anything else of interest about the Orange County Groundwater Replenishment System?

question everything

(47,264 posts)
5. Sorry about that. No I posted that paragraph about OC
Thu Mar 6, 2014, 09:48 PM
Mar 2014

used to live there..

Most of the parts that I snipped provided details about the many water boards in the rural area.

Will be interesting if the OCR will reproduce it.



Control-Z

(15,681 posts)
9. I would love to know
Fri Mar 7, 2014, 12:01 AM
Mar 2014

if we are suffering any kind of shortage and how well the system is actually working. If it is working, why wouldn't the rest of the state go this route?

question everything

(47,264 posts)
12. Some more info
Fri Mar 7, 2014, 01:02 AM
Mar 2014

from the same article:

Southern California has invested billions of dollars in recent years to expand its infrastructure to hold, transfer and recycle water while increasing conservation. Spending on water projects in much of the north, meanwhile, has been far more sporadic and less ambitious, officials say. Southern California's need for such projects is greater: It is essentially a desert area where water has to be transported from hundreds of miles away, while Northern California holds the mountains where the snow that falls meets much of the Golden State's water needs.

"Because water is generally more plentiful up here, I think we have taken it for granted," said Marjie Pettus, city manager of Healdsburg in Sonoma County's wine country, which on Jan. 21 imposed water rationing. Some larger Northern California districts, such as in San Francisco and San Jose, have also spent heavily securing water reserves, and so aren't considered in as dire shape.

Lack of local storage for water imported from Northern California and the Colorado River was a major issue, said Jeffrey Kightlinger, general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which supplies water to 19 million residents. In 1991, the agency had access to about 300,000 acre-feet in storage of the 2.5 million it provided that year. An acre-foot is roughly enough water for a family of five for one year. Today, it has expanded that capacity to about 5 million.

One major project, built outside Hemet, a retirement community 90 miles east of Los Angeles, was the construction of Diamond Valley Lake in 1999. At a cost of $2.1 billion, the reservoir in two valleys now holds nearly a million acre-feet of water, much of it pumped from distant state aqueducts via a $1.2 billion pipeline called the Inland Feeder. Like most other regional infrastructure costs, these were largely passed on to water customers as higher fees.

=====

You can also contact the reporter, Jim Carlton: jim.carlton@wsj.com


question everything

(47,264 posts)
13. North vs. South
Fri Mar 7, 2014, 01:06 AM
Mar 2014

From the same article:

Northern California (includes the Central Valley and Central Coast)

Eight mostly rural communities face possible drinking-water shortages.
At least 19 water districts have imposed mandatory water rationing, most in recent weeks.
Hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland are being fallowed due to lack of water.
Local reservoirs are generally low. The Sacramento area's Folsom Lake, for example, is at just 33% of its capacity.

Southern California

No community faces a possible drinking-water shortage.
At least three districts have mandatory rationing, most imposed years ago. For example, the city of Los Angeles has curtailed lawn watering since 2009.
Local reservoirs are generally high. Diamond Valley Lake, for example, is about 75% of capacity.
Groundwater basins remain amply stocked. The Orange County Water District, for example, has 200,000 acre feet in its underground basin, which holds up to 500,000 acre feet.


Control-Z

(15,681 posts)
16. Thank you, question everything!!
Fri Mar 7, 2014, 03:56 PM
Mar 2014

I'm not sure why the information has been so difficult for me to find. With this drought, and Orange County's unique water system, I expected many sources. I looked multiple times over the past 3, 4 months and found nothing.

Again, thanks!

question everything

(47,264 posts)
17. I asked R. Scott Moxley from the OC Weekly
Fri Mar 7, 2014, 04:07 PM
Mar 2014

about that.

I don't know who is now with the Register, and I don't think I can access the paper. But when the Weekly wants to investigate - they are the top.

Tumbulu

(6,267 posts)
21. I farm in N CA
Mon Mar 17, 2014, 12:24 AM
Mar 2014

and the wells on my farm went dry in '77 and so I cannot plant anything that will require any summer watering......and I just invested in harvesting equipment for the summer crop.

I am worried about water for my sheep, let alone their food, as there will be very little alfalfa grown and what there will be grown is mainly going to China. Luckily I am organic (our feed prices are always high) but at least we know who our farmers are and they are not dropping us for foreign customers.

My postmaster will be selling her entire herd of cattle as no one wants to see their cattle starve. It has taken she and her husband's adult lives working to build up the herd. We both cried together. I will have to kill maybe half my sheep as well. I keep hoping I can figure some way to save my flock, and now I want to save her herd, too.

It is really awful for us. The organic farms around us use huge amounts of water growing vegetables....there will be a lot less heirloom tomatoes and sweet corn on the market this year.

This drought has so much pain wrapped up in it.

question everything

(47,264 posts)
23. This is really heart breaking
Mon Mar 17, 2014, 11:52 AM
Mar 2014

I think that the President offered a plan, but I suspect it has to do with money reimbursements.

For many years I was thinking that a national network of pipes that would carry excess water, and snow, from places that got too much to drought areas could provide so many solutions.

Personally, I'd rather see cattle and herds being saved then heirloom tomatoes and sweet corn..



Tumbulu

(6,267 posts)
24. Thanks, and there are all sorts of plans to help ranchers
Mon Mar 17, 2014, 04:03 PM
Mar 2014

but they are super weird, imo.

So, one plan is to help ranchers whose wells go dry. BUT, you have to apply by mid March and you have to have an estimate of the repairs required by April 15th...sounds good, so I go into the USDA office.

USDA: Is my well dry now?
me: No, it will go dry.
USDA: How do you know it will?
me: Well, it went dry in '76 and '77 and this is a worse drought.
USDA: Do you have a quote for drilling it deeper?
me: No there is a 6 month wait to even get a well driller to come by farms right now
USDA: yes, we have heard that from others, but sorry, we cannot help you.
me: But what will I do in July/August/Sept/Oct when the well goes dry?
USDA: Sorry, we do not know, we are only authorized to help people whose wells are dry right now. We can help pay to truck water in, things like that. And pay some of the new well drilling expenses, but only those in by the due date.

Herds and flocks of animals take a long time to be naturalized to an environment. My postmaster and her husband have been building their flock up since their parents had to sell them all in '77 (and their best 40 acres as well). They at least have a deeper well now. But it is heartbreaking and I am just operating in denial mode. I normally keep all my old sheep, feeding them oatmeal when their teeth go, allowing them to live out their full lives here. I love them. They enrich the soil and my life. My border collie loves getting them to go where they are supposed to go. I keep hoping way more rain will come or that I can figure out ways to keep feeding them from my farm. But we usually get 20" of rain here and the reservoirs are at barely one fourth of normal...... the ground water table is dropping as more people pump to save their trees and vines and provide drinking water. And grow the highly profitable veggies.


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