Panel: California water losses are huge
By Rong-Gong Lin II, Los Angeles Times
A panel of water experts on Sunday mapped out the challenges California faces in meeting future demands for water at a time when water sources are under stress and future supplies appear uncertain.
The panel, speaking at the Los Angeles Times book club, agreed the problems are serious and multifaceted: groundwater reserves underneath California’s Central Valley are estimated to have been depleted by 125 million acre-feet since the first wells were drilled more than a century ago and as water demand is forecast to outstrip supply coming from the Colorado River in the coming decades.
“What we’re really looking at is about a 20 percent problem of our supply being lost to climate change and over demand, and that’s huge,” said Jeff Kightlinger, general manager of the Metropolitan Water District, at a discussion of the book “Cadillac Desert,” by Marc Reisner.
Water losses are caused not only by pumping ground water, but also the loss from diverting the northern sierra and eastern sierra above ground water south which is the real environmental disaster along with an over-populated desert full of millions and the open borders allowing untold numbers, at least several million, to enter illegally and use and impact the natural resources and economic resources. Without a major weather change and policy change, this disaster will grow, and even with a weather change the over demand and created shortage will always be a dry year away from another disaster. This state should focus on conservation by eliminating large new development requiring water and closing the borders and enforcing the immigration laws for a start.