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+--- Thread: OT: All you West Coasters; Drought "officially" over? (/showthread.php?tid=95643)
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Re: OT: All you West Coasters; Drought "officially" over? - numbered - 04-12-2010
I think the story is that the drought will be with us always...
This last set of storms will bring the Sierra up above average for the year. The State hesitates to call the drought over because:
--three years of "overdrafts" have left reservoirs--particularly Oroville--very low
--San Joaquin Valley farmers have been pumping groundwater like mad. This means the valley floor subsides, and you can never get it back, and
--the Bush administration sold more water than than is sustainable given average rainfall to farmers on the West side of the Valley (the Westlands Water District) . (I do not want to make this a big political thing for the other side.) This district has "junior" water rights (meaning that they can use the leftover water, if there is any.) Of course, if you own land there and are a big agribusiness firm you prefer to get water every year.
Thus, there will never be enough, by politics.
Re: OT: All you West Coasters; Drought "officially" over? - numbered - 04-12-2010
btw, freeradical, I love the _Chinatown_ picture!
But we cannot blame SoCal this time....
Re: OT: All you West Coasters; Drought "officially" over? - N-OS X-tasy! - 04-12-2010
We live in a desert. The drought will never be over.
Re: OT: All you West Coasters; Drought "officially" over? - Filliam H. Muffman - 04-12-2010
What GGD and numbered said.
Lake Oroville is way below average. I believe it is one of the main factors for determining Fed water deliveries. The promised amount for those deliveries was just raised to 25% of requested volumes, up from 15% about three months ago.
Snow pack readings are just over average. Two more cold storms before the next snow pack measurement would provide a nice cushion for the rest of the year and should end most voluntary restrictions for local water districts.
Re: OT: All you West Coasters; Drought "officially" over? - zero - 04-12-2010
DP wrote:
Storm after storm this winter and more on the way from San Diego to Seattle. So, is the drought in CA over?
Yes, the 0.2in of rain we received last night fixed everything!
Re: OT: All you West Coasters; Drought "officially" over? - vision63 - 04-12-2010
As long as there is a glass of water to drink (for me and my friends the delta smelt), I'm fine. 80 percent of the water is sprayed over crops so it's more a drought for agribusiness. As they say on the signs on the highways through farm country in California "No Water, No Food." They mean no food for them. Mexico will hook us up with grub. The rest of us that use the 20 percent have to bend over in conservation.