Multiple population centers are building desalination plants along the California coast. We could be doing more but we're not quite at head-in-the-sand levels like other regions.
Multiple population centers are building desalination plants along the California coast. We could be doing more but we're not quite at head-in-the-sand levels like other regions.
[...] the sheer amount of snow had raised fears of a rapid, surging melt when the first early spring and summer heat waves hit. Only, they never did.
Sustained stretches of triple-digit heat are common for California’s Central Valley in June, if not May. But in communities from Sacramento to Fresno to Bakersfield, it wasn’t until the end of June that the mercury topped 100 degrees.
As a result, the snowpack remains deep well into the heart of summer — so deep that some were still measuring it in early July. Steve Haugen, executive director of the Kings River Water Association, said snow depth information is still needed as he works to prevent any flooding impacts as the final slugs of snowmelt flow downstream.
In the mountains of the Kings River watershed, in the southern Sierra, Haugen said snowpack records dating back to 1895 show only a single July snow measurement taken at a single location — ever.
But at the start of this month, teams deployed by helicopter found snow at 10 sites, Haugen said. At two of them, snowbanks were still holding as much water as the teams would normally expect to find in April.
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Some of the state’s largest reservoirs, including Lake Shasta and Lake Oroville, were little more than half full at their lowest points last December, but are now approaching the end of the snowmelt season nearly full.
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[...] most farms are not only irrigating their crops without pumping an ounce of groundwater, but are putting water back into sapped aquifers.
Under a decade-old state law designed to achieve groundwater sustainability by 2042, farmers have been required to track how much of it they’re withdrawing. This is the first year they’ve gotten a chance to make deposits into sapped aquifers, spreading surplus water across fallow fields and into basins so it can percolate into the ground.
As the other poster said, great news.. however this just means we need to continue to work hard for our planet. Otherwise it's going to be a long time before the climate returns to healthy...
As the other poster said, great news.. however this just means we need to continue to work hard for our planet. Otherwise it's going to be a long time before the climate returns to healthy temperatures and rain fall for long periods of time.
The Central Valley is still sinking due to extraction of ground water. One season of extra water is not enough to repair the damage already done, even if it is at record levels. It's good that...
Satellite measures have tracked the worsening problem, known as land subsidence. In parts of the valley, the land has been sinking about 1 foot each year. The shifting ground has damaged canals and wells, and threatens to do more costly damage in the years to come.
...Parts of the valley floor have collapsed about 20 feet over the last 65 years, including about 10 feet over the last 20 years as repeated droughts have added to the strains on groundwater, Lees said.
One season of extra water is not enough to repair the damage already done, even if it is at record levels. It's good that some farmers are utilizing their water share excess to refill their aquifers, but ground water can take thousands of years to percolate back into the system that fills in the cracks that help support the ground. These farmers are not going to wait for that process to happen when the next drought occurs in the near future. They will extract it and continue the sinking process. The plan to sustainably extract ground water by 2047 will be too little, too late.
Probably true, one good year doesn’t change a trend. That article is from last year, though, and reports on a study that probably uses older data, so it doesn’t directly tell us what’s happening...
Probably true, one good year doesn’t change a trend. That article is from last year, though, and reports on a study that probably uses older data, so it doesn’t directly tell us what’s happening this year.
Multiple population centers are building desalination plants along the California coast. We could be doing more but we're not quite at head-in-the-sand levels like other regions.
From the article:
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As the other poster said, great news.. however this just means we need to continue to work hard for our planet. Otherwise it's going to be a long time before the climate returns to healthy temperatures and rain fall for long periods of time.
The Central Valley is still sinking due to extraction of ground water.
One season of extra water is not enough to repair the damage already done, even if it is at record levels. It's good that some farmers are utilizing their water share excess to refill their aquifers, but ground water can take thousands of years to percolate back into the system that fills in the cracks that help support the ground. These farmers are not going to wait for that process to happen when the next drought occurs in the near future. They will extract it and continue the sinking process. The plan to sustainably extract ground water by 2047 will be too little, too late.
Probably true, one good year doesn’t change a trend. That article is from last year, though, and reports on a study that probably uses older data, so it doesn’t directly tell us what’s happening this year.