It's official, we're in a drought; now do something about it

Thanks Mike for this Blog. It is a needed communication tool in these water times. I just got back from a Water Education Tour on the Delta. Very interesting. So many ideas on solving our water problems. Where to begin?

Rob Santos

TID Director 

over population ever get discussed? It just seems that we always hear about everyone who comes into California, but we very rarely get any information about the stress it puts on our natural resources..i.e. water, air.

Water Education Tour? Sounds like code for a fishing trip! Or a very boring band.

When will man-kind wise up and start learning to adapt to the weather conditions ?

Most people seem to believe we are having global warming but are so stupid they think we are the cause and we can do something about it.

People should wake up and start thinking about adapting to these changing weather conditions and stop thinking we are god and we can change the weather.

"Most people are Liberal by the time they reach twenty and if they have a brain they are Conservative by the time they reach forty." Guess Who ??

we affect the environment in which we live. Adapting however, is a wise course. So is being smart in use of resources. Being able to set rivers on fire -- while a very notable event -- hardly qualifies as a quality accomplishment.

First all those numbers of rainforest being cut down is just a lot of BS. The forest started from nothing at some point in history and they will grow back once more in some ones life time.

Just ask your insurance company what bad weather is and they will tell you it is an act of GOD.

You need to pull your head out of it !!

"Most people are Liberal by the time they reach twenty and if they have a brain they are Conservative by the time they reach forty." Guess Who ??

YOURS !!

At one point this planet had no trees at all.

The rain came first and then the trees. Get It !!

"Most people are Liberal by the time they reach twenty and if they have a brain they are Conservative by the time they reach forty." Guess Who ??

I am sure they can educate you on the subject.

And thanks for the debate !!

"Most people are Liberal by the time they reach twenty and if they have a brain they are Conservative by the time they reach forty." Guess Who ??

Good to hear from you, Rob. I, too, have taken one of the water tours, though not on the delta. The farther you get from the delta, the more intense the supply problems become. Makes me wonder if we could have started from scratch would we have constructed this water system the way it  now exists? I think not.

It will be interesting to see if Ms Bass in the assembly and Mr. Steinberg in the senate can get  anything done that moves us toward a real solution (or two or three real solutions).

md

Whether it's for better or worse, I think the ethanol plant will never be profitable. It is only a matter of time before the enthusiasm for ethanol evaporates and those who invested so heavily in producing it will be left with a lot of debt. My greatest fear is that, somehow, that debt will be spilled onto the public.

Mike, you guys should do a story on the State Fish traps near Clifton Court Forebay. Its pretty much a joke. What fish survive going through the traps will almost surely get eaten when they are dumped back into the Delta. Seems the predatory fish know the vibrations of the transport "dump trucks". Its like ringing the dinner bell.

r 

Sit down and hold onto your seat ... Ethanol is a fallacy and that is from an ag guy.  Someday read the story of Earl Butz - who just passed away - former USDA Secreatary and the 70's concept of planting fencerow to fencerow.  Of course back then they had the PIK program (Payment in Kind).  Maybe it's great for the midwest guys who can't seem to get their corn out of the ground  this year due to to global storming and are still happy as pigs in ---- that they can get paid for producing corn on CRP ground.  The problem is that their costs have increased exponentially and their margins have shrunk.  Now bring that thought process west and add California's regulations and input costs on top and it is a very scary time.  Imagine what would happen if the dairy industry prices reverted to support levels?  No more happy California Cows!  More like a big sale on Big Macs! 

Cellulosic technology is the wave in the alternative fuel market, but that is going to take time.  Ethanol can't be stored or shipped via pipeline due to its highly corrosive nature.  It does offer opportunities for some byproduct usage in our food animal industries, but at the same time driving up prices because the feed grade corn is being used for fuel instead if feed.  How much global warming/cooling does it really offset because the process of growing, harvesting and refining ethanol is probably a net deficit regarding greenhouse gases instead of a net gain. 

As for the drought - California is in a cycle again that has happened through time.  I remember the mid 70's and that was a drought!  We just have 38 million people now and the industry and infrastructiure that goes along with it - no matter how poor that infrastructure is.  In the 70's we might have have half as many people and a fraction of the industry.  I'll get concerned when the Governator declares a drought EMERGENCY.  Then essentially he will have declared martial law on water and all bets will be off - especially for our local districts that have a surplus or fairly good supply because they manage their systems well.

A couple of things to remember ... California has enough water - we just don't capture it.  Build some dams and keep it here instead of letting it run out through the Delta to the ocean.  Their will still be plenty of water and the North vs. South fight could be lessened if there was a new dam that provided dedicated supply for the South.  The urbanites win, the fish win and the Delta wins.  Try as you may, we cannot conserve our way out of this without seriously damaging the economy - beyond what fuel prices and regulatory effects have already accomplished.  An around Delta conveyance becomes more palatable for the Delta users if their supply is secured by more, dedicated storage.  No storage - no deal!

I'm glad Dr. Santos enjoyed his Delta tour.  The pumps and the fish screens are interesting and he's right - the predators will go to where they know the food will be.  Ever see a cattleman feeding cows in the winter?  When the cows see or hear that truck they come running!  WEF and CFWC all do water tours and it is interesting to listen to and see the contrast between the haves and have nots in the water community.  It's also interesting to see how some of the have nots have adapted and become much more efficient through the use of technology - and more profitable too! 

Don't worry Mike, your favorite teacher is out in the islands as we speak and learning more of the fruits of our labors in SJC. 

Way back during the CalFed days, they calculated that we allow multi-million acre feet of water each year - even in dry years - to escape to the bay.  This number has ranged from 5MAF to 27MAF - roughly 2 to 11 new New Melones reservoirs in capacity!  This concept is accepted by all water agencies and agricultural users as fact - the numbers are determined on water supply.  The problem is not necessarily conveyance for conveyance sake - it is conveyance when a fish gets in the way of conveyance.  The Delta Smelt is literally holding Southern California hostage.  I don't mean that in a bad way.  What the little fish has done is make the politcos seriously sit down at the table and look for workable solutions.  The problem is that they are politicians - they aren't proactive, they're reactive and they are thirty years too late!  Conservation will not work this time - unless you like your food imported and you like a Salmonella or E.Coli-type threat in your food supply as a normal everyday possibility. 

You need to look at this in another way as well.  Remember the flooding in Sacramento many years ago?  It was worse just a few years ago with less rainfall.  My theory - as we develop open ground or farmable land and pave it over, we reduce the surface area for percolation.  A few big things happen.  1)  Water tends to flash or run off quickly.  2)  The groundwater table does not recharge as it used to.  3)  That floodwater does not get retained, it simply runs out to the ocean in greater amounts that used to percolate into the groundwater.  All of our major reservoirs are currently at 50%-60% capacity with snowpack already partially in - not a good sign!  WE NEED STORAGE for the wet years to protect in the dry years and the environmental community needs to be part of the solution instead of keeping their old mantra of "we can conserve our way out of it ..."  Those opportunities are passed and 38 million people and growing are going to be thirsty very soon.  And we haven't even mentioned domestic food supply!  

Some conservation is possbile in residential development if cities are willing to have some political will - a truly endangered species!  I was once a planning commissioner locally and we were seriously considering xeriscaping alternatives and incentives for new development.  It cuts water usage and air pollution (no more mowers or weedeaters necesary on a weekly basis).  It does reduce curb appeal for resale.  You asked what people are thinking ... how do I get out of this home without losing it and if it takes a green lawn instead of a brown one to sell it - who cares about water!  That's as far as public water perception goes - other than the tap and the showerhead!          

Yosemite would not be an option - National Park that makes too much money as a tourist attraction.  Plus, Don Pedro and Hetch Hetchy effectively control the Tuolumne.  Temperance Flat would be a good start on the San Joaquin - especially with the new fish flows that will be required to re-water a river that never flowed even before the Friant Dam was built.  Auburn Dam would work for storage and especially flood protection.  This could also take serious pressure off certain points in the fragile Sacramento levee system.  Most of the proposals would be in Northern California on rivers that are heavily rain and snow fed.  How much water goes out the Eel River each year?  I've seen the results of an Eel River flood - you never forget them!  And this happens a lot.  It's not a Russian River flood where twenty people peeing up-river can cause it, this is serious.

I'm not saying capture it all - two or three dams the size of New Melones would go a very long way.  And if there was one of those out there, the conversation on around-Delta conveyance (Code word: Peripheral Canal)would be much more tolerable.  There could actually be iron-clad guarantees to protect the Delta fish and farmers that would be real - not fallacy.  If you dam it all - you kill the Delta and Stockton and Sacramento start drinking saltwater.  Dedicated storage could cure a lot of ills.  We would also have to incorporate other ideas in our public domains - maybe more drought-tolerant grasses than water lovers.  Just an idea - as I said before, no one has the political will to make one of these decsions - especially in an election year. Remember the pavement theory - we need parks for groundwater recharge - San Joaquin County is doing that at the new expansion at Micke Grove.  The Mariposa Lakes specific plan for SE Stockton also has numerous lakes for groundwater recharge on the inside - the public will think they are for recreation and aesthetics.  There's more than one way to skin a cat.  Your ideas are ideas for years when we are in the tenth year of a protracted drought.  At that point there won't be any water for food or farming anyway - it will simply go to people for drinking water.  

Associate degree program | School of Business and Management

It is a needed communication tool in these water times. I just got back
from a Water Education Tour on the Delta. Very interesting. So many
ideas on solving our water problems. Where to begin?

club penguin