California Water Crisis

Not sure how many of you in internet land are aware of the extreme drought happening in California right now. Since I don't hear much about it around here, I may as well be the bearer of bad news.

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-famiglietti-drought-california-20150313-story.html

  Quote

Data from NASA satellites show that the total amount of water stored in the Sacramento and San Joaquin river basins — that is, all of the snow, river and reservoir water, water in soils and groundwater combined — was 34 million acre-feet below normal in 2014. That loss is nearly 1.5 times the capacity of Lake Mead, America's largest reservoir.

http://youtu.be/G7h6mS7x-Rg

I donate to Water Aid monthly, I'll ask them to send you some Evian with my pledge.

this been happening for years right?

i would like to know the consequences of this, maybe link to an article with the consequences?

http://www.feelguide.com/2015/03/22/r-i-p-california-1850-2016-what-well-lose-and-learn-from-the-worlds-first-major-water-collapse/

Not the greatest article, but gives a little bit of info on how much agriculture happens in the central valley.

i tried typing things up and i just keep coming up at a loss for words. this is horrible. i knew california was in a bad spot but the extent of it is beyond dire. it's going to hurt to watch it play out.

california has 1 year of water storage left then we're going to start going into desperate measures. some parts of california have already began this because of appropriative water rights so if you go to catalina you actually have to buy bottled water in a restaurant rather than how you'd usually get a free glass as a welcoming thirst quencher.

consequences of this? well, first, your groceries will become more expensive and if you drink wine from napa valley you should start getting your pallet ready for some wine in a box

this is how the drought has affected california so far. if something hasn't happened by september at the latest, you can expect things to get pretty steamy here

Given how much actual fruit/veg produce comes from California vs. the imagined/fictional small midwestern family farmer, Republican types who like to say California isn't the Real America are going to have to eat their words and adjust to a diet of corn syrup and processed grains very quick-- oh, shit. I guess that part will stay the same. We're fucked in CA, though.

Why are you guys not desalinating ocean water?

gross. i pee in the pacific all the time. maybe that's how things are on uranus, but not here fella.

  On 3/27/2015 at 5:43 AM, Kilgore Trout said:

gross. i pee in the pacific all the time. maybe that's how things are on uranus, but not here fella.

I gather from the state of things that if you don't make some kind of adjustment you're all going to be drinking your pee to survive.

hmm. maybe it'll make a man out of me like that bear guy.

  On 3/27/2015 at 5:40 AM, AdieuErsatzEnnui said:

Why are you guys not desalinating ocean water?

They are actually, California has massive desalinization plants. But there are massive consequences (waste/environmental wise) too...

Largest desalinating plant in North America, near San-Diego: http://carlsbaddesal.com/

Some complications from desalinating: http://pacinst.org/publication/desal-marine-impacts/

From what I understand the potent brine that's a byproduct of the process is the most damaging... I'm not expert on the topic of course, I've only read a few articles.

The state where I was born. I haven't been since May 2001, but I hear this drought is the worst it's been in about 1200 years.

Any way I can help, or at least donate, I wonder?

  On 3/27/2015 at 6:17 AM, StephenG said:

 

  On 3/27/2015 at 5:40 AM, AdieuErsatzEnnui said:

Why are you guys not desalinating ocean water?

 

They are actually, California has massive desalinization plants. But there are massive consequences (waste/environmental wise) too...

 

Largest desalinating plant in North America, near San-Diego: http://carlsbaddesal.com/

Some complications from desalinating: http://pacinst.org/publication/desal-marine-impacts/

 

From what I understand the potent brine that's a byproduct of the process is the most damaging... I'm not expert on the topic of course, I've only read a few articles.

 

cool! i live 20 miles north of carlsbad and i didn't even know that was there. i used to stay at my cousins house down there and surf at those jettys all the time (the waters really warm because of the powerplant nearby). i always thought that lagoon was just an oyster farm.

  On 3/27/2015 at 6:45 AM, Kilgore Trout said:

 

  On 3/27/2015 at 6:17 AM, StephenG said:

 

  On 3/27/2015 at 5:40 AM, AdieuErsatzEnnui said:

Why are you guys not desalinating ocean water?

 

They are actually, California has massive desalinization plants. But there are massive consequences (waste/environmental wise) too...

 

Largest desalinating plant in North America, near San-Diego: http://carlsbaddesal.com/

Some complications from desalinating: http://pacinst.org/publication/desal-marine-impacts/

 

From what I understand the potent brine that's a byproduct of the process is the most damaging... I'm not expert on the topic of course, I've only read a few articles.

 

(the waters really warm because of the powerplant nearby).

 

That explains this:

Radiation!

I jest I jest.

But yeah it sounds like California is really trying. Interestingly enough, they should look to Israel for their desalination solutions. Israel has (from what I understand) the most successful and efficient program in the world.

I have read that it's at least in part related to China pollution changing weather patterns...it wouldn't surprise me.

sorry for my ignorance but whats causing this? just extreme heat? are these signs of climate change? if so why is everyone ignoring it as evidence?

i dont think that plant near san diego is quite up and running yet

desalinate your shit nigs, this is the way. israeli was drying up its main lake for years, scary ads on tv about israel drying up

, water conservation policies and other crazy stuff but once the plants started working full time it all went poof like it never even existed, the agriculture uses mostly desalinated water now.

So is this some fallout from mismanagement by Schwarzenegger? My mother regularly travels to Cali and said he was the worst governor they had in decades.

  On 3/27/2015 at 10:02 AM, Deer said:

sorry for my ignorance but whats causing this? just extreme heat? are these signs of climate change? if so why is everyone ignoring it as evidence?

Seems like it's just what happens when you build massive cities and establish huge agricultural operations that are completely inappropriate to the local climate. Always seemed to me like the whole culture around water use was pretty much imported wholesale from the east and midwest. Not just stuff like green lawns and golf courses (which are wasteful but probably fairly minor overall), but things like the total lack of any attempt to capture waste rainwater and to basically just ditch it all into the sea, and the huuuge reliance on groundwater reserves that in other areas might have a decent recharge rate but in Cali recharge much more slowly, if at all.

From day one Cali should have built stuff more suitable for the available water supply. Too late for that now, so the solution is either to desalinate seawater on a mahooosive scale (which is obscenely expensive) or adapt (which will be a huge shock economically and culturally, and would involve basically giving up 50% of agriculture in the Central Valley).

So this shit is basically inevitable anyway, although climate change might make it worse in future especially if snowpack in the Sierra Nevada etc is reduced which would lower river levels even more

PS i've studied some of this shit but i've never actually been to california lol

Damn, Im I gonna have to move? I feel like there's so much invested in California that it would be hard to just abandon it. One's things for sure, things are going to get a lot more expensive

  On 3/27/2015 at 5:40 AM, AdieuErsatzEnnui said:

Why are you guys not desalinating ocean water?

because we contaminated it