The latest snow pack measurements have been recorded in the Mt. Lassen National Forest very near where I live in Northern California. In the state at large we had the driest January ever recorded. In the Mt. Lassen area they recorded the 2nd driest January on record though they've only been keeping records there since 1894 (121 years).
Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) checks the snow pack there every month for the purposes of knowing how much water there will be to generate electricity via hydroelectric dams which make juice without emitting green house gases. The news is sorta good. There is 85% of normal snow pack there. The caveat is that part of the Sierra Mountains gets the most snow of anywhere in the state (and you thought it was around Mount Shasta). 67 hydroelectric power plants are in this service area providing 15% of California's electrical power.
Lake Oroville, where Mt. Lassen region water ends up.
The bad news is the total mountain snow pack in all of California is 20% of normal. During the past couple years, the underground aquifers were drained like never before as farms and orchards used that water to grow crops since there wasn't enough surface water to do so. California has never regulated underground water and is in the process of doing that for the first time, finally.
Right now they are allowing local water regions to create their own plans with the stated goals of preventing levels from dropping (good luck), retaining underground storage (good luck), preventing salt water from getting into wells (salt water is showing up in wells in the county just west of the county in which I live. Those wells are about 100 miles from the ocean), and keeping a connection with ground water and underground water (this is code for allowing the aquifers to recharge).
This is a bold move to allow local control of water regulation while simultaneously hoping local water regions will get serious about this. The state is calling these distinct areas GSA's (groundwater sustainable areas). If local water regions don't get their acts together, the state is ready to move in and regulate those areas. They envision regulating wells that pump water over set amounts (so no more balls to the wall pumping) and even taxing groundwater use. This all sounds good except for the fact there don't have to be plans in place until 2022 (seven years from now). I fear it may be far too late by then.
Another troubling thing that happens when you suck all the water from underground aquifers faster than it can be replenished is the ground above it sinks down which compacts the soil. If soil is compacted past a certain point, filtration ceases meaning no water from ground water sources can then percolated down to recharge the underground aquifers. California has started to determine how much of this is going on. The term "subsidence" is used when land is "permanently compacted" and the ability to replenish aquifers is lost. Just to the west and south of Butte County this is occurring. The land around Hamilton City (13 miles west of Chico) has dropped 4.5 inches and is now "permanently compacted." This area is home to almond, walnut and olive orchards and lots of rice fields.
Folsom Reservoir near Sacramento, CA
I've written in the past about how different parts of California are dealing with the incredible drought conditions. In the northern part of the state, including the Bay Area, people are taking it seriously and using less water. San Francisco used 15.5% less water last year than the year before. Where I live we used more than 35% less. In the southern part of the state things are different. Los Angeles county (10.2 million) used 2.3% less while San Diego county (3.21 million) actually used 2.6% more water. (California has 38.42 million people as of the 2010 census).
There is currently a disconnect going on between the attitudes of northern California and southern California in terms of how to respond to what is now our 4th year of drought. The latest field polls show us this. When Californians from all around the state are polled 94% say the drought is a problem while 68% say its a serious problem. But when you poll different parts of the state regarding how we should respond, only 34% of southern Californians think there should be any mandatory cutbacks in the amount of water they consume which tells me 66% still aren't taking the drought seriously...at least not in feeling they should change their personal water consumption habits. This does show a bit of progress. One year ago only 27% of southern Californians thought there should be mandatory water reductions. I suppose a seven percentage point change, after another entire year of drought, is still something positive.
The drought is still overwhelming seen as a rural, northern California problem. One reason is that by law all the reservoirs in southern California must be kept at least 97% full at the expense of taking it all from northern California, so in the "experience" of folks in that part of the state there is and always has been enough water to do whatever they want. Believe it or not during the past two years, folks from northern California that like to go boating often drive their boats to those reservoirs in the south because our reservoirs up here are too dry to go boating.
Last year the official stance of southern California water districts was to have no restrictions in water use, but they noted a "drought condition exists." However things may be changing. In 2013 all the reservoirs in southern California were "topped off" from northern California water, which is the law. On top of that the south had 2.7 million acre-feet of water in storage in the Tehachapis. At the end of 2014 that dropped to 1.2 million acre-feet. Diamond Reservoir which was 100% full is now only 49% full (and this is the rainy season).
At some point southern California might have to stop pretending they don't have to change their water consumption rates. Mother nature will have something loud and clear to say about this. I predict this will be the year there will simply NOT be enough water to continue to fill all the south's reservoirs from the north's water. The water doesn't exist anymore. So far southern California's water districts are aware of the situation but have not taken any moves towards dealing with it.
"Not in my back yard, golf course, swimming pool or half acre lawn."
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Sticker shock! I typically have to fill my car's tank with gas every two weeks or so. I just filled up yesterday. The price of gasoline was 64 cents more per gallon than it was two weeks ago. Wow! I mean, are you friggin' kidding me? They claim they are ramping up gas prices for the "summer travel season" and because there is a strike at one refinery, so you know, time to gouge. They always jack up the prices for the summer and blame it on California's air quality control laws, but it was only March 1st yesterday folks. Bastards!
I wrote about fracking in California a couple weeks ago. Though some will strongly disagree with me, I maintain we have problems due to fracking here in California and apparently the state agrees. As of October 2015, the state will close 140 oil-field wells into which frackers have been allowed to to pump their toxic fracking waste water. Why? It's all getting into aquifers used for drinking water, that's why. Even though Dick Cheney created the energy bill with the "Halliburton loophole" making it illegal for the EPA to regulate anything regarding fracking, there is a previous Federal law on the books which does give authority for regulating sources of drinking water. So California is going to use that law to stop frackers from pumping their toxic crap into our drinking water supplies underground.
Nothing to see here folks, and nothing you can do about it either.
And on a sad note I did mention how our Butte County supervisors punted on having a fracking ban in Butte County. The truth is even if we vote for one it likely won't be allowed to stand. Why? The "Halliburton loophole" supersedes any fracking bans. Unfortunately unless there is a new energy bill passed (since Cheney and the Oil Companies created the one behind closed doors which was passed by the GOP controlled Congress at the time and signed into law by George W. Bush), fracking bans are being judged as seemingly illegal under Federal rules since the EPA can't regulate fracking I suppose.
My home state of Colorado has been ravaged by fracking and the consequences that occur, whether you believe they occur or not. Along the front range of the Rocky Mountains the cities of Fort Collins, Longmont and Lafayette have all passed measures banning fracking within their city limits. Each city has been sued by the oil industry and had their bans overturned.
So, clearly the only way to actually ban fracking is not in the hands of citizens or states. There will have to be a new Federal energy policy that allows for EPA regulation, or at the very least oversight, for that to ever happen. In the mean time is seems the only thing a state can do is stop their drinking water supplies from being poisoned by toxic fracking waste water.
What do you want to kibitz about tonight?
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Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share part of the evening around a virtual kitchen table with kossacks who are caring and supportive of one another. So bring your stories, jokes, photos, funny pics, music, and interesting videos, as well as links—including quotations—to diaries, news stories, and books that you think this community would appreciate. Readers may notice that most who post diaries and comments in this series already know one another to some degree, but newcomers should not feel excluded. We welcome guests at our kitchen table, and hope to make some new friends as well.
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