Breitbart: California’s State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) voted Wednesday to approve the Bay-Delta plan, which will re-allocate water from farms and cities to the environment in an effort to restore dwindling fish numbers.
The plan will require tributary rivers within the San Joaquin watershed to maintain an average water level of 40% of “unimpeded flow” — that is, the flow that would exist without human activity — during the spring season.
The result is that less water — “billions of gallons,” according to the Fresno Bee — will be available to the farming communities of the Central Valley, as well as to San Francisco and its suburbs, which rely on water from the area. more here
In the PBS series NOVA’s first season, they aired a documentary “Where Did the Colorado Go” a sad story about the theft of water to the greedy of California, leaving the once great Colorado River no longer running to the ocean, but dying in a trickle in the sands of Mexico.
In 1986, Marc Reisner published the now famous book, “Cadillac Desert” about the misuse of both land and water in California.
The problem is not going away, has not gotten better: just kick the can some more.
America should saw off California and let it fall into the ocean for many many reasons. ….Lady in Red
So, I’m guessing the Delta Smelt pizza is off the menu?
…….and you cant eat the fish.
Thank you for making me feel better about living in IL.
All that coast, but no desalination plant. Even small countries are doing it. But noooo not CA! Too bad there were no fires at their state house.
I say we divert the Mississippi River to California, then we won’t have an Asian carp problem anymore.
And Harvard is investing in California for water rights? Don’t those “smart” people know that when push comes to shove, California’s state government doesn’t believe in rights? The state will simply declare and emergency and confiscate as much water as it wants.
Lady In Red –
California is not the only culprit in the water depletion. The Colo River is an extremely over-apportioned water resource. The amounts that each state gets was derived from an abnormally high amount of run-off when the Colo River Basin compact was signed.
By treaty Mexico is part of it, but the water doesn’t get there.
If California needs water they should use the ocean, but they are too busy building choo-choo trains.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_River_Compact
.45…. Of course you are correct: the important thing is that, when I saw the program about the Colorado River not running to the ocean — in fucking 1974! — I screamed.
Kick the can won’t work much longer. Pensions? Govt debt? Social Security? Medicare?
Something big will happen to reset it all, I fear. ….Lady in Red
PS: If I were Mexico, I would have sued, back in the 1970’s, about the theft of their water. Oh well.
Old Oaks…. If we *could* divert the Mississippi, we might save New Orleans. …smile…
As it is, the Army Corps of Engineers’ best efforts and the leveees….. New Orleans is toast….. …..soon. Mother Nature will win. …..Lady in Red
“Thank you for making me feel better about living in IL.”
Holy cow.
One wonders what the contagion level is from San Francisco’s “Shit anywhere you like” policy being washed into the bay?
“One fish, two fish,
Don’t eat the blue fish…”
“Require flow” . . . as though there is a tap in the Valley that the farmers have turned on full blast!
Mother Nature should devise a plan for CA that is faster than Texting While Walking.
@.45-70:
Progressives do love their choo-choo trains. We have the same problem up here in the Soviet State.
LIR,
** in 1974 ** ‘zactly. It’s a problem without an acceptable solution.
The Kolb brothers ran the river back in 1911-12. They talk of the lack of water in places while trying to get to the sea.
An excellent read on two pioneering outdoorsmen/photographers. I have an original first edition.
Colorado river water is delivered to mexico according to international treaty. Since 1944 the us has never failed in this obligation. Once into mexico the river is diverted mainly for irrigation. Some recent mex and us cooperation have helped restore some flows into the delta. So not all bad news…
They need to keep the flows up through the Delta to keep the salt water out of it. In cases of severe drought this is absolutely true. But we are not really in a severe drought. This is all about water for SoCal. If you drive over the Grapevine into the LA Basin there’s a couple large reservoirs you can see from Hiway 5. They are always full, ours, most of the time are pretty damn low. Ironically Jerry Browns Twin Tunnel Project, which by design send the snow melt right down to LA bi passing the Delta, would result in killing every fish in the Delta anyway. What a joke.
MJA’s right. We, in NorCal, have been screaming for ever. Go buy some damn water desalinization plants.
Hydrology involves a certain type of economics, of the waters themselves.
“…maintain an average water level of 40% of “unimpeded flow” — that is, the flow that would exist without human activity — during the spring season.”
How is their ‘unimpeded flow’ calculated? Is it for a current year, or based on a historically derived average, similar to what is done, selectively, for temperatures? There is a lot of room for manipulation in their language without any specific qualification. Anyway it is sliced, california doesn’t have sufficient resources to continue support of itself, in it’s current status, when it comes to water.
But that new train will sure help.