California Needs to Enact Water Conservation Measures
posted by: GinaMarie Cheeseman 240 days ago
California is currently in a drought for the third straight season. Last summer California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued an executive order declaring a statewide drought. He also issued a State of Emergency Proclamation for the San Joaquin Valley's nine counties, a fertile farming area. Currently California's snowpack water, which provides fresh water for a large part of the state, is only 61 percent of the normal level.
Heather Cooley of the Pacific Institute believes that the water shortage in California could be as severe as it is in Australia, which is in the midst of its worst drought in a hundred years. Cooley said, "Think of that as California's future."
California is the world's eighth largest economy, and a big water user. The state uses about enough water to cover the state of Washington, 80 percent of which is used for agriculture. A report drafted by California water planners predicts that the Sierra Nevada Mountains in eastern California will have 25 to 40 percent less snow by 2050 as a result of climate change.
Some in California see dams as the answer. However, the National Resource Defense Counsel (NRDC) estimates that seven million acre feet of water per year could be available for Californians from conservation, groundwater cleanup and storm water harvesting.
California Could Learn from Southern Nevada
The nearby state of Nevada is no stranger to droughts. The entire state is part of the Great Basin, a dry area that stretches from southern Idaho to southern California. Southern Nevada normally only receives four inches of rain a year. However, it is currently in the midst of its worst drought on record.
Southern Nevada is doing all it can to conserve water. A city ordinance of Las Vegas says, "Waste of water in the City is hereby prohibited and declared unlawful." Residential areas are the focus of conservation efforts because they use 65 percent of the area's water, and 35 percent of that is for turf grass and landscape.
Some new Clark County neighborhoods are banned from having front lawns. Las Vegas and other Clark County cities have grass buyback programs where residents are paid per square foot to remove their lawns. The county raised its water usage rates by 23 percent in an effort to conserve more water.
Golf courses are a part of Las Vegas that tourists love. However, they require vast amounts of water. Drought restrictions now limit golf courses to 6.3 acre feet of water per acre. As a result, the golf courses in the area converted over 18.5 million square feet of grass to "water-smart landscaped, target-style courses resulting in a 1 billion gallon per year water savings."
The golf courses also have on-site weather stations that are linked to irrigation systems so they can monitor the amount of moisture needed for the grasses and plants.
The Southern Nevada Home Builders Association and the Southern Nevada Water Association created a program that certifies new homes and neighborhoods as "water smart." Known as the Water Smart Home program, new homes are required to include water efficient appliances and water-smart landscaping.
Take action to preserve clean water in your state and nationwide by asking your congressperson to support the Clean Water Restoration Act. Please sign the petition letter today.
Read more: global warming
comments
As you pointed out, the fresh water reserve levels for America, especially Southern California, have dropped significantly over the last few years. In order to combat the water shortage situation, Southern Californians collectively have to minimize their water usage. There are dozens of little things we can do to save water. Here are some of them:
Water your lawn and garden in the morning or evening when temperatures are cooler to minimize evaporation.
Use a broom instead of a hose to clean your driveway and sidewalk and save water every time.
For more tips on water conservation, please check out http://www.bewaterwise.com/tips01.html
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As you pointed out, the fresh water reserve levels for America, especially Southern California, have dropped significantly over the last few years. In order to combat the water shortage situation, Southern Californians collectively have to minimize their water usage. There are dozens of little things we can do to save water. Here are some of them:
Water your lawn and garden in the morning or evening when temperatures are cooler to minimize evaporation.
Use a broom instead of a hose to clean your driveway and sidewalk and save water every time.
For more tips on water conservation, please check out http://www.bewaterwise.com/tips01.html
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Until realistic measures for population control are begun, no matter what steps are taken with resources, we will eventually end up short.
It can be no other way.
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One of the problems with California is that there is no infrastructure to catch and store water during the heavy rains. There are no drains, no way to move water to storage areas. I've always wondered why they've been so short-sighted. And please don't use this as an excuse to propagandize against eating meat. It's about conservationist planning.
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`2009 March 12 t'h Thursday a' m' Pacif'c time,
Wonderfull Comment[s] so far,
During `1968... the months of September and October, I had sailed a small yacht {with two others} from Oahu to California over some 2,900 miles of Pacific Ocean. IF had known then - what I know now, i would not have needed to make that perilous voyage. At first glance, the vast immense insuperable body of water, along with the "five day long" rain and wind storm hurricane force does suggest an infinite nature of water and its' source. However upon a close inspection of the Ocean surface - like thereon in your face some 1,500 miles from any visible land form, the surface of ocean was then coated with a sort of mucky film, which appeared to have been the cumulative result of a hundred years of combustion fuel spuance, it was awful sticky. Well, needless to say when I finally arrived back to San Francsico, I thought long over what that all could mean to our health and quality of life going forward. Of the many conclusions I arrived at was to invent a better power source, which became the "Diamond Electric Engine" a story in itself. An also important sense to design build and install a nation_wide "ocean water de-salinated" distribution plumbing configured means of adding to the surface of our country when in drought or "fire hazzard", and to subtract the rainfall down pour during flood periods - back into the ocean. I must have spent six good years preparing a resaonable contract propos
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`2009 March 12 t'h Thursday a' m' Pacif'c time,
Wonderfull Comment[s] so far,
During `1968... the months of September and October, I had sailed a small yacht {with two others} from Oahu to California over some 2,900 miles of Pacific Ocean. IF had known then - what I know now, i would not have needed to make that perilous voyage. At first glance, the vast immense insuperable body of water, along with the "five day long" rain and wind storm hurricane force does suggest an infinite nature of water and its' source. However upon a close inspection of the Ocean surface - like thereon in your face some 1,500 miles from any visible land form, the surface of ocean was then coated with a sort of mucky film, which appeared to have been the cumulative result of a hundred years of combustion fuel spuance, it was awful sticky. Well, needless to say when I finally arrived back to San Francsico, I thought long over what that all could mean to our health and quality of life going forward. Of the many conclusions I arrived at was to invent a better power source, which became the "Diamond Electric Engine" a story in itself. An also important sense to design build and install a nation_wide "ocean water de-salinated" distribution plumbing configured means of adding to the surface of our country when in drought or "fire hazzard", and to subtract the rainfall down pour during flood periods - back into the ocean. I must have spent six good years preparing a resaonable contract propos
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Right on, Erika!!! Couldn't say it better myself.
Karen
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As the article states, the main problem is agriculture. ANIMAL agriculture to be more precise. Please have a look at how devastating wrong eating habits are for the water supply and the environment in general:
http://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/environment.html
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What makes me really mad is the car wash - we are wasting SO much water to drive around clean machines. You don't need a clean car. You don't even really need a car (I've been living without one for over two years, and I'm a college student with a part time job, volunteer work and church involvement...) but you really don't need a clean one. Contaminating precious water to wash your gas guzzler is offensive to the people who need that water to DRINK. (You know it's bad when the poor people of your neighborhood start begging for WATER instead of money/food...).
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Plain & Simple, it's too late...
and bottom line, there are too many people living in an area that does not have sufficient water to sustain regular needs, nevermind, the lifestyles (swimming pools, landscape etc)
this was known & talked about & written about back in the 60's...
and now as I bring it up here in NC, where we're experiencing drought, along with neighbor states like GA, AL, northern parts of FL, all I hear is growth & expansion plans...
and when I've expressed concerns with neighbors, the next day I see them filling up their swimming pools...
I'll be calling my congressman today to see what plans there are, if any
oh yeah, forgot...last year there was talk of metering private wells & usage/tax charges...
yeah, real good anwer as we cannot limit building more houses for more people
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