drought in California

[InRareForm]

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/01/18/us/as-californias-drought-deepens-a-sense-of-dread-grows.html?ref=us&_r=0&referrer=

[boutons_deux]

http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/

[Wild Cobra]

What is so unusual about this?

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x262/Wild_Cobra/Global%20Warming/FolsomLakeRecord_zps07b3b0d1.png (http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cdecapp/resapp/resDetailOrig.action?resid=FOL)

[Wild Cobra]

Here are more images:

http://www.folsomlakemarina.com/images/Basin_401.jpg (http://www.folsomlakemarina.com/Lowwaterpics.html)

http://www.folsomlakemarina.com/images/Hobie_401.jpg

However, these were taken 8/28/07

[Wild Cobra]

This is interesting too:

http://www.folsomlakemarina.com/CamLive.jpg (http://www.folsomlakemarina.com/livecam.html)

[boutons_deux]

do you deny there is a draught in CA?

[Wild Cobra]

do you deny there is a draught in CA?

No.

I am only pointing out it isn't unusual. As the population increases more and more, the reservoirs will drain more and more.

Here is another link you might like:

California Reservoirs (http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cdecapp/resapp/GetDailyFCgraphs.action)

[boutons_deux]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/slideshow/Medina-Lake-vanishing-31321.php

http://www.kvue.com/news/Low-lake-levels-hurting-commerce-real-estate--businesses--220401601.html

[Wild Cobra]

[
URL]http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/slideshow/Medina-Lake-vanishing-31321.php[/URL]

Too bad it's records start in 1997: USGS 08179500 Medina Lk nr San Antonio, TX (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/inventory/?site_no=08179500)




http://www.kvue.com/news/Low-lake-levels-hurting-commerce-real-estate--businesses--220401601.html

It's still higher than the 2012 point: Lake Travis Water Level (http://travis.uslakes.info/Level.asp)

[ChumpDumper]

It's still higher than the 2012 point: Lake Travis Water Level (http://travis.uslakes.info/Level.asp)2 feet higher?

Wow.

[boutons_deux]

Too bad it's records start in 1997: USGS 08179500 Medina Lk nr San Antonio, TX (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/inventory/?site_no=08179500)




It's still higher than the 2012 point: Lake Travis Water Level (http://travis.uslakes.info/Level.asp)

2012 was already severe draught in central TX, not a "good" reference date

[Wild Cobra]

Precipitation varies Just because it is lower in one geographical area doesn't mean it is everywhere. Here are the two major reservoirs that furnish water to my area:

http://137.227.241.66/nwisweb/data/img/USGS.14139000.01.00062..20071001.20140119..0..gif (http://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/or/nwis/uv/?cb_00062=on&format=gif_default&period=&begin_date=2007-10-01&end_date=2014-01-19&site_no=14139000)

http://137.227.241.66/nwisweb/data/img/USGS.14139900.01.00062..20071001.20140119..0..gif (http://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/or/nwis/uv/?cb_00062=on&format=gif_default&period=&begin_date=2007-10-01&end_date=2014-01-19&site_no=14139900)

They don't show the same trend as those your alarmist buddies cherry pick for you to regurgitate. Now we were under a water shortage mandate in 2009, but as you see, both reservoirs got pretty low. The problem was threefold. We had less than normal precipitation in the summer, more rain in Feb/Mar, and warmer temperatures in Jan/Feb reducing the snowpack that normally melts evenly into the summer.

Weather is simply chaotic.

[boutons_deux]

Precipitation varies Just because it is lower in one geographical area doesn't mean it is everywhere. Here are the two major reservoirs that furnish water to my area:

http://137.227.241.66/nwisweb/data/img/USGS.14139000.01.00062..20071001.20140119..0..gif (http://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/or/nwis/uv/?cb_00062=on&format=gif_default&period=&begin_date=2007-10-01&end_date=2014-01-19&site_no=14139000)

http://137.227.241.66/nwisweb/data/img/USGS.14139900.01.00062..20071001.20140119..0..gif (http://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/or/nwis/uv/?cb_00062=on&format=gif_default&period=&begin_date=2007-10-01&end_date=2014-01-19&site_no=14139900)

They don't show the same trend as those your alarmist buddies cherry pick for you to regurgitate. Now we were under a water shortage mandate in 2009, but as you see, both reservoirs got pretty low. The problem was threefold. We had less than normal precipitation in the summer, more rain in Feb/Mar, and warmer temperatures in Jan/Feb reducing the snowpack that normally melts evenly into the summer.

Weather is simply chaotic.

weather, climate instability was predicted 35 years ago due to AGW. prediction was true. the orbital variation should be causing a global cooling period, but AGW is ovecoming it.

[Wild Cobra]

weather, climate instability was predicted 35 years ago due to AGW. prediction was true. the orbital variation should be causing a global cooling period, but AGW is ovecoming it.

LOL...

Climate variability has persisted throughout history without the alarmists view of AGW.

[SnakeBoy]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/slideshow/Medina-Lake-vanishing-31321.php


LOL trying to use Medina Lake levels as proof of global warming. It has been a disappointment since it's construction.

http://www.edwardsaquifer.net/images/medina_lake_storage.gif

[boutons_deux]

LOL...

Climate variability has persisted throughout history without the alarmists view of AGW.

:lol typical specious bullshit from BigCarbon shills, AGW deniers

"Allow me to retort": Warming is natural, "in history" the earth was a ball of lava.

Extreme weather variability due to AGW overcoming orbital-caused cooling is in comparison with the last 100 years, not the life of the planet.

[Wild Cobra]

Boutons...

You are a lost cause.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Everyone just keep in mind that WC barely knows how to interpret graphs and check to make sure he didn't make them himself because then you can bet he did something extra stupid.

[Wild Cobra]

Everyone just keep in mind that WC barely knows how to interpret graphs and check to make sure he didn't make them himself because then you can bet he did something extra stupid.
By all means. Please explain the graphs I posted then.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

By all means. Please explain the graphs I posted then.

non-sequitur. me saying that you have shown a track record of shitty graphs does not mean I should explain these ones. you do have a shitty track record and if someone other than you asks about it then I will answer. I am not wasting my time arguing with you about your idiocy on merit anymore.

I did like how you used geographic locations as the dependent variable and tried to represent it as a linear relationship though. That was pretty damn ignorant.

[Wild Cobra]

non-sequitur. me saying that you have shown a track record of shitty graphs does not mean I should explain these ones.

I see.

Because you don't have the brain power to comprehend a graph... you class them as shitty.

Noted...


you do have a shitty track record and if someone other than you asks about it then I will answer.

LOL... I doubt it...



I did like how you used geographic locations as the dependent variable and tried to represent it as a linear relationship though. That was pretty damn ignorant.
What? My showing that one area wasn't having the same problem as another is ignorant? I think it is your ignorance that doesn't see what i was explaining.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

I see.

Because you don't have the brain power to comprehend a graph... you class them as shitty.

Noted...


LOL... I doubt it...


What? My showing that one area wasn't having the same problem as another is ignorant? I think it is your ignorance that doesn't see what i was explaining.

You and I both know that you are considered the village idiot by quite a few people. If not for boutons, then many others would take that tact but he draws the conservative ire. Despite that people like DMC and teysha mock you with regularity and none of the board conservatives come to back you up. Quite the contrary as time and again they distance themselves from you.

I am speaking to your credibility. You have none and me stating that it's not worth the bother of figuring out if you fucked up yet another graph has nothing to do with my acumen. I just have read enough of your tripe to know it to be the case.

You used a linear model to describe a geographic trend. You were more than trying to show that they were 'different.' You were trying to show a linear progression and a correlation regarding race racial demographics. You failed horribly. That's why.

[Wild Cobra]

You and I both know that you are considered the village idiot by quite a few people. If not for boutons, then many others would take that tact but he draws the conservative ire. Despite that people like DMC and teysha mock you with regularity and none of the board conservatives come to back you up. Quite the contrary as time and again they distance themselves from you.

I am speaking to your credibility. You have none and me stating that it's not worth the bother of figuring out if you fucked up yet another graph has nothing to do with my acumen. I just have read enough of your tripe to know it to be the case.

You used a linear model to describe a geographic trend. You were more than trying to show that they were 'different.' You were trying to show a linear progression and a correlation regarding race racial demographics. You failed horribly. That's why.

Wow...

If I have no credibility, then you must have nothing at all.

I pity you. Having to slam me because you cannot explain what's wrong with what I said vs. the graphs. I wasn't modelling anything here. Just what was I modeling?

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Wow...

If I have no credibility, then you must have nothing at all.

I pity you. Having to slam me because you cannot explain what's wrong with what I said vs. the graphs. I wasn't modelling anything here. Just what was I modeling?

Ah the "I know you are but what am I ' rebuttal.

[Wild Cobra]

Ah the "I know you are but what am I ' rebuttal.
How about explaining how I am wrong about the water levels?

[InRareForm]

Here.we.go,!

[boutons_deux]

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]

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

[baseline bum]

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]

'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]

-dp-

[Wild Cobra]

To bad the wind farms are changing the weather.

http://carlwk.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/04/10/fly_fishing_animated.gif

[boutons_deux]

Hearst Castle’s Neptune Pool Is Drying Up

http://static.panoramio.com/photos/large/5220654.jpg

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-castles-neptune-pool-drying/

[boutons_deux]

It Takes How Much Water to Grow an Almond?!
http://www.motherjones.com/files/Final-Crop-Map_1.gif

http://www.motherjones.com/files/Final-CA-Cities_1.gif

http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/02/wheres-californias-water-going

[boutons_deux]

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 (http://www.latimes.com/opinion/commentary/la-oe-ingram-california-drought-20140203,0,5178537.story#ixzz2saZ2FtnI). 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 (http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?CA), 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 (http://www.cdph.ca.gov/Pages/NR14-012.aspx) are in danger of running out of water, forcing some to buy it or run pipes from other districts.

http://www.motherjones.com/files/ca-map2.gif
ttp://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/02/california-drought-matters-more-just-california (http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/02/california-drought-matters-more-just-california)

[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.

[Wild Cobra]

http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cdecapp/resapp/getResGraph.action?id=-719094514&orig=no (http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cdecapp/resapp/resDetailOrig.action?resid=FOL)

[Nbadan]

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'

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

[baseline bum]

Wow

http://i.imgur.com/EPFcPhQ.jpg

[Wild Cobra]

The whole state is hardly 'one basket'

:lol at Texans making fun of California while fracking companies are draining South Texas wells dry...been to Median Lake lately...
You mean a man made lake, that's serving it's purpose by having stored water to use?

You point?

[Wild Cobra]

Wow

http://i.imgur.com/EPFcPhQ.jpg
What would it loo like without the dam?

[CosmicCowboy]

The whole state is hardly 'one basket'

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

Fucking idiot.

Medina Lake wasn't drained by fracking.

[boutons_deux]

Fucking idiot.

Medina Lake wasn't drained by fracking.

he didn't say it was, but a huge proportion of TX water is being poisoned by fracking and then re-injected in waste wells. Sky People don't GAF.

[DarrinS]

he didn't say it was, but a huge proportion of TX water is being poisoned by fracking and then re-injected in waste wells. Sky People don't GAF.


You and Dan need a lesson on Texas geography.

[boutons_deux]

You and Dan need a lesson on Texas geography.

you and yourself need pull your heads out of your asses

http://www.texastribune.org/2014/02/18/water-fracking-counties/

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/08/us/as-fracking-in-texas-increases-so-do-water-supply-fears.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

[Wild Cobra]

Well, looks like we will have a hard time combating sea level rise if we can't sequester it in the ground.

[CosmicCowboy]

Hey Booshit. Google Carizzo aquifer. There is a shitload of deep water in South Texas.

[boutons_deux]

Hey Booshit. Google Carizzo aquifer. There is a shitload of deep water in South Texas.

so fracking in TX has NO impact of water supply?

[CosmicCowboy]

so fracking in TX has NO impact of water supply?

Not any populated areas. Have you ever DRIVEN in South Texas?

[boutons_deux]

Not any populated areas. Have you ever DRIVEN in South Texas?

I drove to Laredo for a Spurs preseason game, very flat, ugly fucking country from SA to MX.

[Wild Cobra]

Wow

http://i.imgur.com/EPFcPhQ.jpg
Folsom was at the low level of about 169,000 acre feet when that picture was taken. Today, it is back to 292,200 acre feet.

http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cdecapp/resapp/resDetailOrig.action?resid=FOL

A reservoir is meant to be used. If the water level never goes up and down, then why make one?

[CosmicCowboy]

I drove to Laredo for a Spurs preseason game, very flat, ugly fucking country from SA to MX.

That's where the Eagle Ford shale is.

http://www.ogj.com/content/dam/ogfj/unconventional-topic-page-images/large-shale-play-images/eagle-ford-lg.gif

[boutons_deux]

I look forward to TX gas prices dropping to $2.50 or less after all this Drill Here, Drill Now fracking up the country.

[Wild Cobra]

I look forward to TX gas prices dropping to $2.50 or less after all this Drill Here, Drill Now fracking up the country.
I doubt that will happen. The current price is historically fair. More oil means keeping gas prices fair. If too much oil is taken, prices will drop below profit levels. I think the time of $2.xx gasoline is history.

[boutons_deux]

fair?

from the US domestic gasoline oligopoly?

why the hell would an oligopoly sell at "fair" prices that just happen to make them the most profitable oligolopy on the planet by $100Bs

[InRareForm]

2 small storms coming for so cal

[CosmicCowboy]

I look forward to TX gas prices dropping to $2.50 or less after all this Drill Here, Drill Now fracking up the country.

At least it won't be $6 a gallon. It's a world market and China is continuing to increase it's demand. The increased production will at least keep prices somewhat in line.

[Wild Cobra]

At least it won't be $6 a gallon. It's a world market and China is continuing to increase it's demand. The increased production will at least keep prices somewhat in line.
Good luck getting any libtard to believe the simple truth of supply and demand.

[boutons_deux]

At least it won't be $6 a gallon. It's a world market and China is continuing to increase it's demand. The increased production will at least keep prices somewhat in line.

only if the US govt continues to REGULATE/BLOCK export of US domestic oil.

If the Repugs get control of federal govt, they will certainly unblock export of US domestic oil and NG so the US consumers will compete for oil and gas in the world market at world prices, not local prices.

[Wild Cobra]

only if the US govt continues to REGULATE/BLOCK export of US domestic oil.

If the Repugs get control of federal govt, they will certainly unblock export of US domestic oil and NG so the US consumers will compete for oil and gas in the world market at world prices, not local prices.
That has little to do with the prices, as oil is a global commodity.

[TeyshaBlue]

only if the US govt continues to REGULATE/BLOCK export of US domestic oil.

If the Repugs get control of federal govt, they will certainly unblock export of US domestic oil and NG so the US consumers will compete for oil and gas in the world market at world prices, not local prices.

Wow. You have about zero understanding of the oil and gas markets. Today's word is "Fungible".

[boutons_deux]

That has little to do with the prices, as oil is a global commodity.

NatGas is cheap in USA because it's about 1/4 to 1/3 the price of the international price, for now. Once NatGas export gets going, the exporters will prefer to sell to the higher priced world market and/or increase the US domestic price to match world price.

although export of US crude has been forbidden since 1973, US has been dependent on oil imports at world price.

now that the domestic oil is ramping up, we "should" see a drop in US fuel prices, but obviously we won't. BigOil oligopoly will screw us, because they can, unstoppably.

[CosmicCowboy]

NatGas is cheap in USA because it's about 1/4 to 1/3 the price of the international price, for now. Once NatGas export gets going, the exporters will prefer to sell to the higher priced world market and/or increase the US domestic price to match world price.

although export of US crude has been forbidden since 1973, US has been dependent on oil imports at world price.

now that the domestic oil is ramping up, we "should" see a drop in US fuel prices, but obviously we won't. BigOil oligopoly will screw us, because they can, unstoppably.

The cost of world gas is principally transportation cost. Ever seen a LNG tanker? Those are serious expensive mofos.

As for the US exporting crude, that would just be plain dumb to give up the added value of the hundreds of different distillates produced by refining the crude here and then exporting the specific distillates to specific markets.

[boutons_deux]

The cost of world gas is principally transportation cost.

Tell Europe about the cost of them buying, PIPED Russian natgas (not natgas liquidified).

Yes, LNG carriers are expensive beasts. are you saying LNG carriers are the dominant component of the world price of natgas?

US cannot export crude. that's why, eg Kock Bros, want tar XL'ed to their tar refineries on the Gulf Coast, so they can export higher margin refined products.

[CosmicCowboy]

Tell Europe about the cost of them buying, PIPED Russian natgas (not natgas liquidified).

Yes, LNG carriers are expensive beasts. are you saying LNG carriers are the dominant component of the world price of natgas?

US cannot export crude. that's why, eg Kock Bros, want tar XL'ed to their tar refineries on the Gulf Coast, so they can export higher margin refined products.

Europe has no natural gas. In a world market they have a choice. Buy LNG or buy Russian gas. Russia knows that. Russia prices their piped NG as high as they can and still beat the price of LNG.

Are you really that stupid?

[Wild Cobra]

Europe has no natural gas. In a world market they have a choice. Buy LNG or buy Russian gas. Russia knows that. Russia prices their piped NG as high as they can and still beat the price of LNG.

Are you really that stupid?

....

[boutons_deux]

Europe has no natural gas. In a world market they have a choice. Buy LNG or buy Russian gas. Russia knows that. Russia prices their piped NG as high as they can and still beat the price of LNG.

Are you really that stupid?

Europeans buy both LNG and Russian piped gas. They wouldn't buy Russian natgas if they could avoid it. That's one reason they are working hard to get new gas pipelines from the M/E to Europe.

There was already one case where Russia was threatening to stop piping gas to Europe because one country crossed by their pipelines got way behind on gas payments.

[Wild Cobra]

What does this have to do with the drought?

[Winehole23]

Science papers don't generate much in the way of headlines, so you'll be forgiven if you haven't heard of one called "Groundwater Depletion During Drought Threatens Future Water Security of the Colorado River Basin (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2014GL061055/abstract)," recently published by University of California-Irvine and NASA researchers.


But the "water security of the Colorado River basin" is an important concept, if you are one of the 40 million people who rely on the Colorado River for drinking water, (http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2014/07/24/how-the-west-was-lost/) a group that includes residents of Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Tucson, and San Diego. Or if you enjoy eating vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and spinach during the winter. Through the many diversions, dams, canals, and reservoirs the river feeds as it snakes its way from the Rockies toward Mexico, the Colorado also provides the irrigation that makes the desert bloom in California's Imperial Valley (http://www.icfb.net/countyag.html) and Arizona's Yuma County (http://arizonaexperience.org/land/yuma-county-americas-winter-vegetable-capital)—source of more than two-thirds of US winter vegetable production.

http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2014/08/southwests-water-crunch-even-worse-we-thought

[boutons_deux]

The U.S. could supply all of California with water if we fixed our leaky pipes


Much of the piping that carries drinking water in the country dates to the first half of the 20th century, with some installed before Theodore Roosevelt was in the White House.

Age inevitably takes a toll. There are 240,000 breaks a year, according to the National Association of Water Companies, a problem compounded by stress from an increasing population and budget crunches that slow the pace of replacement.


Which is why the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gave U.S. water infrastructure a D grade last year (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-19/u-s-water-infrastructure-given-d-grade-by-asce-group.html), and the EPA says we need a $384 billion upgrade (http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-water-survey-20130604-story.html).

Or, you know, as ASCE said in their report (http://www.asce.org/uploadedFiles/Infrastructure/Failure_to_Act/Water%20Report%20Executive%20Summary.pdf), we could do nothing and live with water shortages and higher rates.

http://grist.org/news/the-country-could-supply-all-of-california-with-water-if-we-fixed-our-leaky-pipes/?utm_source=syndication&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed

[Wild Cobra]

The U.S. could supply all of California with water if we fixed our leaky pipes


Much of the piping that carries drinking water in the country dates to the first half of the 20th century, with some installed before Theodore Roosevelt was in the White House.

Age inevitably takes a toll. There are 240,000 breaks a year, according to the National Association of Water Companies, a problem compounded by stress from an increasing population and budget crunches that slow the pace of replacement.


Which is why the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gave U.S. water infrastructure a D grade last year (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-19/u-s-water-infrastructure-given-d-grade-by-asce-group.html), and the EPA says we need a $384 billion upgrade (http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-water-survey-20130604-story.html).

Or, you know, as ASCE said in their report (http://www.asce.org/uploadedFiles/Infrastructure/Failure_to_Act/Water%20Report%20Executive%20Summary.pdf), we could do nothing and live with water shortages and higher rates.

http://grist.org/news/the-country-could-supply-all-of-california-with-water-if-we-fixed-our-leaky-pipes/?utm_source=syndication&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed




Then we would have less ground water for wells.

Folsom is back to average values at over 400,000 acre-feet.

[boutons_deux]

Then we would have less ground water for wells.

Folsom is back to average values at over 400,000 acre-feet.

so the drought's over! great!

[Wild Cobra]

so the drought's over! great!

If you believe in using one data point, then... OK...

[MannyIsGod]

The U.S. could supply all of California with water if we fixed our leaky pipes

Much of the piping that carries drinking water in the country dates to the first half of the 20th century, with some installed before Theodore Roosevelt was in the White House.

Age inevitably takes a toll. There are 240,000 breaks a year, according to the National Association of Water Companies, a problem compounded by stress from an increasing population and budget crunches that slow the pace of replacement.


Which is why the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gave U.S. water infrastructure a D grade last year (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-19/u-s-water-infrastructure-given-d-grade-by-asce-group.html), and the EPA says we need a $384 billion upgrade (http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-water-survey-20130604-story.html).

Or, you know, as ASCE said in their report (http://www.asce.org/uploadedFiles/Infrastructure/Failure_to_Act/Water%20Report%20Executive%20Summary.pdf), we could do nothing and live with water shortages and higher rates.

http://grist.org/news/the-country-could-supply-all-of-california-with-water-if-we-fixed-our-leaky-pipes/?utm_source=syndication&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed




One of the stupidest ways to make a point. I agree our infrastructure needs work, but saving water in most of the country doesn't really matter as the water shortages are in very specific areas. The main problem with the Colorado river basin is that there are too many people using water for agriculture in places you shouldn't be growing shit. Overpopulation in some of those areas is an issue as well. Fixing infrastructure in our country isn't going to put a dent in either of those.

[TDMVPDPOY]

maybe u clowns or the state of cali should come down here to my state and purchase this 3 year old decommission desalination plant taxpayers paid $3billion and over budget, guess who we got to build it? yeh thats right the french wankers...

anyway that shit was built when my state had no rain, then all these climate change wankers come out of their rocks spruiking shit about elnino weather patterns and shit...what a waste of money

[Winehole23]

Ongoing drought induced uplift: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/2014/08/20/science.1260279

[boutons_deux]

This is what drought looks like (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/21/1323549/-Shocking-photos-This-is-what-drought-looks-like)


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/21/1323549/-Shocking-photos-This-is-what-drought-looks-like?detail=email

[RandomGuy]

Ongoing drought induced uplift: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/2014/08/20/science.1260279

heard about that.

Trippy, ain't it?

[RandomGuy]

This is what drought looks like (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/21/1323549/-Shocking-photos-This-is-what-drought-looks-like)


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/21/1323549/-Shocking-photos-This-is-what-drought-looks-like?detail=email



http://images.dailykos.com/images/101378/large/shasta2.jpg?1408649263

Zoinks.

[boutons_deux]

http://images.dailykos.com/images/101378/large/shasta2.jpg?1408649263

Zoinks.

quit derailing my thread

[Wild Cobra]

quit derailing my thread

Poor Shazbot.

http://getrealphilippines.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/CRYBABY-TELLING-THE-TRUTH.jpg

[RandomGuy]

Europe has no natural gas. In a world market they have a choice. Buy LNG or buy Russian gas. Russia knows that. Russia prices their piped NG as high as they can and still beat the price of LNG.

Are you really that stupid?

I would be willing to bet prices will fall globally, once the LNG terminals get rolling, and LNG prices will come down as well.

Russia gets its nuts in a clamp either way.

[CosmicCowboy]

I would be willing to bet prices will fall globally, once the LNG terminals get rolling, and LNG prices will come down as well.

Russia gets its nuts in a clamp either way.

Agreed. LNG is the US's most potent weapon against Putin and Obama won't release the permits.

[TheSanityAnnex]

There is nothing really the average citizen can do here in CA. As a whole, citizens of CA use 20% of the water. The other 80% is used by agriculture. Even if every CA citizen reduced their use by 25% the amount saved is literally a drop in the bucket. Yet the citizens are the one's being fined for watering their lawn on the wrong day. It's bullshit.

[Wild Cobra]

There is nothing really the average citizen can do here in CA. As a whole, citizens of CA use 20% of the water. The other 80% is used by agriculture. Even if every CA citizen reduced their use by 25% the amount saved is literally a drop in the bucket. Yet the citizens are the one's being fined for watering their lawn on the wrong day. It's bullshit.
Consider it a perk living in California.

You can water your lawn with bottled water!

[boutons_deux]

There is nothing really the average citizen can do here in CA. As a whole, citizens of CA use 20% of the water. The other 80% is used by agriculture. Even if every CA citizen reduced their use by 25% the amount saved is literally a drop in the bucket. Yet the citizens are the one's being fined for watering their lawn on the wrong day. It's bullshit.

I read where if farmers spent a few $100Ms to replace wasteful flood irrigation with efficient drip irrigation, there'd be enough water for everyone.

[TheSanityAnnex]

I read where if farmers spent a few $100Ms to replace wasteful flood irrigation with efficient drip irrigation, there'd be enough water for everyone.
Exact link please.

[boutons_deux]

Exact link please.

I can't find it..

I also read if CA farmers reduced their EXTRAVAGANT wastage of water by 6%, then plenty of water for everybody.

The switch to drip has been going on and on going:

Flood irrigation still common, but drip method is gaining groundhttp://www.mullerranch.com/making_news/sacbee_drip_2_2014.html

Another CA water conservation would be replace the canals (heavy evaporation losses, esp in the NV/CA deserts) with pipelines.

along with cheap transport fuel as peak oil has passed, cheap/free water era in the desert/semi-desert West should be considered over.

[boutons_deux]

California Has Given Out Rights To Five Times More Water Than It Actually Has (http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/08/20/3473775/california-water-rights-five-times/)


http://thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/shutterstock_59127769-e1408556330416-638x425.jpg

http://thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/la-water-rights-graphic-20140819-e1408556036101.png

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/08/20/3473775/california-water-rights-five-times/

[Cry Havoc]

Folsom was at the low level of about 169,000 acre feet when that picture was taken. Today, it is back to 292,200 acre feet.

http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cdecapp/resapp/resDetailOrig.action?resid=FOL

A reservoir is meant to be used. If the water level never goes up and down, then why make one?

:lmao

[Cry Havoc]

Why should I be shocked that WC is trying to argue with facts that aren't even up for debate? He would literally have the ego to try to talk down to people with PhDs in their respective fields because he thinks he can "outlogik" them.

[Wild Cobra]

As of now it's 154,516. So, even lower than in the photo on the right.

Where are you getting your info at?

It's at 386,291 AF.

http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cdecapp/resapp/getResGraphOiginal.action?resid=FOL&waterYears=1976&waterYears=1982&waterYears=2013

[Cry Havoc]

Where are you getting your info at?

It's at 386,291 AF.

http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cdecapp/resapp/getResGraphOiginal.action?resid=FOL&waterYears=1976&waterYears=1982&waterYears=2013

My error, I thought it was 40% of 386k.

It's still 40% of capacity. Which is incredibly low. Which means it could go a lot lower without any rain.

[Wild Cobra]

Folsom Lake 8/24/14:

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x262/Wild_Cobra/Global%20Warming/FolsomLakeRecord2014-08-24_zpsd08714fa.png

[Cry Havoc]

http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/2014-08/11/16/enhanced/webdr04/enhanced-2170-1407788800-23.jpg

But we don't need to worry, because our reservoirs are at 40% of capacity. :lol

[Wild Cobra]

It's only going to get worse as the population increases.

[Cry Havoc]

It's only going to get worse as the population increases.

You said it's not unusual. Do you retract that statement now?

[Wild Cobra]

You said it's not unusual. Do you retract that statement now?

Why should I? There were three or four periods of time the level was lower, and with a smaller population. Now should it have become as low as it did in January with a smaller population, I would be more concerned. The low periods will likely get worse and worse as the population increases, because rain is not going to increase with population.

[Cry Havoc]

Why should I? There were three or four periods of time the level was lower, and with a smaller population. Now should it have become as low as it did in January with a smaller population, I would be more concerned. The low periods will likely get worse and worse as the population increases, because rain is not going to increase with population.

Why are you basing your entire argument around reservoir levels? Do you realize that they are not the only factors of importance in this situation?

[Wild Cobra]

Why are you basing your entire argument around reservoir levels? Do you realize that they are not the only factors of importance in this situation?
I can agree with that, but the OP focused on Folsom.

[boutons_deux]

California's 1-Percenters Are Flush With Water as the Rest of the State Remains Parched

While most of California worries, cuts back, and braces for the worst of this epic drought, the Golden State's 1-percenters are staying flush with water. While some are obeying public water restrictions and having it shipped in by the truckload to their mansions in the tony exurbs of Santa Barbara County, others are just breaking the rules and paying hefty fines for not obeying local water restrictions.

Politico reports (http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/08/california-drought-lifestyles-of-the-rich-and-parched-110305.html#ixzz3BbjOOraQ) that tanker trucks filled with water make routine deliveries to the grand manors of the rich and famous, carting up to 5,000 gallons of water to the regions wealthiest residences. The beltway newspaper reports that Oprah Winfrey, one of Montecito's richest and most noteworthy residents, gets one of these water deliveries on a regular basis. This has helped the talk show queen keep things flowing at her 40-acre estate. Oprah, whose water bill from the Montecito Water District was almost $125,000 last year, has cut her municipal water use in half this year, but she still needs massive deliveries of H2O to make it work.

Montecito Journal columnist Bob Hazard, says he would not be surprised if some of the town's wealthiest are "paying as much as $15,000 a month for trucked-in water." Still, not all Montecito residents are relying on water shipments to make up the difference. They are just ignoring the restrictions.

More than 800 consumers in the water district have already been hit with penalties totaling more than $500,000 altogether, which means they wasted some 13 million gallons of public water. One homeowner was reportedly hit with a $30,000 fine. And it's not only homeowners who are pirating the trickle of water the area gets from its aquifer; the Biltmore Four Seasons Hotel was hit with a hefty fine of nearly $50,000. According to Politico, there will be about $4 million in fines levied to Montecito Water District users this year.

http://www.alternet.org/rich-people-hog-water-during-drought?akid=12173.187590.4xzguI&rd=1&src=newsletter1017040&t=3

[SnakeBoy]

You said it's not unusual. Do you retract that statement now?

The drought itself is not unusual. Historically decadal droughts and even megadroughts are normal for the west/southwestern US. What point are you trying to make exactly?

[baseline bum]

Folsom Lake 8/24/14:

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x262/Wild_Cobra/Global%20Warming/FolsomLakeRecord2014-08-24_zpsd08714fa.png

Fucking 1977 drought was crazy. Tioga Pass Road in Yosemite that goes up to 9900 feet or so was opened in February; it usually opens around Memorial Day and now they do all kinds of blasting and spreading charcoal on the snow to melt it more quickly, which I doubt they did then. Shit, I wonder if they even plowed the road that year.

[Cry Havoc]

The drought itself is not unusual. Historically decadal droughts and even megadroughts are normal for the west/southwestern US. What point are you trying to make exactly?

"The worst in the history of the state" is not unusual to you? These aren't desert areas. They're arable land that produce more cash crop than anywhere else in the United States.

[boutons_deux]

"The drought itself is not unusual."

they're talking about this being the worst in at least 500 years.

[SnakeBoy]

"The worst in the history of the state" is not unusual to you? These aren't desert areas. They're arable land that produce more cash crop than anywhere else in the United States.

Well it's the worst since keeping records which isn't very long.

http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/9a/8b/6b/9a8b6b00cdb7050c8b95c0f0deccbecb.jpg

Eventually we'll see levels of drought that causes an eastward migration. Maybe it's starting now, maybe not, who really knows.


http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/the-worst-drought-in-the-history-of-california-is-happening-right-now
Scientists tell us that the 20th century was the wettest century in the western half of the United States in 1000 years, and that extremely dry conditions are normally what we should expect for most areas from the Pacific Ocean to the Mississippi River. If long-term conditions truly are “returning to normal”, then the state of California could be heading for a water crisis of unprecedented magnitude.

[Cry Havoc]

Well it's the worst since keeping records which isn't very long.

http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/9a/8b/6b/9a8b6b00cdb7050c8b95c0f0deccbecb.jpg

Eventually we'll see levels of drought that causes an eastward migration. Maybe it's starting now, maybe not, who really knows.

So you clarified a "normal" drought by saying that it hasn't happened since at least 1475. Cool story.

[SnakeBoy]

So you clarified a "normal" drought by saying that it hasn't happened since at least 1475. Cool story.

History can be a cool story. Again, exactly what point are you trying to make. If it's just that drought sucks, then welcome to the party Cali.

[Cry Havoc]

History can be a cool story. Again, exactly what point are you trying to make. If it's just that drought sucks, then welcome to the party Cali.

Routinely in the Earth's history meteors and/or volcanic eruptions have devastated civilization. Do you have a shelter for those? Why not? According to the historical timeline they're common occurrences.

[SnakeBoy]

Routinely in the Earth's history meteors and/or volcanic eruptions have devastated civilization. Do you have a shelter for those? Why not? According to the historical timeline they're common occurrences.

What point are you trying to make in regards to the Cali drought?

[DarrinS]

It's all those damn celebrity ice bucket challenges.

[Cry Havoc]

What point are you trying to make in regards to the Cali drought?

It's rare enough that it hasn't happened in the history of modern Western civilization, and could have drastic impacts on the state and the country? No one is saying this has never happened in Earth's history before. They're worried about the crops and preserving the resource. That means taking action to attend to the water supply. This thread is a discussion based around the impact it will have on humans living in California. What point are you trying to make by saying it's a common thing, referencing centuries in the past? If an 8.0 earthquake hits San Francisco tomorrow, will you also shrug it off because it's a relatively common occurrence in the history of the planet?

[SnakeBoy]

It's rare enough that it hasn't happened in the history of modern Western civilization, and could have drastic impacts on the state and the country? No one is saying this has never happened in Earth's history before. They're worried about the crops and preserving the resource. That means taking action to attend to the water supply.

Thanks for finally answering my original question. It was not at all clear to me that was the point you were trying to make.


What point are you trying to make by saying it's a common thing, referencing centuries in the past? If an 8.0 earthquake hits San Francisco tomorrow, will you also shrug it off because it's a relatively common occurrence in the history of the planet?

I'm not shrugging off anything. We've been in a drought for almost a decade, my well is almost dry and I've had to have water trucked in this summer. Drought sucks.

My point was just what I posted. The entire recorded history of Cali is the unusual period. As the article I linked said, "If long-term conditions truly are “returning to normal”, then the state of California could be heading for a water crisis of unprecedented magnitude. "

[boutons_deux]

Corporate Greed Forces First City In California To Run Out Of Water

For the past year meteorological experts, NASA, and hydrologists have been warning that the exceptionally severe mega-drought plaguing California would dry up the state’s water supply within two years. One California town began running out of water in May and is now bone dry (http://news.yahoo.com/california-community-suffers-wells-dry-drought-161831033.html) and many more are following suit. In an area with the most fertile soil in America’s most productive agricultural region, the city of East Portersville is without water, and over 500 wells supplying the life-sustaining necessity for residents and farmers have completely dried up. Residents now have to drive (http://news.yahoo.com/california-community-suffers-wells-dry-drought-161831033.html) to the local fire station, hand-pump water into barrels, and take it back home to drink, bathe, and flush the toilet; this in an area near what was at one time the largest freshwater lake west of the Great Lakes.

In fact, dozens of communities report they are “on the verge of running out of water,” and many say their water supply will be exhausted (http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/09/27/growing-list-of-norcal-communities-counties-running-out-of-water-in-just-60-days/) within 60 days; if they are lucky.

There are also 14 communities on California’s “critical list” that have started trucking in water and expect that what precious little they have will not last much longer.

Across California, all 154 of its reservoirs are below 50% (http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/reservoirs/RES) of their historic average and that estimate is being extremely generous according to images of the state’s lakes and reservoirs.

To make matters worse, as if that is possible, what little water the state has available is being poisoned by the oil industry due to fracking; particularly in the Central Valley where East Porterville is located. This past July state regulators shut down (http://www.desmogblog.com/2014/07/21/california-orders-emergency-shutdown-fracking-wastewater-injection-sites-over-fears-contaminated-aquifers)eleven fracking wastewater injection wells because they were suspected of being responsible for contaminating water wells and shrinking aquifers with toxins and carcinogens; particularly in highly productive agricultural areas.

After the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) ordered a report to assess potential damage to groundwater supplies, they revealed that the oil industry did poison the dwindling water supply for agriculture and human consumption with no regard for the health and well-being of the people; or financial devastation to agriculture. Agriculture, by the way, that is responsible for providing food for a large portion of America and the world’s population, and as their water supply dries up, food costs are going to rise exponentially.

Adding to the loss of water due to oil industry greed and pollution, is the corporate greed driving Nestlé’s extraction and bottling of Californians’ water; water they sell back to parched consumers and the state to distribute to Californians in poorer rural regions. It is tantamount to water-theft because unlike farmers, individual Californians, and every municipality in the state, Nestle is exempt from complying with state water-saving efforts or regulations because they are pumping water on Native American reservations. Nestlé’s disregard for Californians’ water needs was expressed by the former CEO and current Chairman who exhibited the mindset driving corporate greed.

According to Nestlé Chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, water is not (http://youtu.be/B1a3tjqQiBI) a basic human right, and that if human beings get thirsty they have to pay Nestlé for bottled water. It takes the term corporate greed to a new level to, on the one hand, pump California’s water supply dry, bottle it, and then sell it back to thirsty Californians. Nestlé has a history of going into rural areas and extracting groundwater to sell in bottles “completely destroying the water supply without any compensation.”

In one rural area of California suffering from the drought, Corporate Watch documented that Nestle “actually makes rural areas foot the bill (http://www.alternet.org/story/52526/rural_communities_exploited_by_nestle_for_your_bot tled_water)” for taking the water and selling it back to consumers; most likely in the California towns where the wells are drying up.

http://www.politicususa.com/2014/10/25/corporate-greed-caused-city-california-run-water.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+politicususa%2FfJAl+%28Politi cus+USA+%29

[boutons_deux]

The Decline of California Agriculture Has Begun
http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2014/10/california_central_valley_agriculture_drought_and_ climate_change_photos.html

[Fabbs]

After the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) ordered a report to assess potential damage to groundwater supplies, they revealed that the oil industry did poison the dwindling water supply for agriculture and human consumption with no regard for the health and well-being of the people; or financial devastation to agriculture.

[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]Adding to the loss of water due to oil industry greed and pollution, is the corporate greed driving Nestlé’s extraction and bottling of Californians’ water; water they sell back to parched consumers and the state to distribute to Californians in poorer rural regions. It is tantamount to water-theft because unlike farmers, individual Californians, and every municipality in the state, Nestle is exempt from complying with state water-saving efforts or regulations because they are pumping water on Native American reservations. Nestlé’s disregard for Californians’ water needs was expressed by the former CEO and current Chairman who exhibited the mindset driving corporate greed.

According to Nestlé Chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, water is not (http://youtu.be/B1a3tjqQiBI) a basic human right, and that if human beings get thirsty they have to pay Nestlé for bottled water. It takes the term corporate greed to a new level to, on the one hand, pump California’s water supply dry, bottle it, and then sell it back to thirsty Californians. Nestlé has a history of going into rural areas and extracting groundwater to sell in bottles “completely destroying the water supply without any compensation.”

In one rural area of California suffering from the drought, Corporate Watch documented that Nestle “actually makes rural areas foot the bill (http://www.alternet.org/story/52526/rural_communities_exploited_by_nestle_for_your_bot tled_water)” for taking the water and selling it back to consumers; most likely in the California towns where the wells are drying up.

http://www.politicususa.com/2014/10/25/corporate-greed-caused-city-california-run-water.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+politicususa%2FfJAl+%28Politi cus+USA+%29



And the *EPA*s fine to the oil pigs was, let me guess, 50 cents? That was later suspended?

2. Nestle dude Peter Brabeck-Letmathe is on the board of directors of Credit Suisse Group, L'Oréal, and ExxonMobil. :lol

[Winehole23]

"California’s Sacramento and San Joaquin river basins have lost roughly 15 cubic kilometers of total water per year since 2011," he writes. That's "more water than all 38 million Californians use for domestic and municipal supplies annually — over half of which is due to groundwater pumping in the Central Valley."

Famiglietti uses satellite data to measure how much water people are sucking out of the globe's aquifers, and his summarized his research in his new paper.


More than two billion people rely on water pumped from aquifers as their primary water source, Famiglietti writes. Known as groundwater (as opposed to "surface water," the stuff that settles in lakes and flows in streams and rivers), it's also the source of at least half the irrigation water we rely on to grow our food. When drought hits, of course, farmers rely on groundwater even more, because less rain and snow means less water flowing above ground.


The lesson Famiglietti draws from satellite data is chilling: "Groundwater is being pumped at far greater rates than it can be naturally replenished, so that many of the largest aquifers on most continents are being mined, their precious contents never to be returned."

http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2014/10/caliifornia-groundwater-withdrawal-china-india-middle-east

http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/v4/n11/full/nclimate2425.html

[Fabbs]

Confirmed: California Aquifers Contaminated With Billions Of Gallons of Fracking Wastewater

After California state regulators shut down 11 fracking wastewater injection wells last July over concerns that the wastewater might have contaminated aquifers used for drinking water and farm irrigation, the EPA ordered a report within 60 days.

It was revealed yesterday that the California State Water Resources Board has sent a letter to the EPA confirming that at least nine of those sites were in fact dumping wastewater contaminated with fracking fluids and other pollutants into aquifers protected by state law and the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.

The letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Center for Biological Diversity, reveals that nearly 3 billion gallons of wastewater were illegally injected into central California aquifers and that half of the water samples collected at the 8 water supply wells tested near the injection sites have high levels of dangerous chemicals such as arsenic, a known carcinogen that can also weaken the human immune system, and thallium, a toxin used in rat poison.

Timothy Krantz, a professor of environmental studies at the University of Redlands, says these chemicals could pose a serious risk to public health: “The fact that high concentrations are showing up in multiple water wells close to wastewater injection sites raises major concerns about the health and safety of nearby residents.”

The full extent of the contamination is not yet known. Regulators at the State Water Resources Board said that as many as 19 other injection wells could have been contaminating protected aquifers, and the Central Valley Water Board has so far only tested 8 of the nearly 100 nearby water wells.

Fracking has been accused of exacerbating California's epic state-wide drought, but the Central Valley region, which has some of the worst air and water pollution in the state, has borne a disproportionate amount of the impacts from oil companies' increasing use of the controversial oil extraction technique.

News of billions of gallons of fracking wastewater contaminating protected aquifers relied on by residents of the Central Valley for drinking water could not have come at a worse time.

Adding insult to injury, fracking is a water-intensive process, using as much as 140,000 to 150,000 gallons per frack job every day, permanently removing it from the water cycle.

Hollin Kretzmann, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, says these new revelations prove state regulators have failed to protect Californians and the environment from fracking and called on Governor Jerry Brown to take action now to prevent an even bigger water emergency in drought-stricken California.

“Much more testing is needed to gauge the full extent of water pollution and the threat to public health,” Krezmann says. “But Governor Brown should move quickly to halt fracking to ward off a surge in oil industry wastewater that California simply isn’t prepared to dispose of safely.”

http://www.desmogblog.com/2014/10/07...ref_map=%5B%5D

[Wild Cobra]

Hang'em by their fraking balls!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7KcpgQKo2I