William Johnson of San Diego writes passionately about the crisis in the water supply of his beloved area in California. William just returned from a trip east and commented about the "green" that he observed here. There's more to the "green" in the east than what we enjoy in 2009.
WILLIAM: The green here this year and for the past couple of years is all part of a cycle. We go in cycles of about 7-8 years. I've watched it for quite a few 7-8 year cycle repeats.
When this cycle is completed, which, if I can predict accurately from memory, will be about 2 years. Then we in the east should enter into a dry cycle and our grass will be brown, the corn will grow to only about 2 feet, the folks in Frederick County MD will have water trucked in to many areas because the wells will be dry and the city water drastically low, etc.
In areas that are overbuilt for the existing infrastructure of the towns, mandatory water restrictions are in place even in this year of water abundance. In Purcellville, a builder wanted to add another 240 town homes to the water supply. Thank goodness the town council rejected the application. It would have meant that the existing already low supply would have been reduced to every resident that depended on the local water supply.
Typical Farm in Northern Virginia in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountain Range.
Our farms are not massive agribusinesses that we see in California, but farmers with truck farms who have no product to sell in our dry cycles. California relies on full fruited trees and plants because they sell to huge suppliers and have to have "super market ready product". In dry cycles, our truck farmers sell fruits and vegetables that are small and not attractive. I still buy them because I know they are local and our farmer families hard working neighbors. We don't have the vast water dependant development that they have in California. Here, when it doesn't rain, the fields are dry.
So, we can enjoy the green forests this year, but for how long??? Perhaps the agricultural enterprises in California can be deemed to be "too big to fail" and qualify for some massive federal aid from tax payers across the country. Makes sense to me. I'd rather subsidize food for our nation than the Wall Street Gangs. Of course, there might be some spill over.
Frederick County Parcipitation averages Jan.-Dec. **
| Avg. Precip. | 2.8 in | 2.7 in | 3.3 in | 3.3 in | 4.3 in | 3.9 in | 3.7 in | 3.5 in | 3.6 in | 3.1 in | 3.3 in | 2.9 in |
That's about 40 inches of rain fall annually. Enough to grow significant crops. Yet, in dry years, the fields produce little to nothing to market because the farms don't have artificial water supplies that we see in California. In the east, if the rain falls, the crops flourish. If the rain doesn't fall, there are no crops.
Rainfall in San Diego appears to be quite low based on historical data. Yet, California is where the massive agribusinesses are located and the massive water supplies needed. Nature is opportunistic and plants only grow naturally where the conditions are friendly. When mankind moves the plants to an unfriendly location, producing an engineered environment, it could eventually fail simply because the need to maintain the engineered environment far exceeds the profit from the plants growing there. Unless, the massive businesses that provide these artificial environments are deemed "To Big To Fail". It is clear to many that California cannot subsidize these massive engineered environments for crops. California has deficits/debt the likes of which we can only imagine, yet they are real. The country, all of the country to some extent has become dependant on the produce from California. Does that make the California agribusinesses "To Big To Fail"? Could be.
Normal Percipitation for Leesburg, VA.
| Inch | 3.29 | 2.47 | 3.64 | 3.48 | 4.45 | 4.21 | 3.68 | 3.82 | 4.16 | 3.38 | 3.52 | 3.11 | 43.21 |
The message here is not the water supply. It's the water usage.
** I've used Frederick County, MD as the example of our area simply because it's an area that suffers crisis in water supply in our dry cycles.
Very interesting Lenn, I never thought about the cycles. We had a water shortage/drought here a year ago and were on watering restrictions. Why not subsidize those that feed us? Good point...
Lenn, I used to live in Northern Virginia....McLean, Alexandria and Arlington...before retiring from Dept of Commerce/NOAA. I love that area. I remember some very dry spells and the water restrictions. But, now retired in WV.... there has not been any water restrictions. ..it is so beautiful and green here.
Politics and bailouts aside, that is a really pretty picture there. It looks like the pace of life slows down a bit, not a bad thing.
Mark. Right you are. The simple beauty of the countryside is enough for me. Of course, I go to the supermarket and buy California Avocados and Texas Oranges and any variety of produce from all over the country.
Rebecca. West Virginia is a beautiful area. The mountains are always green there. I think.
Lee and Pamela. Indeed. Many on Capitol Hill don't like the California government and would prefer to let it go down.
Agriculture still holds a lot of power in both State and Federal politics. Nice country side picture
Hi Lenn, I love the simple answer. What I know of the Agribusiness in California is that it is hurting big time. Farms have had their water supplies greatly curtailed. In the north part of our county, I have heard that the avocado harvests may disappear altogether. In Imperial county, adjacent to San Diego county, the water supplies are becoming so critical, that some of the farms can only plant a part of the land on their farms and their costs are escalating as well. Some of these farms will also disappear soon.
The last time we had measurable rain was in 2005 in the fall of the year. I recall because of how it had affected the number of homes designed with roofs that because of the heat and dry weather, shrink and crack so their was a real run on roofers.
The worst thing for us is that our governments don't plan very well for the shrinking supply but are more driven by revenue generated from building massive amounts of housing for tax revenue.We all know about that story.
I recall reading that 25 years ago when I first moved to CA, San Diego county had reserves to build no less than 3 major reservoirs to increase and improve the water supply. The money was earmarked but they were never built. The costs today and the red tape made it even worse by the total unmitigated influence of environmentalists and their power with the state government.Those reservoirs would take no less than 10 years now to get through the law suits and of course they don't have money now anyway, so there are no concrete plans. Our best hope would be desalination but it took 6 years of bureaucratic red tape and law suits just to get the first permit to build and now financing is slowing the progress. We would need 10 plants to offset the short fall and there are no other plans in the works.
You may recall the court decision ( I wrote about it in one of my posts) which has further exacerbated our water supply issue on top of the drought. Our supplies purchased from the Sacramento River Delta are being cut 50% because it seems that the transport system has reduced the amount of " Smelt" and the environmentalists sued and won in court. It is, as any good citizen would recognize, more important to protect of these little helpless fish than worry that human use of water has to be even further curtailed. And that farms should be shut down because their water supplies are not enough to produce the crops that they sell to feed to us. So"let them eat cake".
What this state needs are some visionaries to run things for a while and that will never happen as the visionaries tend to be more conservative and they just don't get elected here. Being held accountable is just not what the elected representatives want and they pretty much get what they want. We may not have enough water to drink soon so "let them eat cake", they would say. Yep, that works for me. :-) NOT
Hi Lenn
The weather does go though cycles, one of the big issue in California with the water is over regulation by the government.
Good luck and success.
Lou Ludwig
William (and Lenn):
California's agriculture (and the state's overpopulated southern third) is built upon the illogical premise that Californians are entitled to other people's water. Instead of going where the water is located, your farmers want to effect their neighboring (American & Mexican) states.
We are already in Oil War Two. There will be Water Wars on this planet during this century.
Hopefully, we won't have to have one within our borders.
You had better hope desalination works.
Blogging along I-5 in central CA, where the desert does not yet blossom as the rose:
and where it is so hot and dry that I can see cattle congregating
under a clump of high power transmission towers -- seeking shade.
Harry. Indeed, although I suspect not for so long.
William. I understand everything you said. Yes, I recall the problems getting the desalination progect through. Massive projects of this type take years. All they have to do is look to the desailination projects in the Middle East that are turning deserts into viable cities and ports.
I suspect that there will be little to notice of the disaster coming in California until the price of groceries from California is so high that it impacts the budgets of all Americans, and it will.
Lou. Of course.
Jim. I agree that the conflicts over water will escalate to the point of aggression.
Lenn, we have been getting a lot of rain, but I much prefer that to what California is experiencing. I can also remember some dry times here in Connecticut, but only remember one or two years where water restrictions were imposed.
Nice sunny day today I think I will go and enjoy a Minor League Baseball Game :) :)
Lenn, interesting cycle that I've never even paid any attention to. I'm with you, I'd rather see the money go to food that the irrational ways that it's currently being spent. I'd say those CA projects need to get started and put into 'expedient' motion--NOW!
Lenn indeed this is very interesting. In Georgia we have just ended a drought offically, but I have noticed the rains have ceased falling already. Agriculture and many outdoor businesses were devastated. Conservation of resources, and planning... is a key component to avoid disaster.