Water situation in California

[Just AnotherPerson]

Well California has been dealing with tremendous amounts of snow and rain this year. They didn't want to let go of the declared drought, but they have finally relented and relaxed their drought restrictions for some parts of California. They themselves have said they needed the drought declaration in order to fast track planned water projects. This means it's not just about reality but also about agenda. It was a tough winter for some in California this year.

"Having a drought emergency declaration in place allows the state, under its emergency powers, to fast-track some water projects, such as well drilling, water transfers or groundwater banks, without following all the dictates of the California Environmental Quality Act, which often requires long studies. It also allows state agencies to waive competitive bidding rules for drought-related emergency projects, such as providing bottled drinking water to rural farm communities whose wells fail or run dry.

With the extremely wet winter, Newsom had little choice but to begin relaxing drought rules, said Jay Lund, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at UC Davis.

“You have to do it,” he said. “When it’s raining out, you can’t ask customers to be troubled with saving a lot of water when the reservoirs are full. It starts to jeopardize credibility with the public. It has some appeal to some environmentalists, but you don’t want to be crying wolf. It makes people not trust the government.”

On Thursday, 64% of California was no longer in a drought, up from just 3% three months ago, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a weekly report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The report, which looks at reservoir levels, groundwater, soil moisture, rainfall and other factors, showed all Bay Area counties and all coastal counties, along with most of the Sierra Nevada, drought free".

https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2023/03...drought-rules/

[Just AnotherPerson]

"Mandatory water restrictions are being lifted for nearly 7 million people across Southern California following winter storms that have boosted reservoirs and eased the severe shortage that emerged during the state’s driest three-year period on record.

Citing improvements in available supplies, the board of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has decided to end an emergency conservation mandate for agencies in Los Angeles, Ventura and San Bernardino counties that rely on water from the State Water Project. However, officials urged residents and businesses to continue conserving, and to prepare for expected cuts in supplies from the Colorado River.

The announcement follows an onslaught of atmospheric rivers that have dumped near-record snowfall in the Sierra Nevada and pushed the state‘s flood infrastructure to its limits. It also comes as a new Los Angeles Times/Suffolk University poll shows that 67% of surveyed Los Angeles residents say they still support having mandatory water restrictions this year because of the Colorado River’s severe shortage.

“This year’s very wet weather has improved our water supply conditions enough that we no longer need to mandate the most serious of the restrictions that we had on nearly 7 million people,” said Brad Coffey, Metropolitan’s water resource manager. “But because we have to refill our storage that’s been drawn down by this drought, and because of the longstanding drought on the Colorado River, we’re still asking consumers to conserve. Conserving lets us refill storage and be prepared for another dry year.”

https://www.latimes.com/environment/...llion-in-socal

[carolina73]

The problem for Southern CA is that their major water supply will not increase significantly until the snowfall in the CO basin starts to melt and flow downstream.

Northern California reservoirs are filled from what I have read.

[Just AnotherPerson]

"The historic and long-gone Tulare Lake is on the verge of dramatically reappearing because atmospheric rivers pounding California are leaving water managers with no other place to divert flood releases.

All that incoming water is giving farmers on the lake bottom a headache, but environmentalists see it as an opportunity to restore the lake – perhaps permanently – which last emerged in 1983 in another big wet year.
Meanwhile, officials in Corcoran – situated in the old lakebed south of Fresno and the site of two state prisons – said recently reinforced levees will protect the city when the record southern Sierra snowpack melts.

But at the moment, some communities aren’t so lucky".

https://news.yahoo.com/tulare-lake-r...204905615.html


"In writing this, I realize it might already be too late. Water from swollen Sierra rivers and creeks is already making its way toward the historic lake bed in Kings County. And this is probably just the start.

An aerial photograph posted on Twitter by Justin Mendes, a regulatory specialist for the Tulare Lake Basin Water Storage District, showed a swath of agriculture fields in the former lake bottom covered in water. There are reports of flooded orchards almost as far south as Highway 46 in Kern County. And of course Lake Kaweah and Lake Success continue to pour over their respective spillways, forcing evacuations of downstream communities and contributing to flooded sections of Highway 99.

Unless captured and diverted, all that water is headed for what used to be Tulare Lake. For the simple reason that there’s nowhere else for it to go".

https://news.yahoo.com/california-ra...171033625.html

[Just AnotherPerson]

[blackjack21]

We go through drought and flood cycles every 10 years or so. The media hypes it all up either way. All the major reservoirs except Trinity are above historical average at this point.

[Mini Me]

CAL needs a wet El Nino winter next year to get all the state out of drougt.

[RMNIXON]

The problem for Southern CA is that their major water supply will not increase significantly until the snowfall in the CO basin starts to melt and flow downstream.

Northern California reservoirs are filled from what I have read.

But the snowpack is there again and getting deeper even now.....................

[carolina73]

But the snowpack is there again and getting deeper even now.....................

But lake Mead and Lake Powell are still extremely low leaving the rest of Southern California need 3 repeats of this years snowfall to catch up, if no water is used.

LA may be okay but to the south is still in trouble long term.

[carolina73]

CAL needs a wet El Nino winter next year to get all the state out of drougt.

Rain does the So Cal no real benefit. It flows into the ocean. They should be finding ways to capture run off for use on golf courses and farms.