sassy&tessa - 2014-02-10 3:55 PM

My dad worked hydro for PG&E.  Just retired (well he technically retires April 1).  He has been watching water for 20 years.  I was born and raised in California and in northern california.  Our family is back there and I have a lot of friends there and a lot who are in agriculture.  My dad said he has never seen the snow pack like this.  To the person who said this happens every 30 years, my dad said it is longer than that.

Southern California is actually in better shape than northern california, believe it or not.  They have better water infrastructure and have been stealing water from northern california for so long they have a lot saved in storage (yes, that is my opinion, the stealing part, not the infrastructure).  However, it isn't enough.

There were people that were trying to get the feds to intervene right around the farm bill and temporarily suspend some EPA stuff, like the stupid smelt legislation, that would bring back water via the Delta.  Good ole Feinstein didn't let that happen.  It is insane how far removed she is.  How does she keep getting elected?

Anyways, they say 500,000 acres are going to be fallow because of the drought. At a minimum.  Folks, you don't know what high price of food is until you see what happens when California can't produce.  They are VITAL to agriculture.  VITAL.  More importantly, it will take YEARS to rebuild some of the permanent plantings if they die.  YEARS.

In the last drought a few years ago, east side farmers of the San Joaquin River you were all right as the wells were likely still able to pump and you were getting run off from the snow pak in the Sierras.  That is not a true statement this year.  Too much salt and crap in there and the water is no good.

I think most people (especially urbanites in California) underestimate the power of California agriculture.  Without CA agriculture, the state of California would have went bankrupt in the recession.  Literally.  California agriculture was and still is one of their main sources of revenue.   

sassy&tessa - 2014-02-10 2:55 PM

My dad worked hydro for PG&E.  Just retired (well he technically retires April 1).  He has been watching water for 20 years.  I was born and raised in California and in northern california.  Our family is back there and I have a lot of friends there and a lot who are in agriculture.  My dad said he has never seen the snow pack like this.  To the person who said this happens every 30 years, my dad said it is longer than that.

Southern California is actually in better shape than northern california, believe it or not.  They have better water infrastructure and have been stealing water from northern california for so long they have a lot saved in storage (yes, that is my opinion, the stealing part, not the infrastructure).  However, it isn't enough.

There were people that were trying to get the feds to intervene right around the farm bill and temporarily suspend some EPA stuff, like the stupid smelt legislation, that would bring back water via the Delta.  Good ole Feinstein didn't let that happen.  It is insane how far removed she is.  How does she keep getting elected?

Anyways, they say 500,000 acres are going to be fallow because of the drought. At a minimum.  Folks, you don't know what high price of food is until you see what happens when California can't produce.  They are VITAL to agriculture.  VITAL.  More importantly, it will take YEARS to rebuild some of the permanent plantings if they die.  YEARS.

In the last drought a few years ago, east side farmers of the San Joaquin River you were all right as the wells were likely still able to pump and you were getting run off from the snow pak in the Sierras.  That is not a true statement this year.  Too much salt and crap in there and the water is no good.

I think most people (especially urbanites in California) underestimate the power of California agriculture.  Without CA agriculture, the state of California would have went bankrupt in the recession.  Literally.  California agriculture was and still is one of their main sources of revenue.   

cyount2009 - 2014-02-10 4:18 PM Southern California is not in any better shape. They get a huge amount of their water from the run off on the Eastern side of the Sierra Nevada range. Some reports state LA gets roughly just under half their water from this valley. http://environmentla.com/programs/aboutwater.htm LA can only have as much water as the resources it gets it from and right now this resource, the one that provides just under half the drinking water to LA, is dry.

sassy&tessa - 2014-02-11 1:34 PM


This isn't exactlt true.  While the LA area does get rain from northern california and stores in reservoirs, they also get water from the Colorado River via Arizona and have also stored underground.  I have spent LOTS of time looking at all of this.  Like I said my dad works in hydro.  Water conversations come up almost every time we talk.

dhdqhllc - 2014-02-11 2:29 PM  coastal california is going to have to decide that desalinization is feasible and start living within their water means.....as is the central valley......

sassy&tessa - 2014-02-11 3:11 PM

Trust me I have a lot of friends that farm and are involved in the LA.  And I spent 20+ years living in California and I spent a heck of a lot of time in LA.  I know what is going on.  I was just at an ag conference there a month ago and was talking to those people trying to come to grips about the water situation.

Over 500,000 acres are going to go fallow this year, at a minimum.  Water meters can and will be going on in a lot of areas that don't have them (a lot of the LA areas are not metered right now).  Well over half of Sacramento isn't.

Consumers need to come to grips with a lot of things they aren't.  A good friend who is an avocado farmer in the LA area saw an RV park that was watering and the water was running off onto the concrete roads.  She took the time to stop and go into the office and ask them to be more conscious about the water and to stop watering lawns as there is a serious drought going on and that is precious water.  The office manager replied there was no drought or it would have been on the news.

People in California need to raise their voices and tell Sacramento politicians that enough is enough.  They may not be able to save this year but measures need to be taken to be ready for this again in the future.  Water conservation needs to be taught and applied to urbanites.

People need to really understand how water infrastructure works.  Well, take that back.  it is a really complicated system (too complicated IMO) but they at least need to know the basics.  

Just like with agriculture, urban consumers are too far removed from natural resources and what needs to be done to conserve those resources.  There isn't enough education right now to help try and right the ship, at least for future generations.  People just think this stuff will just be there.

Oh, and by the way, thanks for those LOVELY legislators like Feinstein (insert sarcasm), believe it or not LA is safe from running out of water.  There is no way they would let LA go without water before rural people up in the north do.  No way in he!!.  That is where all of their money and voters are.  

Anniemae - 2014-02-27 12:03 PM

 It rained last night and we have another rain storm coming this weekend!! 


We only got an inch, but that is more than we had and we'll take every drop!!   

LIVE2RUN - 2014-02-27 1:16 PM We are getting rain this weekend too...hoorah!!! Finally!!