It is easy to assume seawater desalination is the answer to California’s long-term water woes. All you have to do is look west, and the vast Pacific Ocean simply glimmers with opportunity.
But as with so many things involving water, desalination is not that simple. Converting seawater into drinking water is very expensive, it consumes a lot of electricity and it comes with a host of potentially unsavory environmental impacts.
With a Southern California water district’s purchase of 20,000 acres in the Delta expected to become official as soon as next week, San Joaquin County and central Delta farmers have erected one more legal hurdle in an effort to stop the deal. They filed suit in Contra Costa County Superior Court, alleging that the terms of the sale are in violation of an earlier legal agreement that contains rules about how the land can be used.
California’s drought is perhaps more of a political ping pong ball than it is anything else, but makes no mistake: drought in California is real; it happens; it’s cyclical; and, politicians have done nothing to mitigate its impacts to the state’s 40 million residents.
While El Niño arguably did not materialize as predicted it did fill northern California reservoirs. Shasta Lake is full, as are Lake Oroville and Folsom Lake. Those facts arguably moved state officials to allocate more than half the requested water allotments to State Water Project users, which include farmers and urban residents.
June 2, 2016 – The past week’s weather brought about a mixed bag of changes to the U.S. Drought Monitor map, with expansion of dryness and/or drought noted in the Northeast, Southeast, upper Great Lakes, northern Plains and Pacific Northwest. The most notable expansions this week are the advancement of D0 across the northern Cascades in Washington up to the Canadian border and the expansion of D0-D1 and a new area of D2 in the Southeast centered over northern Georgia, northern Alabama and southern Tennessee.
A water briefing in the Central Valley gave attendees an outline of how the water situation looks in California and clarified that the winter wasn’t as wet as some reports. The California Department of Water Resources and Water Education Foundation, in cooperation with the Center for Irrigation Technology, held a water briefing seminar at California State University of Fresno. The morning session had a statewide focus and speakers showed detailed information on where California stands with water and the implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.
Donald Trump has made surprising and even shocking statements a veritable staple of his campaign for president.
But possibly no statement surprised California farmers more than when he told thousands in Fresno’s Selland Arena last week that there is no drought.
Specifically, the businessman and former reality show host accused state lawmakers of directing water from the San Joaquin Delta away from farms and communities to improve habitats for delta smelt – though he didn’t mention the delta by name and he referred to the smelt as a “three-inch fish.”
It’s no secret that the ecosystem of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is in rough shape, by many metrics. One of the most talked about, and controversial, subjects is the state of the delta’s native fish populations, including endangered salmon runs and delta smelt. Management to protect critical fish populations has meant curbing water exports from the delta, which support farms and cities farther south and west – a policy unpopular with many water users.
But is there a better way to do things?
Many are still wondering how some growers who rely on the Central Valley Water Project for irrigation are getting such low water allocations this year. Consumers might see higher prices at the grocery store in result.
Pomology Tree Crop Advisor David Doll says he was also a little shocked by the five percent water allocation projection for the west side of the Central Valley this year.
Senate Bill 1233 – The Water Bill Savings Act – will allow residents to finance water efficiency energy upgrades in their homes, which will significantly reduce their water and energy use while saving money on their monthly utility bills as well.
The “Pay As You Save” program will allow residents to finance energy efficient hot water systems, gray water systems, high efficiency toilets, aerators, hot water recirculation pumps, irrigation controllers, commercial dishwashers and several other water efficiency measures on their water utility bills including removing their water hog lawns and replacing the turf with drought tolerant landscapes.
We are a thirsty nation. We consume nearly 1,500 gallons of water each day, with three-quarters of it going to supply industry and to create energy, as well as for food and fiber to feed the masses. The rest goes to homes and businesses.
These practices are unsustainable in the long term, but in water-short California they’re already coming to a head. After several years of drought with little relief, the state and its electricity providers want to make sure there is enough water to keep industry humming, and to serve the agricultural industry. Possible?
