April 1, 2015
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Drought!
This morning, California's Governor Jerry Brown accompanied water officials to the High Sierras near Yosemite National Park, where they performed their Spring assessment of the snow pack. They found very little snow -- where there is normally about 5 feet of snow, they found bare ground with little patches of snow -- and the snow contained 5% of the average water content measured on April 1. This is NOT an April Fools Joke -- and the Governor has responded by ordering mandatory restrictions to reduce water usage by 25% (this after several years of 20% reductions). There are other restrictions in his order:
--Require golf courses, cemeteries and other large landscaped spaces to reduce water consumption (many of these already use recycled water -- in Santa Barbara, the recycling plant is down for 2 years for repair!)
--Replace 50 million square feet of lawn statewide with drought-tolerant landscaping as part of a partnership with local governments
--Create a statewide rebate program to replace old appliances with more water- and energy-efficient ones
--Require new homes to have water-efficient drip irrigation if developers want to use potable water for landscaping (and this may soon be expanded to limit the number of new homes to be built -- in this morning's newspaper, there was discussion that this area needs to build more housing, not less!)
--Ban the watering of ornamental grass on public street medians.
--Call on water agencies to implement new pricing models that discourage excessive water use
Earlier this month, the State Water Board implemented other restrictions, such as not serving water in restaurants unless it's requested, requiring hotels to offer the option of having linens laundered less frequently than daily, and adding two-days-a-week lawn watering limits. This is the first time there have ever been such restrictions imposed Statewide, and the picture is likely to worsen if we don't start getting rain next year.
The State has not quite completely run out of water -- yet! But the aquifer has been pumped out to provide fresh water -- many wells are beginning to run dry, particularly in agricultural areas. The solution to this is often simply to dig a little deeper, but that is simply complicating the situation, and the deeper water is not always usable. Gov. Pat Brown (Jerry's father) established the State water system in the 1950's that was to solve water problems forever -- it was based on a population that has exploded since then, and is no longer adequate. There is considerable discussion at this time about how to expand that system, with, perhaps, a tunnel under the Sacramento Delta area to bring more water south from Northern California, or desalination. Each of these solutions would take time, and that is a commodity that is not currently available.
In my last several posts, I have shown how pretty the area is when it is green -- I call it "Spring Green." That green is now turning brown, and will be prone to spot fires wherever it was green last week. I will be in Santa Barbara over the next week, and will no doubt visit Lake Cachuma. They are apparently maintaining the water level now with purchased water -- some farmers are selling their water allotments and letting fields go fallow, and there are some wells that are still strong enough that their water is being sold. But the above is why I have been so concerned about the lake over the last year or so. It's sad, and it's more than a bit scary!
Comments (17)
Yes, i watched that on the evening CBS news. When we have droughts in India, all the homes have rationed water. They would have running water for two to three hours in the morning, and again for an hour or two in the evening. I wonder if California would have similar restrictions. And when California has problems with water shortage, the entire nation sees the effects with higher prices of all the produce. I just hope that it ends soon, and there won't be the fires that are so devastating.
I can remember times when we had water rationing -- you could water your lawn on odd or even days depending on your house number, or on some other criterion. This is a much worse situation, though, as there are so many more people now. I've already heard suggestions like shorter showers, don't flush every time, and so forth -- I'm so glad that I installed artificial grass in my yard, and I rather expect there will be a lot of that happening soon. Yes, the price of food will go up soon -- I heard today that something like 40% of the food eaten in the US is grown in California -- and it takes one acre-foot of water to produce one almond. It's very serious!
It is a dire situation. I wish there was a quick fix but it seems that rationing is in the future... We will be planting a garden this month and if it produces well, I'll be freezing and canning. Hope you are not in harm's way as far as the fires path!
It is that! The next step will be rationing, no new hookups, NO watering lawns, etc. I already use about 1/4 the average usage for a home of my size (according to the water bill), so will have a hard time cutting back any more! It's definitely time to prepare for growing one's own food, but even that takes water!
I thought about you when I heard about the water restrictions on the news.
Our drought is not just a topic for blogging! It has become very serious, and will soon affect everybody.
Our local water spokesperson said that they had already reduced water consumption and did not think it would affect us this much.
I think we water the lawn automatically 3 times a week for 15 mintues and use drip waterfor the plants.
My wife says our new washing machine and dish waster are water savers.
Untless God has mercy on our stated we are in for very big trouble.
My water district has reduced usage by 20% each year, but even that doesn't help much when there is no rain! Drip water is good -- but people here are restricted to twice a week for 5 minutes for the lawn (and not if it's raining or for 48 hours after a rain). There was no 'March Miracle' rain, so we now will all have to work together to protect the State from worse problems.
It is a horrible state of affairs. There ought definitely be fewer houses built. Arizona Nevada and Colorado restrict cleaning of hotel linens to every other day, or even every third day, for people staying a week. Water is only served in restaurants in AZ, upon request. The aquifers are like any other resource. They cannot be used haphazardly, in the expectation that "God will send the rains and snow to us." Many people have uttered that fancy, even around here.
I think people are beginning to wake up to reality, but it's going to be a rough awakening! Many water districts are now talking about rationing, and that may even occur at the state level, rationing water to favor areas where conservation has been successful.
Water restrictions are often the only answer to lack of rain. Here, in Florida, we seldom get our restrictions taken away completely. Usually people think we have way too much rain but they are only here during the couple of months when we get more than a little bit. I pray you will get that much needed rain and that folks will be compliant.
We've had water restrictions here in the past, but once it rains everybody seems to forget that water is still a precious commodity! Many water districts are now talking about rationing, and that may even occur at the state level, rationing water to favor areas where conservation has been successful. There are a number of districts where they have already run out of water, or expect to run out by the end of summer -- and we've probably had our last rain until next fall! We can only hope that people are compliant, and that the desal plants can be built with no further delay!
I saw some about this on the news. It is a very serious situation - for everyone in CA as well as the rest of the country. A lot of produce comes from CA. I wish this cycle of drought would end for your state. peace always
Many people here are just waking up to how serious the situation is! It will affect the entire country very soon as the veggie and fruit crops diminish or become more expensive to grow. Agriculture generally has first dibs on water, but we are getting perilously close to the point at which there won't be any water to share. We had a little rain last week, but it was only about 1/4 inch in most places. We're looking at "mandatory conservation" now, and rationing very soon.
I share the sadness and anxiety. Especially after having read Mark Bittman's excellent op-ed in this morning's New York Times.
I'll have to see if I can find that op-ed! Until this spring, the powers-that-be seem to have thought that "conservation" would be sufficient to get us through this drought -- now there are towns running out of water, aquifers being run dry, and more conservation orders -- and no more rain! It is a little scary, but I can't think of a place I'd rather live!
Yes -- that is an excellent article from the NY Times! There are so many issues to be resolved with respect to water rights -- Nestlé's bottling water and exporting it out of state is a real slap in the face of those who are running out of water! And the drought, as it worsens, will definitely affect the ability of the state to produce the food that goes nationwide -- prices here are definitely on the rise already! Thanks for referring me to that article!
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