drought in California

**InRareForm** · 01-20-2014

Here.we.go,!

**boutons_deux** · 01-31-2014

California drought: State's water deliveries to be halted

Department Director Mark Cowin said at a news conference that if the dry spell continues, only carryover water from last year will be channeled to the farmers and several towns that get their water from the State Water Project.

Never in the State Water Project's 54-year history has there been zero water allocation.

"Simply put, there's not enough water in the system right now for customers to expect any water this season from the project," Cowin said in a statement to the press.

Growers in the Central Valley will bear the biggest brunt of the lack of state water. The State Water Project normally provides water to more than 750,000 acres of irrigated farmland. Twenty-nine water districts also get water from the state, leaving many communities similarly in the lurch.

Growers and water districts will be forced to get their water elsewhere, and some are in a better position to do this than others.

California is coming off its driest year since record-keeping began in the 1800s, and January has seen little rain. The past two winters have also been abnormally dry.

Check out SFGate's drought page: http://www.sfgate.com/drought/

http://m.sfgate.com/crime/article/California-drought-State-s-water-deliveries-to-5193699.php

**TeyshaBlue** · 01-31-2014

's going to be a bad wildfire season out there this year.

**baseline bum** · 01-31-2014

Originally Posted by boutons_deux

California is coming off its driest year since record-keeping began in the 1800s, and January has seen little rain. The past two winters have also been abnormally dry.

Check out SFGate's drought page: http://www.sfgate.com/drought/

http://m.sfgate.com/crime/article/California-drought-State-s-water-deliveries-to-5193699.php

Yeah, 2012 was a horrible year for California also. I know Yosemite had Tioga Pass Road open until January 17th. I mean this is a road that goes through a 10,000 foot mountain pass and there was no snow on it, even on the north face of the 13,000 foot Mount Dana right next to it. People were ice skating on lakes that usually have 10+ feet of snow on them that time of year. That road usually closes in October or November and had never stayed open anywhere close to that late before. And this year is way worse than that one, which was the worst in 30 years. You should see how much ice the Lyell Glacier there has lost over the last 100 years. Very depressing.

**MannyIsGod** · 02-01-2014

Originally Posted by TeyshaBlue

's going to be a bad wildfire season out there this year.

I do wonder about that. On one hand, its really dry, but the saving grace might be that it was dry last year too and you didn't get much growth. In AZ and NM though, you had a decent summer rain season and you got some good growth and its been followed by a warm dry winter. I think that those two states will burn big time this year and I think the burning will start early. I'd be surprised if we don't have large fires by Msy.

**Wild Cobra** · 02-01-2014

-dp-

**Wild Cobra** · 02-01-2014

To bad the wind farms are changing the weather.

**boutons_deux** · 02-01-2014

Hearst Castle’s Neptune Pool Is Drying Up

Springs that supply the state historical monument are running at just one-sixth normal, said Nick Franco, superintendent of the San Luis Obispo Coast District of State Parks. Only 47,000 gallons a day now flow from the springs, which State Parks shares with the Hearst Ranch, down from a normal of 285,000 gallons a day in a normal year.

That means a trio of reservoirs that typically are filled with 2.75 million gallons of water this time of year are only about a third full, not enough to carry the Castle through the summer.

So it doesn’t make any sense to keep topping off the iconic, but leaky, outdoor Neptune Pool, which loses 3,000 to 5,000 gallons of water a day through several cracks. The pool was started in the 1920s and underwent a couple of revisions not long after.

State Parks is putting the 345,000 gallons of water that were in the pool to good use. Connections have been made to the irrigation system and, last Friday, water started flowing out of the pool and onto the landscape.

How long it takes to empty the 95-by-104-foot, marble-lined basin that’s as much as 10 feet deep depends on how much irrigation is needed, Franco said. On Monday, he estimated the pool was down 5 or 6 feet.

“You know the statue of Venus in the back with her rising out of the water?” he asked. “Well, she’s not in the water anymore.”

Also dry and quiet are the Castle’s six fountains, which usually provide an ambient sound of tinkling water for garden strollers. “They splash, lose water, not a lot,” Franco said.

“But we want to save every drop we can.”

They’re also “doing triage on the perennials,” Franco said, “figuring out what can survive with very little water and what won’t, focusing on the landscape, how we can nurse it along.”

Usually this time of year State Parks brings in “thousands of annuals,” Franco said. Not this year. And they’re putting mulch on the landscaping to conserve as much water as possible.

http://www.nationalmemo.com/hearst-c...e-pool-drying/

**boutons_deux** · 02-24-2014

It Takes How Much Water to Grow an Almond?!

http://www.motherjones.com/environme...as-water-going

**boutons_deux** · 02-24-2014

California's Drought Could Be the Worst in 500 Years

And why it's too late for the rain.

The Golden State is in the midst of a three-year drought—and scientists believe that this year may end up being the driest in the last half millennium, according to University of California-Berkeley professor B. Lynn Ingram. Californians are scared, with good reason: Fire danger in the state is high, and drinking-water supplies are low.
But the drought will have repercussions outside the state's borders, as well. California produces a good chunk of the nation's food: half of all our fruits and vegetables, along with a significant amount of dairy and wine.

How bad is it?According to the United States Drought Monitor, most of the state is experiencing "extreme drought," the second highest of six rankings. About 10 percent of the state is experiencing "exceptional drought," the highest possible level. As of this week,17 communities are in danger of running out of water, forcing some to buy it or run pipes from other districts.

ttp://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/02/california-drought-matters-more-just-california

**Wild Cobra** · 02-24-2014

That's what happens when you put all your eggs in one basket.

Climate changes. We all know that. Next year, they could have an excess of rain, like we did in my area two years ago.

**Wild Cobra** · 02-24-2014

**Nbadan** · 02-25-2014

Originally Posted by Wild Cobra

That's what happens when you put all your eggs in one basket.

Climate changes. We all know that. Next year, they could have an excess of rain, like we did in my area two years ago.

The whole state is hardly 'one basket'

at Texans making fun of California while fracking companies are draining South Texas wells dry...been to Median Lake lately...