04-12-2010, 04:04 PM
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.
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.