Opinion: Calif. has one year of water left
By Jay Famiglietti, Los Angeles Times
Given the historic low temperatures and snowfalls that pummeled the eastern U.S. this winter, it might be easy to overlook how devastating California’s winter was as well.
As our “wet” season draws to a close, it is clear that the paltry rain and snowfall have done almost nothing to alleviate epic drought conditions. January was the driest in California since record-keeping began in 1895. Groundwater and snowpack levels are at all-time lows. We’re not just up a creek without a paddle in California, we’re losing the creek too.
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.
Another article that doesn’t recognize the drastic difference between northern California and southern California issues. The situation apparently is much worse roughly south of Sacramento than north of Sacramento. Notice this is a southern California newspaper.
Mr Obray you continually comment that the north half of California doesn’t have issues as it pertains to water. I think you are sorely mistaken and those living up in Redding and surrounding areas most probably would agree with me. Maybe not AS bad as So Cal, but in this fourth drought year in a row, that’s not saying much. And let’s not forget that late summer into fall last year they weren’t even using water from Folsom, they were tapping into their back up aquifers which allowed Folsom to renew it’s current levels.
This OpEd article on the drought basically says:
a. Start mandatory water rationing now.
b. Protect the ground water aquifers before they go dry.
c. Brainstorm ideas for long term water management and needs.
d. The public needs to take ownership.
I don’t have a problem with a and b, we are going to have rationing sooner or later and if our aquifers dry up… well that will be really bad news.
As for brainstorming ideas, I think these are already in the public domain; conservation, desalination & reclaimed water use come to mind. Desalination and water reclamation will require capital improvements but are at least long term solutions.
I think rationing will get the public’s attention.