California is a
bad, bad way.
In another sign California's persistent drought, downtown San Francisco recorded no measurable rain in January for the first time in 165 years.
The National Weather Service also said Santa Cruz recorded no rain in January for the first time since 1893. Normal rainfall for that city in January is more than 6 inches
Jay Famiglietti, a senior water scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Caltech and a professor of Earth system science at UC Irvine wrote a column for the
LA Times with a
dire warning:
As difficult as it may be to face, the simple fact is that California is running out of water — and the problem started before our current drought. NASA data reveal that total water storage in California has been in steady decline since at least 2002, when satellite-based monitoring began, although groundwater depletion has been going on since the early 20th century.
Right now the state has only about one year of water supply left in its reservoirs, and our strategic backup supply, groundwater, is rapidly disappearing. California has no contingency plan for a persistent drought like this one (let alone a 20-plus-year mega-drought), except, apparently, staying in emergency mode and praying for rain.
Emphasis added—an estimated one-year water supply in California's reservoirs.
Famiglietti notes that the time to act is RIGHT NOW and offers a few key steps moving forward, including immediate mandatory water rationing, accelerating the implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 and creating a task force to begin addressing the issue immediately.
It's a scary read, but well worth it. Read his full list of suggestions here. If you live in California, it is time to start demanding real action, right now.
For more community discussion, see unapologeticliberal777's diary here.
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