A water crisis

[Patrick_Mucci]

Patrick..sure...water will always be available...somewhere...but probably not were it is now...or where we want it to be tomorrow...and there lies the dilemma....when the Colorado flows to a trickle, who gets the remaining water? When large parts of of current "agricultural belt" dries up and blows away....how will we respond?  Lets remember, the TVA, Bonneville Power, the damning of the Colorado for agricultural purposes...are all less than 100 years old and they are already showing signs of failing and have created several environmental disasters ...

Craig,

Certainly, you're not going to tell us that the environmental "disasters" as you call them, and I'd like to know what they are, are reasons why the TVA, Bonneville Power project and damming of the Colorado shouldn't have been done.

The benefits of those projects over the years, to America, farming, commerce, citizens and life, have been almost infinite.

Unless of course, you favor a continuance of the "Dark Ages"

[james soper]

"forget it, jake. it's chinatown."

[cary lichtenstein]

Cary L. -

To imply that farming and agribusiness is somehow suffering at the hands of "big government" or the like is woefully mistaken. There is probably no business activity in California that has benefited from government intervention and promotion than farming and agribusiness.

It was government that built the aqueducts, canals and pumping stations that enabled farming to be a year-round activity in California. It was the politically well-connected agribusiness interests that made water cheap to purchase for irrigation.  

As a result, farming and agribusiness are likely the least efficient users of water (and the biggest water wasters) of any business activity in the state.  

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/07/BA7H12PDTU.DTL

DT

Thanks for the link

[JohnV]

  (A sign above an Oregon public restroom toilet)

" Flush twice . . . California needs the drinking water."

Back in the mid-70s when I was living in California and Jerry Brown was the governor, we had a water shortage.  The phrase then was
"If its yellow let it mellow, if its Brown, flush it down."

And now he's considering running to replace the Governator.

[JohnV]

Cary L. -

To imply that farming and agribusiness is somehow suffering at the hands of "big government" or the like is woefully mistaken. There is probably no business activity in California that has benefited from government intervention and promotion than farming and agribusiness.

It was government that built the aqueducts, canals and pumping stations that enabled farming to be a year-round activity in California. It was the politically well-connected agribusiness interests that made water cheap to purchase for irrigation.  

As a result, farming and agribusiness are likely the least efficient users of water (and the biggest water wasters) of any business activity in the state.  

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/07/BA7H12PDTU.DTL

DT

Yesterday while driving over the Pajaro to run a junior event, I passed the artichoke fields near Castroville.  They were doing a very nice job of watering the dirt outside the fields with their sprinklers which were facing 90 degrees away from the crops.  I guess they were just keeping the dust down.

We got .19 inches in Monterey in the last 24 hours.  A pleasant surprise, but it won't do much for us.

[Kalen Braley]

Its true that California is not the only place out west that is in a critical spot.

While the past winter and spring were very very good, prior to this Vegas was in a tough spot  before thier resovoirs got a nice replishment. Water levels had been the lowest in decades.

To me its simple math, most of the west is desert for a reason, lack of moisture....with people and developments continuing to spring up at some point the math will no longer work.  And this is the part where CA has always "bought" thier way out of it....but at some point the price will either be too high to pay and/or there will be nothing to buy.

To the best of my knowledge, here in Utah we dont' ship our water anywhere, but then again we're 1 drought away from being in trouble ourselves as the population in northern Utah has doubled just in the last 25 years.

[JSPayne]

Please don't condemn all Californians, or California golf courses, for being on the wrong side of this issue. Many of us are well aware, and are doing all we can, to be as proactive as possible in working towards a sustainable solution. After all, our jobs depend on it.

Year to date, through August, I have used 23 million gallons less than prior year and 11 million gallons less than our 7-year average. My GM is equally happy about the water bill savings I have been making him. This is all being done proactively and voluntarily, as we are under no mandates or restrictions (yet...). Turns out doing the right thing CAN be profitable.

Yet at the same time, the homes surrounding our golf courses don't even have water meters. They are on a flat monthly fee, regardless of use. They, however, are on a 3 day/week only watering restriction. But we just had a grass fire on the course that threatened nearby homes and when I told a homeowner it might be prudent to turn on the lawn sprinklers to protect her house, she didn't even know where her sprinkler valves were, let alone how to turn them on, off, up or down. How effective do you think that "watering restriction" is and how efficient to do you think all those homeowners are at watering their yards? I can drive in to work in the morning and see rivers of water flowing down the gutters and see sprinklers watering in the middle of a rain storm.

Golf courses are large water users, but last time I checked, the acerage covered by homes and lawns far surpassed the acerage covered by golf course turf. Let's make sure we're getting ALL responsible parties involved and not just pointing fingers at the easiest targets.

Also, I'd be interested to know where Mr. Stamm gets his numbers. If we're gonna talk facts, let's get them right. No one's denying the water crisis, but approach the situation with the right information. Here's a useful link for all interested in the current status of water resources in California:

http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/reports/EXECSUM

[Craig Sweet]

Patrick....I think it is far to early to judge the cost/benefit of projects such as Bonneville, the TVA and the dewatering of the Colorado...

Yes, they have brought prosperity to places that probably would not be inhabited today....and that has come at a cost that is still being played out...

Like I said, we tend to be short sighted and think a generation or two is a long time....

Here's a totally different example, but similar in some ways....great wealth was extracted form beneath Butte, MT....tens, if not hundreds of thousands of jobs were created.....and now, a little more than 150 years after it all started, this generation, and ones to follow, are spending billions to clean it up...so they can live in western Montana (yes, the mine has impacted an area from Butte to Idaho...nearly 300 miles away!)

[Dave Givnish]

So is anyone really doing anything about it?  Are the courses in Palm Springs and surrounding areas going to be more selective in what gets overseeded this winter?  Any courses going completely dormant?  The last few times that I've played in the area, it seemed to me that there were few if any restrictions on winter grass.

Arizona is in a bit better shape.  There are a number of private courses in Scottsdale that went to seeding just their fairways last year.  This probably saved about $25,000 in direct costs and had to reduce their overall water consumption significantly.  The members I talked with liked the playing conditions.  With the economy, I wouldn't be surprised to see some of the resort courses adopt the same practice even though the winter visitors don't quite get that dormant bermuda grass isn't dead.

[Jim_Kennedy]

Back in the mid-70s when I was living in California and Jerry Brown was the governor, we had a water shortage.  The phrase then was
"If its yellow let it mellow, if its Brown, flush it down."

And now he's considering running to replace the Governator.

Several of my friends who lived in Santa Cruz at that time used the same line, but the "B" wasn't capitalized. 

[David Stamm]

Also, I'd be interested to know where Mr. Stamm gets his numbers. If we're gonna talk facts, let's get them right. No one's denying the water crisis, but approach the situation with the right information. Here's a useful link for all interested in the current status of water resources in California:

http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/reports/EXECSUM

Mr Payne, my info came from a locally produced televison special where farmers, government officials from Fresno and water management employees of the state were interviewed. I recorded the show and watched several times to make sure I got the numbers right. It was produced by Huell Howser, who can be a bit annoying, but has a good reputation for producing shows that deal with issues our state faces.


http://www.calgold.com/

[Bill_McBride]

I have a very clear memory of 1978, the year I moved away from Northern California.  We had such a drought that we were doing the "don't flush after #1" thing.  The Hetch Hetchy reservoir in the Sierras, San Francisco's water supply, was down so low that earth moving equipment, trapped there when the lake was originally flooded after the dam was built, was exposed as the water level fell.

A year later, after a normal rainy season, the reservoirs were full again and everyone went back to business as usual.

The big problem is the lack of water in Southern California (see the movie "Chinatown" for background) and what was once a surplus in Northern California.  The aqueduct that siphons off Northern California's water for Southern California homeowners is now tapped by Central Valley farmers en route.

This is not a new problem.  Santa Barbara bought a desalination plant 30 years ago and it's been mothballed ever since, never put in service to my knowledge.

This is not just a California problem.   Water from North Georgia mountain streams and snow melt is captured in the huge lake north of Atlanta, and released into the Chatahoochee River.  This river flows south by Atlanta and becomes the border between Alabama and Georgia until it flows into Florida and Apalachicola Bay.  All three states are fighting desperately over the water coming downstream.  Atlanta's ravenous development needs the water.  Alabama and Georgia farmers need the water.  The oyster beds in Apalachicola Bay need the water,  This has gone to federal court.

I read 20 years ago that water was the next big problem, and that wars would be fought over it in the 21st Century.  USA-Canada  water wars?

Golf seems pretty insignificant when seen in this macrocosm.  Even drought resistant grass may not be enough for golf to compete.

Whadda you think??

[Norbert P]

  The Hetch Hetchy reservoir in the Sierras, San Francisco's water supply, was down so low that earth moving equipment, trapped there when the lake was originally flooded after the dam was built, was exposed as the water level fell.

A year later, after a normal rainy season, the reservoirs were full again and everyone went back to business as usual.

Mmmmmmm, earth-moving equipment flavored water. 

(I hope they removed it before the rains came back.)