OT Just how bad is the drought? Just curious OT

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this just in

climber

north fork

Jan 27, 2014 - 10:50am PT

The air quality is so bad, driving home from Bakersfield last week a little bit of wind made the place look like the dust bowl. Oh wait I wasn't alive for that. We need the rain to clear that sh#t out.
REI in Fresno didn't stock ski and snow this year, Targhetto has bikinis for sale already. Shitty year to be an injured climber.

patrick compton

Trad climber

van

Jan 27, 2014 - 11:00am PT

Does it matter where the water came from? Or where it would go if it weren't used to irrigate lawns or golf courses?

uh yeah, its called FOOD!

TGT

Social climber

So Cal

Jan 27, 2014 - 11:03am PT

A statewide mandate won't help anything.

Individual water districts know full well what their situation is can (and will) mandate restrictions locally as required.

rottingjohnny

Sport climber

mammoth lakes ca

Jan 27, 2014 - 11:14am PT

People are leaving California...Lack of jobs and high taxes and now lack of water...Too many people and lack of water..Something has to give...Mammoth Mt. just announced the construction of yet another mini village in town...This announcement comes after LADWP sued the Mammoth County Water District reducing the amount of water that will stay in Mammoth Creek...I skied with a local water scientist who keeps informing the local planning commission that there is no more water to be had but this warning falls on deaf ears...Of course any new water exploration gets pasted on to the local rate payers proving that corporate welfare is alive and well..

the albatross

Gym climber

Flagstaff

Jan 27, 2014 - 11:27am PT

Here is a link to a California Water Commission website which shows the current levels of the major reservoirs in the state. Though I am only an amateur scientist, it seems alarming the low level of the reservoirs.

http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cdecapp/resapp/getResGraphsMain.action

Elcapinyoazz

Social climber

Joshua Tree

Jan 27, 2014 - 11:28am PT

People are leaving California

Um, no.

Patrick Sawyer

climber

Originally California now Ireland

Topic Author's Reply - Jan 27, 2014 - 11:30am PT

I say, let's invade BC, and Ireland too. Ireland has the water if you have the means, declare war now.

Build a canal from BC to California, let's suck the Canadians' water, like what was done with the Owen's Valley, Colorado River, northern California water. Those swimming pools in So Cal need watering.

The Canucks won't mind when they are looking at a nuclear missile pointing at them. Bypass Seattle, land of my father and brothers, run it down Highway 395, and drain Tahoe, it's too deep anyway. May be some good climbing there below the water line, when it dries out.

Forget Hetch Hetchy, it's an eyesore anyway.

Water, water, my kingdom for some water.

SoCal is a frikkin desert

Too right Patrick. I blame the Spanish missionaries and then Hollywood and film companies, setting up in what is basically a desert to avoid patent lawsuits in New York.

Actually, there is an ongoing 'scandal' here in Ireland with some of the salaries, benefits and pensions being paid to senior members of Irish Water.

Water meters are being introduced in Ireland now, and State-body Irish Water is the overseer. Ireland has had some water problems, but it is poor infrastructure rather than lack of precipitation (boy, do we get that), leaking pipes, corrupt officials and politicians.

It is just a matter of time before Irish Water is privatized, as in many other countries. And who is positioning himself to take over, that billionaire D O'B ("I am not a crook", Richard Nixon, November 1973), though the Moriarty Tribunal thinks otherwise. But no smoking gun and now he's flying Bill Clinton around on his (Denny's) private Gulfstream, rubbing elbows with other (crooked???) billionaires in Davos. Denis is NOT crooked by the way. And don't let it on, but I free-soloed The Nose, bypassing the chiseled holds.

O’Brien paid €45 million to take control of Siteserve, a company which has been described as an ‘infrastructure and utilities support services’ business. But one of its divisions is in civil engineering and its activities are described as ‘water networks rehabilitation/water meters’.

Damn, I should have gotten into the brown envelope game instead of journalism.

Back to water, Ireland has plenty but it is mismanaged. Likewise in California… mismanagement that is.

Climate change? History would show that weather patterns in California have been much the same over the decades. Is this changing? Time will tell.

Elcapinyoazz

Social climber

Joshua Tree

Jan 27, 2014 - 11:51am PT

^^^
Irish water problem? WTF. Buy a cistern and a bottle of Clorox, and give the govt the finger.

PAUL SOUZA

Trad climber

Central Valley, CA

Jan 27, 2014 - 12:01pm PT

A few photos from this past weekend. Still can't believe how DRY this season has been! *sigh*

Patrick Sawyer

climber

Originally California now Ireland

Topic Author's Reply - Jan 27, 2014 - 12:20pm PT

Actually Elcapinyoazz, in my previous residence in Dalkey, I did have two water butts (no jokes please) that would collect runoff from my greenhouse.

California's water problems are down to a number of issues, primarily weather.

Ireland's water problems (yes there are) are down to poor management, crap civil servants and politicians, and greedy companies and wealthy individuals looking to make more money off the average person.

It is playing out as I write.

Money that over the years, especially the Celtic Tiger years, that should have put into infrastructure went instead into the banks, developers, politicians and wealthy "businesspeople".

And one particular man is gearing himself up to not fix the infrastructure but to bleed the people of their money. But he is not the only one, of course. These leeches are in every country.

And put aside the money from telecoms (where he found his fortune), media, cars, gas, energy… water is the most powerful "tool" for making money. We all need water.

And just about 99.999% of the world is helpless to prevent water from making the rich richer.

"Chinatown", a brillant film of the water wars. The Owens Valley used to be green, Hetch Hetchy was sacrificed. The California Aqueduct, voted for because the Southland had more political clout. East Bay Mud (East Bay Municipal Utility District), used to have water that was not mud, some of the best in the US, yes sourced primarily from the Sierra.

Then the drought of 1977, and Contra Costa Water District struck a deal to exchange water with East Bay Mud, and it was noticeable in the first few months the quality of EBMUD water was going down, as Contra Costa Water used the delta as a major source, and we know that the quality of water flowing in the delta from both the Sacrament and San Joaquin rivers was being compromised over the years.

In some ways I wish I was an evil and corrupt "entrepreneur", then I could make it rich on water. But could I sleep at night.

Sure, I'll just tow what's left of the icebergs from both poles. I'll be long dead before a global water crisis affects me. Or will I?

kunlun_shan

Mountain climber

SF, CA

Jan 27, 2014 - 12:22pm PT

Build a canal from BC to California, let's suck the Canadians' water,

Patrick, that was seriously proposed about 20 years ago. Some company wanted to lower Shuswap Lake (in BC) by about a meter to pipe water to California. Local residents were up in arms and the whole thing fizzled.

I was reading the following story in the San Jose Mercury last night about California's history of drought. We could be in for serious times considering what has happened in the past.

http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_24993601/california-drought-past-dry-periods-have-lasted-more

Through studies of tree rings, sediment and other natural evidence, researchers have documented multiple droughts in California that lasted 10 or 20 years in a row during the past 1,000 years -- compared to the mere three-year duration of the current dry spell. The two most severe megadroughts make the Dust Bowl of the 1930s look tame: a 240-year-long drought that started in 850 and, 50 years after the conclusion of that one, another that stretched at least 180 years.

Reilly

Mountain climber

The Other Monrovia- CA

Jan 27, 2014 - 12:24pm PT

Does this mean we can't hose off our driveways for a while?
Doesn't broom-making contribute to global warming?

Ken M

Mountain climber

Los Angeles, Ca

Jan 27, 2014 - 12:33pm PT

What are the total projected needs and available for say ten years out? To what degree will the waste water recovery projects make up for projected losses / shortfalls? Are there any other measures projected to contribute to making up for possible inadequacies?

What are the energy reguirements of these projects, such as desalination plants? Where is this energy expected to come from?

Bruce, critical questions, for sure.

Waste water recovery has the potential to make up a huge amount of our needs.
The problem is, that it takes many years to build the infrastructure. I'm involved in a LADWP project to purify 60M gal/day of water to drinking standards. Estimate is that not a drop will be available until 2024.

That's the problem with all engineering projects. They take decades, and a million dollars is a rounding error.

Of course, conservation costs nothing (depending upon what you are doing), and works instantly.

Desal is very expensive. the actual production costs more than 2x what other sources cost, mainly because of electrical costs. They take forever to get built. The ones being built now, were for the projections that did not include a drought. OOOPS.

The other problem with desal, is that it has to be done at sea level, which means the water has to be pumped uphill, in contrast with most water sources, that flow downhill naturally. So...a lot more energy, in some cases much more than the cost of making the water.

Patrick Sawyer

climber

Originally California now Ireland

Topic Author's Reply - Jan 27, 2014 - 12:37pm PT

But Malemute, nothing wrong with evaporation if the water is returned in the hydrologic cycle, or is that the hydro-logical cycle? And when the tender comes up to build and manage the pipeline, (again easier to build in Western Washington and Oregon than down the Highway 5 corridor, I'd think) I want to be the first one to make a bid. Though first I have to cheat a whole bunch of taxpayers and perhaps hit a lot of old ladies over their heads for their purses.

"Canadian Water, the Best," will be the slogan… "BC, Be Cause, it has yellow water".

EDIT

Apologies Taco Standers, I did not intend on demeaning this thread with some useless info.

And, what about Oregon, Washington, Idaho, BC, Nevada, Arizona and such… how much are they being affected by the (super?) high off the West Coast?

Patrick Sawyer

climber

Originally California now Ireland

Topic Author's Reply - Jan 27, 2014 - 12:43pm PT

Jeez, some of the photos on this thread are scary.

What about 120? Are the Meadows open and Tioga Pass?

EDIT

Ron, that may be good news. But I can't help but think that if the high does move, that the West Coast may be in for a deluge. Again, I will point to my opening post, droughts and floods.

And I am always amazed, by the following… (from Wikipedia)

The Christmas flood of 1964 was a major flood that took place in the Pacific Northwest and California between December 18, 1964 and January 7, 1965, spanning the Christmas holiday.

Considered a 100-year flood, it was the worst flood in recorded history on nearly every major stream and river in coastal Northern California and one of the worst to affect the Willamette River in Oregon. It also had an impact on parts of southwest Washington, Idaho, and Nevada.

In Oregon seventeen people died as a result of the disaster, and it caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. The flooding on the Willamette covered 152,789 acres (61,831.5 ha). The National Weather Service rated the flood as the fifth most destructive weather event in Oregon in the 20th century.

California Governor Pat Brown was quoted as saying that a flood of similar proportions could "happen only once in 1,000 years," and it was often referred to later as the Thousand Year Flood.

The flood killed 19 people, heavily damaged or completely devastated at least 10 towns, destroyed all or portions of more than 20 major highway and county bridges, carried away millions of board feet of lumber and logs from mill sites, devastated thousands of acres of agricultural land, killed 4,000 head of livestock, and caused $100 million in damage in Humboldt County, California alone.

Perhaps history my repeat itself but instead of Pat Brown as governor, son Jerry will be.

rottingjohnny

Sport climber

mammoth lakes ca

Jan 27, 2014 - 12:47pm PT

Tioga Pass is locked up...Sawyer Road is still drivable..

Patrick Sawyer

climber

Originally California now Ireland

Topic Author's Reply - Jan 27, 2014 - 01:03pm PT

Hey you, Rotten Johnny, you seen Jimbo lately? Say hi for me, and I suppose Claude too.

But what Sawyer Road? There are so many as we get around.

Douglas City, Patrick's Point, Sawyer's Bar. You heard it here first, the coming deluge will wash out the rock at Patrick's Point State Park, flush Douglas City down the Trinity River and send Sawyer to the Bar. I own northwestern California.

Douglas Patrick Sawyer (Nostradamus was nothing compared to me).

EDIT

John, looking at some of the photos on this thread of other Sierra scenery/passes, is Tioga Pass locked up for admin reasons, or is there snow (of significant amounts) there?

And what about Bodie? According to the rangers at the time, my friend Andy and I were the first to x-c ski in there (1974), but I do not believe that for one second. I'd imagine with this drought, one could drive quite easily into Bodie, sans snow.

I can only hope that the West Coast receives some rain in manageable amounts these coming weeks. A good snow pack to last through the summer. Yes, I care about people, but people can move quite readily (well, perhaps not economically, Jennie and I are skint here in Ireland). But I think about the flora and fauna in Cali, Oregon, Washington, BC and elsewhere.

Water is so precious, I know that is an overstatement, It's pissing again here in the Sunny Southeast of Wexford. Wish I could send you all some rain.