OT Just how bad is the drought? Just curious OT

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Ken M

Mountain climber

Los Angeles, Ca

Mar 24, 2015 - 11:10pm PT

One of the biggest problems relates to groundwater.

Let's say you own an acre of land. You sink a well. You can draw UNLIMITED amounts of water out of the well.

This makes no sense to me.

You are drawing water from land outside your own. You don't have any reasonable right to water that comes from someone elses' land.

here's my idea: You can pump water from your own land ONLY. Assume your land extends down in a 1-acre square.

So let's say you have a water table of 100 feet. You have a well that goes down 150 feet. Let's make the assumption that what lies between 100 feet and 150 feet is 25% water. You would then be entitled to withdraw 12.5 acre-feet ONLY.

That is water that underlies your land, to which you are entitled.

Chaz

Trad climber

greater Boss Angeles area

Mar 25, 2015 - 12:03am PT

That sounds to me like a good way to knock a bottom rung or two off the economic ladder.

Small farmers would be s.o.l. Big corporate enterprises would just write off extra costs as business expense.

couchmaster

climber

Mar 25, 2015 - 05:41am PT

The book "Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water", which my last long term (@25 years) climbing partner all but made me read so that I could try and argue his points with some intelligence since he'd essentially memorized the damned thing and worked in resource management as well, called this drought 28 years ago. Going from memory it was something to the effect of "When the west's water availability diminishes to it's more typical lower historical volume, what will they do then? And "here's why what you are doing now will not be cost effective" as in "You are paying for a Cadillac but getting a Yugo"...blah blah. There, I summed it up for you and saved you the .99cents a used book costs.

I guess we'll see, but I'd bet "BULLET TRAIN" or "ROAD TRIP" would have been a shocking and unexpected reply to that question:-) Come out like this: As in "what will you do when water availability radically diminishes?" "WE ALL WILL BUILD A "BULLET TRAIN WOOOOT WHHOOOOT! "

couchmaster

climber

Mar 25, 2015 - 05:52am PT

Ken M, that's a very good idea, "You can pump water from your own land ONLY. Assume your land extends down in a 1-acre square." However, I don't think you realize the huge amount of work that would entail. Many California municipalities have not even yet been able to install water meters in their cites. A much simpler task. Sacramento, for example, is currently saying that their goal is to: "Install water meters on more than 80% of the City’s water service connections by 2025 " (AND FYI, they have been working continuously for 10 years on this!!!)
http://portal.cityofsacramento.org/Utilities/Conservation/Water-Meters

How much will that cost to retro every rural well with a meter, who will do the work, who will pay for it, and who will then manage it? (ie, the new bureaucracy that will be needed to check peoples water use, then fine or prosecute violators. Would you pay $10 a month to help finance that program or is this another one of those: "I have a good idea someone else can pay for it things?"

skcreidc

Social climber

SD, CA

Mar 25, 2015 - 06:10am PT

Ken M points out one of the biggest issues with California Ground Water law.

One of the biggest problems relates to groundwater.

Let's say you own an acre of land. You sink a well. You can draw UNLIMITED amounts of water out of the well.

This makes no sense to me. Here

This problem has been an issue for decades in San Diego County. In one case, a backcountry fire department well would go dry begining of Summer due to massive overpumping of a rich neighbor. Seriously (I was a grad sutdent working for the county on ground water recharge then).

donini

Trad climber

Ouray, Colorado

Mar 25, 2015 - 02:34pm PT

The drought will last another 7 or 8 years. During that time all of the groundwater will have been expended, fruit trees will be a faint memory and sinkholes will dot the land.
Laotian immigrants will buy the land for a fraction of it's previous worth. Then, the deluge will start and the sinkholes will fill into thousands of tiny ponds across the landscape. The Laotians will raise tilapia in the ponds in a boom or bust , deluge or drought cycle that will span eons.

Ghost

climber

A long way from where I started

Apr 1, 2015 - 01:51pm PT

Californians fleeing the drought are welcome to come to the Pacific Northwet and buy our houses for ten times what we paid for them.

10b4me

Social climber

Apr 1, 2015 - 02:09pm PT

Population is out of control.
Wake the hell up.

k-man

Gym climber

SCruz

Apr 1, 2015 - 02:31pm PT

Watch California Dry Up Right Before Your Eyes In 6 Jaw-Dropping GIFs

rwedgee

Ice climber

Apr 1, 2015 - 02:58pm PT

Dingus, I looked at fake turf as well but all of it got hot in the sun, as in too hot to walk on. Prices were crazy too like $40 a square yard.

crunch

Social climber

Apr 1, 2015 - 03:17pm PT

Israel is just finishing work on the biggest and most efficient desalination plant in the world.

http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/534996/megascale-desalination/

"... providing 20 percent of the water consumed by [Israel's] households. Built for ... around $500 million, it uses a conventional desalination technology called reverse osmosis (RO). Thanks to a series of engineering and materials advances, however, it produces clean water from the sea cheaply and at a scale never before achieved.

"it will produce 627,000 cubic meters of water daily."

Desalination could provide for the big coastal urban areas: San Diego, Bay Area and LA. Then agriculture may survive on the existing supplies of groundwater, snowpack and Colorado River.

Oh, and concrete slabs scan be painted green. I've seen front "lawns" like this in Moab. Very pretty....

Studly

Trad climber

Apr 1, 2015 - 03:21pm PT

California legislation: Way to little far to late.
What was it Forest Gump said?

10b4me

Social climber

Apr 1, 2015 - 06:10pm PT

California legislation: Way to little far to late.

And of course brown gave a break to the ag industry.

What a moron.

Lorenzo

Trad climber

Portland Oregon

Apr 1, 2015 - 07:58pm PT

Will the San Fernando Valley start paying it's fair share?

( they were entitled to none of the Owens River water in the original legislation.)

zBrown

Ice climber

Brujò de la Playa

Apr 1, 2015 - 08:10pm PT

Never thought I'd be saying this.

If you weren't born here, don't surf here and especially don't plant a fu*ckin' lawn here unless you were.

-Chula Vista, 1946

MisterE

Gym climber

Bishop, CA

Apr 1, 2015 - 08:13pm PT

We went climbing at Warming Wall on Sunday March 29 - here's your Mammoth base snow-pack:

Chaz

Trad climber

greater Boss Angeles area

Apr 1, 2015 - 08:36pm PT

Here's what my town's doing to save water.

They recently opened a *sports complex* featuring 35 acres of grass soccer fields. Grass.

http://www.sanbernardino66kicks.com/redlandssportscomplex.html

Kids can't be expected to hike or ride bikes in the hills above the *sports complex* for sport like I do, I guess. I grew up without a sports complex, we played baseball in the street.

And they're replacing a 126-year-old city-owned orange grove with ... oranges.

http://www.redlandsdailyfacts.com/government-and-politics/20150330/panel-recommends-redlands-replant-some-of-prospect-park

Inside baseball: Bouye and Jacinto aren't planting citrus on their property. They like avocados. Avocados use much less water.

We'll see how many of Governor Brown's 50 million square feet of lawn elimination come from The Redlands Sports Complex - or The Redlands Country Club. I'm guessing zero. 25% reduction means two soccer fields or four golf holes go brown, and that's asking too damn much.