The California Drought

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Water control measures to come into effect.

 

It is a start.  AFAIK no animals nor people have died of thirst, but plenty of plants have.  Farmers are ripping up crops and orchards because they can no longer supply water.  The aquifers are drying up.

 

The long term solution is very large scale desalination plants along the coast.  If they won't use nuclear power for these, I cannot imagine where they would find the power to run them.  Using a reverse osmosis process can produce some very valuable by-products, but such a thing requires some serious political will and support by the constituents.

 

"Water, water everywhere

"Nor any drop to drink"

Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner

[Easy Bakes 253]

It it wasn't for the recent rains N Texas could be looking at stage 5 water restrictions soon.

Stage 4 is coming soon.

 

http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/Stage-4-water-restrictions-could-be-in-the-pipeline-for-North-Texas-cities-264069771.html

[Zelgadis 638]

Last year saw the return of the hydroplane race boats to Folsom Lake in Sacramento. 

 

They were hoping to do it again this year but alas, the lake is now nearly gone.

[Duke87 1,070]

 

The fines will be enforced only in cases of wasteful outdoor watering, officials say, such as landscaping to the extent where run-off flows onto pavements.

Other practices frowned upon by the authorities include washing a vehicle without a nozzle on the hose,

 

They really ought to just ban watering lawns and washing cars, period. Both of these uses of water are completely unnecessary for public health. 

 

Yes, businesses which do these things will have to close their doors or find another way to make money for the time being. But if the water just ain't there, it just ain't there.

[Ocram's Razr 964]

I agree with Nonny Moose, California NEEDS to build desalination plants. Powering them would be best done by safe Generation IV Nuclear Power Plants. At least my area gets plenty of rain (west of the Cascades) and snow runoff (east of the Cascades).

--Ocram

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Looks like the whole southwest will be joining into the Sonora Desert soon.  The Colorado water shed is not performant at the moment and the photos I've seen of Lake Mead are pretty grim.  I wonder that there is enough water to run the generators at the Boulder Dam.  Beyond the dam, there are far too many straws in this soda.  L.A. seems to be at the end of the chain.

 

Water restrictions are not enough.  This is only going to get worse and the prices for California grown produce will have to go up even more.  If the farms dry up, then there will be a general food crisis.  Its called a famine.

 

@Ocram: Yes, you are nice and wet, you only have to worry about the Cascadia Fault which is long overdue.  I hope you swim well in salt water.

[airman15 4,113]

They really ought to just ban watering lawns and washing cars, period. Both of these uses of water are completely unnecessary for public health. 

 

 

People can still wash their cars, but they'd have to take it to a professional car wash. They can still operate if they use recycled water; and in most cases even reduce the amount of water being wasted.

 

That being said, the first thing that should have been banned is the watering of golf courses. In the Roseville/Rocklin area, golf courses are common (there are two that I know of in Rocklin, another one in Roseville and I think two or three in Lincoln). Some of the golf courses listed are still green but that might change soon.

[hym 358]

They really ought to just ban watering lawns and washing cars, period. Both of these uses of water are completely unnecessary for public health. 

 

Washing one's car is actually recommended as an easy way to increase one's safety on the road.  Clean vehicles tend to be easier for other motorists to see as there is more visual contrast between the vehicle and its surroundings, and keeping one's headlights clean can make it easier to see at night.

[Odainsaker 2,137]

Almost all of Texas has been under drought, through the severe drought has now shifted to North Texas. South Texas has now suffered four years of the current drought, and crops in the Lower Rio Grande Valley have repeatedly failed, through predictions are for it to slowly ease off in this area, and this year has so far not been as severe as previous years for San Antonio. In the last two years, the drought had wiped out the grasses and feed supplies of the local cattle industry, leading to disturbing scenes of desperate ranchers tearfully liquidating whole herds of starving, desiccated cattle. Reported sightings of the blood-sucking "chupacabra," which always arise during the hottest years, made local headlines, until captured specimens of the rumored reptilian demon preying on livestock revealed that what people here were seeing were wild coyotes horribly disfigured by starvation, parasites, and mange disease into feral beasts that were unrecognizable.

Through the 1980s, San Antonio had been putting together the Applewhite Reservoir Project to dam the Medina River and fill an artificial reservoir lake downstream of the city on its far southern edges. By 1989, the site was cleared into a moonscape and dam construction was well underway, but the politics of water usage brought out the bitterest of local political fighting among every potential interest group, from suburban developers and anti-growth environmentalists to downstream farmers and those advocating for class warfare, and in 1991 voters chose to abandon the hotly controversial project. Today, the abandoned Applewhite site is now a nature preserve, but we are forced to wonder how might drought conditions have fared if we had this backup reserve of water available for our downstream agricultural users, who have already endured four years of crop failures and shriveled livestock.

Without rain, water in this area comes from one source, the underground Edwards Aquifer, whose natural springs along the Balcones Escarpment are the sources of most of the local river systems spanning from San Antonio, though San Marcos, to Austin. Historically, the cities developed at the head spring pools, which has left them today sitting atop the controlling sources of river water feeding to downstream agricultural and industrial users. The water rights battle lines were already drawn when, in 1997, the Barton Springs Salamander was added to the Endangered Species List. A number of rare and specialized species live in the caves and pools of the Edwards Aquifer zone, with the Barton Springs Salamanders found in the Austin's Barton Springs. As their habitat and population would be wiped out if the natural springs go dry, pumping of the Edwards Aquifer must legally be managed so as not to overly undermine the aquifer pressures that create the springs. This has forced an artificial barrier to pumping, and made regional water rights management even more critical, though perhaps not any more politically feasible, as there is yet no State-level planning authority. And then came the drought...

Ironically, the San Antonio Water System is now building inland desalinization plants. We've not yet reached the point of drawing seawater from the distant Gulf coast, but instead aim to desalinate brine-filled aquifers that were once previously thought unusable, marginal, or uneconomical. They have also begun identifying and filling their own artificial aquifers, creating their underground reserves of water "bubbles" from which they can tap during the dry years, and for which they are not held to the restrictions of the Edwards Aquifer Authority. Amusingly, this didn't stop competitor water companies from trying to buy neighboring land around SAWS properties in order to build facilities to lower hydrostatic pressures to draw the underground water bubbles across the property lines and then pump the water now under their land themselves.

In 2011, the effort to expand the South Texas Nuclear Generating Station in conjunction with Toshiba and TEPCO from two reactor units to four was abandoned. Rapidly rising costs, and TEPCO's rapidly falling reputation due to Fukushima, played the major roles in the decision by San Antonio to pull out, but there was also the nagging question of how much additional water from the Colorado River the downstream nuclear station would require be reserved for cooling. That issue was averted, however, the dramatic boom starting in 2009-2010 of hydraulic fracturing by the oil and gas industry in South Texas along the Eagle Ford Shale has brought a brand new heavy user of downstream water. Former impoverished farmers are now instant millionaires selling drilling rights, and the immediate area is experiencing an economic boom, so much so that no one really wants to rock the boat by asking where all the fracking water is coming from, and where all the contaminated water is going.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Isn't unthinking sheepish political activism wonderful?!  Too many people in the U.S. have too much idle time with which to interfere with their own and neighbours good.  Let some of them get thirsty and let's hear them then.

[airman15 4,113]

Speak for yourself. Almost everyone's grass in the Sacramento region is dead; even the state capitol is letting it's grass die. The only thing that gets watered in my yard is a pear tree and everything else (the grass, bushes) is turning brown or already dead. The tree only gets watered once a week, maybe once every two weeks.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Poor tree.  Is it ornamental or bearing?  I don't think it can survive without a couple of litres of water a day.

[airman15 4,113]

It's fruit bearing, but I forgot to mention that it is a pear/apple hybrid (the fruit has the color of a pear, the shape of an apple, and the flavor is a mix of apple and pear). Every summer, we have fruit growing and earlier in the week some pears started to fall. That tree was there since I moved into the house that sits on the same lot and the tree is taller than the roof. I think it gets some of it's water through groundwater but i'm concerned about how it will do as the drought goes on; the neighbors like to pick the fruit and take it home.

[Odainsaker 2,137]

Isn't unthinking sheepish political activism wonderful?! Too many people in the U.S. have too much idle time with which to interfere with their own and neighbours good. Let some of them get thirsty and let's hear them then.

Among all the issues of Applewhite, we even had Native American archaeological sites trapped within the proposed reservoir basin. However, perhaps the loudest one was the accusation that the entire project was merely a scheme to provide lakefront property for invested resort developers at public expense. Ironically, at near the same time, SeaWorld of Texas opened at San Antonio, bringing to a historically drought-prone city in the middle of south central Texas the largest marine-life theme park in the world. Yes, along with the Alamo, we also have whales.

Whales!

Perhaps indeed, 25 years later and still 4-5 years into a deep drought, this area might now gain a slightly more rational grasp of its water resources. We cannot stop a long drought over so vast a region, but foresight should have allowed us to earlier prepare resources to mitigate the worst of the yearly effects so that we weren't putting down cattle and wildlife reduced to walking skeletons and vampire folk demons. However, this is Texas, which often has had pitiful regional planning, leaving remote and impoverished counties to cooperate in the most piecemeal of fashions.

For interest, here is the U.S. Drought Monitor Map:

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Considering the number of people in that extreme area, there could easily be a volkerwandrung similar to the Okie phenomenon in the Great Dust Bowl.  As before, over farming is the cause of a lot of this, but over population is also in there.

 

This time, there is nowhere for these refugees to go.

[Duke87 1,070]

 

They really ought to just ban watering lawns and washing cars, period. Both of these uses of water are completely unnecessary for public health. 

 

Washing one's car is actually recommended as an easy way to increase one's safety on the road.  Clean vehicles tend to be easier for other motorists to see as there is more visual contrast between the vehicle and its surroundings, and keeping one's headlights clean can make it easier to see at night.

 

I suppose. I proudly announce that I've owned my car for over five years and have never washed it, but then I live in a place where it rains regularly so it doesn't ever get too dirty before it gets a natural cleansing.

 

And if a professional car wash is using recycled water, then I have no objection to them continuing to do business through a drought.

 

 

Almost all of Texas has been under drought, through the severe drought has now shifted to North Texas.

 

Speaking of which, there was this story about recycling sewage into tap water. May sound gross but it's totally doable. Astronauts have been doing it for decades. On Earth it is already normal for places to take water from rivers that other places have dumped sewage into upstream. So long as the sewer water is treated aggressively enough to make it potable, there are no health risks involved. It's more expensive than treating the sewage only enough to safely expel it, but it's less expensive and less energy intensive than desalinization.

 

 

As for agricultural irrigation, ditch the industrial size sprinklers and bust out the soaker hoses, eh?

[Easy Bakes 253]

 

 

They really ought to just ban watering lawns and washing cars, period. Both of these uses of water are completely unnecessary for public health. 

 

Washing one's car is actually recommended as an easy way to increase one's safety on the road.  Clean vehicles tend to be easier for other motorists to see as there is more visual contrast between the vehicle and its surroundings, and keeping one's headlights clean can make it easier to see at night.

 

I suppose. I proudly announce that I've owned my car for over five years and have never washed it, but then I live in a place where it rains regularly so it doesn't ever get too dirty before it gets a natural cleansing.

 

And if a professional car wash is using recycled water, then I have no objection to them continuing to do business through a drought.

 

 

Almost all of Texas has been under drought, through the severe drought has now shifted to North Texas.

 

Speaking of which, there was this story about recycling sewage into tap water. May sound gross but it's totally doable. Astronauts have been doing it for decades. On Earth it is already normal for places to take water from rivers that other places have dumped sewage into upstream. So long as the sewer water is treated aggressively enough to make it potable, there are no health risks involved. It's more expensive than treating the sewage only enough to safely expel it, but it's less expensive and less energy intensive than desalinization.

 

 

As for agricultural irrigation, ditch the industrial size sprinklers and bust out the soaker hoses, eh?

 

were do you think the treated sewage goes after its gone thru the sewage treatment plants?

[AcmeSigns 97]

I thought that I once heard/read about desalination plants that were powered by wave motion. If that is indeed the case, they could be an option. Of course, it would be inevitable that some 'greenie' would be against those for some reason. Probably robbing the ocean of 'power' or something.

 

When I was still in the San Francisco Bay Area and there was water rationing in the 80's I washed our vehicles on our front lawn. Killed two birds with one stone.

[Easy Bakes 253]

Lots of rain yesterday in N texas.

a full 12 inches in some places.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Doesn't do much for California, eh?

[Sabretooth78 808]

The US, it seems, has never been very good at resource control, especially water.  We're too busy mismanaging it in the central/western half and too busy polluting the %&#* out of it in the east.  It was only a few years ago I read of some backwards law Ohio had enacted either loosing draw restrictions on Lake Erie or basically allowing unchecked dumping (I can't recall, all I remember was thinking how classically Ohio backwards it was).  At least the Great Lakes aren't a sewer any more, but don't try drinking any water in Appalachia.

 

...Ironically, at near the same time, SeaWorld of Texas opened at the San Antonio, bringing to a historically drought-prone city in the middle of south central Texas the largest marine-life theme park in the world.  Yes, along with the Alamo, we also have whales.

 
Whales!

 

Ha, reminds me of a sushi restaurant near my house that goes by the name "Mongolian Buffet".  I had to look at that a few times and I have to say I still don't get it.  Get yer Mongolian seafood!

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

The Mongolian Buffet must have been bought out by the sushi outfit.  Mongolian hot pot is quite good if you can get it.

 

Meanwhile, what steps is California taking besides water restrictions?  Are they under the impression that this is a temporary situation?

[airman15 4,113]

Last season and at the beginning of the year, there were aircraft sent to seed the clouds. The seeding efforts did cause some rain to fall, but not very much fell. I was out on the job and I heard the planes and then about 15 minutes later, the clouds started to drizzle.

[krbe 193]

They really ought to just ban watering lawns and washing cars, period. Both of these uses of water are completely unnecessary for public health. 

 

Yes, businesses which do these things will have to close their doors or find another way to make money for the time being. But if the water just ain't there, it just ain't there.

 

 

While such restrictions are obvious, it won't really make much of a difference when 75% of water is for agricultural purposes. While lawn watering requires immense amounts of water (in my town - in not exactly summery Norway - water usage is double over the summer months, even if it's only allowed to water your lawn for the four hours every other evening), and brown gardens and dead flowers generally won't hurt anyone, it will take much longer to change business and agricultural habits and needs. Focus shouldn't be on relief from the current drought, but all the coming ones.

[nathanthemayor 1,263]

Although I heard from Fresno's newspaper that this next year will be El Nino, I've also heard that it won't be a "big" event, and coupled with the fact that I believe it usually drops "Warm" rain that there won't be a lot of snow in the Sierras next year, which is actually more critical than rain because that's what's actually goes to the farmers....

[Meg 368]

 

Meanwhile, what steps is California taking besides water restrictions?  Are they under the impression that this is a temporary situation?

 

 

According to the California Drought Contingency Plan, they see desalination as "part of a diversified water supply portfolio".   It's a PDF over 100 pages long.  You might not want to go there.  Might be easier to go here:  http://water.ca.gov/desalination/

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Cloud seeding is a mug's game.  It is quite often completely ineffective and just adds chemicals to the environment.

 

The summary report from the CA government is not really encouraging.  I don't think it has enough funds to do more than write reports and wring hands.

[Duke87 1,070]

Actually, the latest round of grants has $5.6 million awarded for construction to two entities (City of Torrance and San Diego County).

 

One project is to expand an already existing desalination plant, and an RFP is out for it so they are moving forward.

[airman15 4,113]

I hope to see some large-scale projects that can help Folsom Lake. Folsom lake supplies my city with water and generates some hydroelectric power for the area. This is a shot that shows how seriously low the lake is. The lake is so low, an abandoned town from the Gold Rush days has been discovered among the sunken boats and other treasures that were below the surface.

[AcmeSigns 97]

Our Governor, Jerry Brown, called for a 20% reduction in state water useage. A report came out a month or so ago that water useage had only dropped by 5%.

 

Oops...a new, amended report shows that water useage had, in reality, gone up by 1%.

 

That's how serious the folks in this state take conservation, I guess. I know in my case, where I pull my water from the ground, that it is a very precious commodity, not to be wasted. All of us backwoods hicks probably know how to conserve water better than any of those 'flatlanders' do.