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Government To Regulate Groundwater For 1st Time As California Drought Becomes "Race To The Bottom"
The ongoing disaster that is the drought in the West is leaving wells dry across California - which account for up to 60% of water usage. As WSJ reports, as groundwater levels plunge (100 feet or more lower than norm), wells are being driven further and further into the earth (500 feet in some cases) forcing the state legislature is considering regulating underground water for the first time. "We can't continue to pump groundwater at the rates we are and expect it to continue in the future," warns one engineer, adding "What's scary is we're not fixing anything... It's a race to the bottom."
"Everybody was pumping to their heart's content, until they realized the basin isn't that big."
As WSJ reports, Groundwater was kind of out of sight, out of mind," said Lester Snow, executive director of the California Water Foundation, a nonprofit policy group in Sacramento, and former director of the state Department of Water Resources. But now...
With groundwater levels falling across the Golden State—causing dried-up wells, sinking roadbeds and crumbling infrastructure—the state legislature is considering regulating underground water for the first time.
Californians have long battled over rights to rivers, lakes and other surface-water supplies, but the drought is finally shifting the focus to groundwater, which accounts for about 40% of water used in normal years—and up to 60% in drought years, as other sources dry up.
Other states were forced to act earlier.
Arizona, for example, began regulating its major groundwater basins in 1980 after experiencing subsidence, or sinking soils from lack of water, and other problems from agriculture pumping, said Michael Lacey, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources. "Had we done nothing, many of the areas would have no supplies left," Mr. Lacey said.
But in California...
Groundwater remains there for the taking—except in places such as Orange County with special management districts. The Department of Water Resources said earlier this year that groundwater tables in some parts of California have dropped 100 feet or more below historic averages. That has resulted in an estimated $1.3 billion in damage to infrastructure, such as cracked highways due to subsidence, Mr. Snow said.
And so the government is stepping in...
A bill pending in the Legislature would require that groundwater be managed sustainably at major aquifers throughout the state, such as by authorizing local agencies to impose pumping limits and conduct inspections.
Farmers are worried...
"There is no good time for hurried legislation, but during a critical drought year…is absolutely the wrong time," Danny Merkley, director of water resources for the California Farm Bureau Federation, wrote in a recent column for a trade publication.
But the problem is vast...
County Supervisor Frank Mecham said the near-doubling of the county's population to 275,000 since 1980 has put pressure on groundwater, particularly in rural areas where more vineyards also have sprung up.
As a result, many rural homeowners have reported dramatic drops in their well water levels. Sue Luft, for instance, said she and her husband last year had to drill a second well to 540 feet after one 355 feet deep went dry.
"What's scary is we're not fixing anything," said Ms. Luft, 57, a retired environmental engineer who leads a homeowners' group that recently teamed with the vintners to support the water district bill. "It's a race to the bottom."
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Of course, none of this matters as stocks are at record highs...
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I need Steve Leisman to explain the http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?CA (California statistics from drought monitor . unl.edu. )
Specifically they have 2 decimal precision on percentage of the state in each severity level of drought. This week, the two highest levels did not change. At all. not even +/- 0.01 % I don't see how that could be possible. But I am sure Steve could explain how it means something good.
Week Date None D0-D4 D1-D4 D2-D4 D3-D4 D4
Current 8/26/2014 0.00 100.00 100.00 95.42 81.92 58.41
Last Week 8/19/2014 0.00 100.00 100.00 97.59 81.92 58.41
It never rains in August.
Rain starts in sometimes around Halloween.
And most Jan to April
Trust me, I have lived here non-stop for 60 yrs.
I don't doubt you, but those numbers are for the entire state, including NorCal, and they did not budge up or down by even a basis point for the D3 and D4 levels. The D2 numbers did change (downward), so it should not be considered stale data. Bahh, Who am I kidding, I can't afford cable/CNBC to watch Leisman anyway. Your answer is actually based on observations and experience. But if they do it again next week, I will be worried ;)
Here is an updated caltrans cam of I-5 over Shasta Lake [upstream from Sacromento ag country; gives you an idea of how low it is:
Daily lake data here:
Fuck that Commie State.......can't dry up soon enough.
Oh no, Doug Casey will be not amused! The evil state! Let the market solve the problem. :D
Drought leads to famine . If you don't want to end up on the menu , the Chef is vita : see
http://andreswhy.blogspot.com/2010/06/chef.html
"County Supervisor Frank Mecham said the near-doubling of the county's population to 275,000 since 1980 has put pressure on groundwater..."
There are so many avenues of attack of this absolute bullshit article. How does Orange County land in the same "hydrolic region" as San Diego and LA?
Did the quote above say anything? The dude wants control over water. What government control-freak doesn't now that we've moved from convincing everyone that their oxygen requirements have the adverse effect of destroying the planet to trying to convince everyone their need for water is also an unfortunate circumstance of life that government must control. The reason Orange County sits atop a huge pool of fresh water is not becasuse of government management...the reason sea water is getting into it is because of government management but why talk about that?
We're going to be subjected to the same non-stop bullshit about water as we've been about carbon dioxide. And ZH will be right there egging it on with one breath and denouncing it (some day) with the next.
ZH considers "unregulated" to be the worst aspect of any issue.
Yeah, it's a conspiracy that things are finite! I'm pretty sure that in the Constitution itself it says that I'm entitled to ALL that I could ever need! (didn't the Bible say the same thing?)
Make fresh water in a factory. It can't be that hard.
Very expensive and takes a lot of energy, which they are also short of.
WTF is "fresh water?"
Do you mean "potable water?"
Go ahead and spec out your "can't be that hard" project and let us know what the REAL costs are that you come up with. Be sure to be able to identify the characteristics of the raw water. Oh, and know that many raw water sources fluctuate in characteristic through different parts of the year; and be sure to include being able to switch between production and maintenance mode... your customers are expecting your output to not only be infinite, but CHEAP!
As predicted, wait for a water tax on the rest of America to pay for these left wing a-holes because they live in a desert and are shocked when they run out of water.
Or, be prepared to pay a LOT more for food. My point here is to note that we're all in the boat together.
Oh, and I seriously doubt that the big Ag folks in CA are "left wingers." Sigh, amazing how effective propaganda is...
How about government reverses the stupidity of driving small farms out of business.
Plenty of rich 'big AG' that pander to the left.
Do we have enough C4 to plant along the southern tier of the San Andreas fault line?
If there weren't government subsidies for the massive users of water, farmers would get price signals from the free market and wouldn't grow nearly as heavily in arid regions where water has to be pumped for hundreds of miles.
"Water shortages occur in the West not because too many people are flushing their toilets too often, but because agriculture, heavily subsidized through cheap water made possible by the federal government, continues to grow crops in places that would never support agriculture on a similar scale in a free market. Indeed, agriculture uses well over 80 percent of all the water used in Western states, and most of that water is stored, pumped, and diverted using dams, pumps, and aqueducts paid for by the U.S. taxpayer.
As a result, growers don’t have to face the real-life costs of transporting water to their farms. They only need consider the subsidized price, which is far below what it would be in a private market. Consequently, water usage for growers across the West is much greater than what it would be were there a functioning market for water in the region."
http://mises.org/daily/6568/Water-Subsidies-and-Shortages-in-the-America...
Finally! A true picture based on FACTS!
"farmers would get price signals from the free market and wouldn't grow nearly as heavily in arid regions where water has to be pumped for hundreds of miles"
I couldn't state what people will be willing to pay for, so I can't really say whether the "free market" signals would be telling the farmers to reduce their crop sizes. Yes, I figure that eventually it all HAS to contract, but for now...
NOTE: When mentioning the "West" keep in mind that that is more than the Southwest and thusly can include locations that, historically, have less water issues: of course, the offset is that they're not as optimal for growing (less sun).
Forecast is for a weak el nino this winter. Probably some relief to CA. But long term they are fucked. They are pumping it much faster than it can ever be replaced.
Just one of the many finite resources that took billions of years to store, but humans will use up in a couple of centuries. 40 years ago there were 3.5 billion humans. Now there are 7 billion. In another few decades 14 billion.
I tell my friends, in 100 years if you want to build a jumbo jet you'll have to hire 1000 mexicans to collect AL cans at the dump. All the resources will be there unless you dig so deep it's not worth the effort.
Might as well use all the cheap water and fuel you want, and make your life as comfortable as possible. When it's over it's over, and conservation just postpones the inevitable a small amount.
Let's cut out the crap. 1st registration, 2nd a meter just to monitor, and of course the last is to start charging for your water. They are on a very slippery slope when the state claims all the water belongs to them. Here it is: keep your water off my land or you are liable for any flood damage. Legislation with unintended consequences.
People - and myself - often wonder why I continue to live in upstate NY.
Well (pun intended), let's see, we have the Finger Lakes, Lake Ontario, a multitude of streams, rivers, ponds, marshes and so much wetland that I've run the DEC ragged with questions about more than 20 properties that I've been investigating.
Our wetlands preservation is so serious, they have designated as wetlands places that are FORESTS, and places that are drain well and are dry when everything within 5 miles is wet. Environmentalism to the extreme, but, thankfully, in the other direction than Californication.