California Drought

[RedNeckGeek]

Just about everything I mention such as tree removal permits, rent control, water restrictions, ban on new lawns, design review have all come since I was a child... I am old enough to remember a different California... one where a 1/4 of my public school class each year were newcomers and I was able to collect all 50 state license plates from people transferred to California by the time I was 10 years old...

Most of these maladies are still confined to the heavily populated urban counties in California. But some, like building permits and design reviews, are moving out even into the hinterlands. So far, at least in Butte County, there have been no water restrictions, rent control, bans on new lawns, or tree removal permits. I just hope it stays that way. It's also quite easy to apply for and obtain a concealed carry permit here. So not all the state has gone to He11 in a hand basket. Just those counties that voted for Billary.:laughing:

BTW, it was announced on the TV news last night that all of Northern California, essentially everything north of the San Francisco Bay Area, is no longer in drought. In just the last 5 or 6 days, Lake Oroville has collected about 800,000 acre feet, about 25% of its total capacity. It'll take about that much more to completely fill the reservoir, but if it keeps raining like it has, that could happen with just one more storm. That's why Shasta Dam and Oroville Dam have been releasing water over and above amounts needed for power and environmental mandates. Clicking the Oro Info link below the chart will take you to a page where you can chart inflows, outflows, and many other parameters that will help show just what's going on with the lake's hydrology. And this link is a table of the other reservoirs in the state.

 

[EddieWalker]

I haven't lived in CA for almost 15 years, so I'm sure things have changed since then. My parents moved from Hayward to Jackson when they retired and where on well water. Every year, more and more houses where built, including some massive housing developments between Jackson and Sac. Everyone kept wondering where the water would come from, but with houses selling for more and more, they just kept building. The final straw was when they built the Indian Casino in Jackson and where given special permits for water usage. While I can't say how much water they used at the Casino, the timing was such that people started having issues with their wells and had to drill them deeper. The guy who drilled my parents will deeper blamed the Casino, and everyone around there blamed the Casino.

I don't know where the water went, or why so many people had to drill their wells deeper, but I do believe that local government allowed too many special permits for water when there wasn't enough to go around. The Casino is just one example.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

The drought has been tough on all the well owners, Eddie. Vineyards are another big user, and around Paso Robles they've stopped issuing well permits because a large number of new vineyards put in over the last ten years have dropped the water table too much. I believe that's also the case in the Napa/Sonoma area, too. The central part of the state hasn't seen the big rains like we have and are still in drought, so the state mandated water budgeting will continue. As long as the weather remains good, more people will keep putting more demand on the water and the situation isn't going to improve by itself. But a big part of why I moved north when I retired was to increase my chances of not having to manage a water emergency and so far that's panned out pretty well.

 

[ultrarunner]

Abundant water is one of the reasons I chose Olympia WA and this decision was heavily influenced by my water rationing experiences in the SF Bay Area.

I do think it is important to note the Lake Tahoe still has severe rationing and water restrictions... at least the last water bill made a point to state the drought is NOT over... yet Lake Tahoe is one of the largest and cleanest bodies f fresh water in the United States with depth second only to Crater Lake... a number of municipal wells had/have MTBE contamination issues... from mandated MTBE in motor fuels.

 

[houstonscott]

Abundant water is one of the reasons I chose Olympia WA and this decision was heavily influenced by my water rationing experiences in the SF Bay Area. I do think it is important to note the Lake Tahoe still has severe rationing and water restrictions... at least the last water bill made a point to state the drought is NOT over... yet Lake Tahoe is one of the largest and cleanest bodies f fresh water in the United States with depth second only to Crater Lake... a number of municipal wells had/have MTBE contamination issues... from mandated MTBE in motor fuels.

Mandated by the brilliant greens in California, and pushed on the other 49, California greens have poisoned water with MTBE requirements all over the USA. Thanks. HS

 

[dickfoster]

I haven't lived in CA for almost 15 years, so I'm sure things have changed since then. My parents moved from Hayward to Jackson when they retired and where on well water. Every year, more and more houses where built, including some massive housing developments between Jackson and Sac. Everyone kept wondering where the water would come from, but with houses selling for more and more, they just kept building. The final straw was when they built the Indian Casino in Jackson and where given special permits for water usage. While I can't say how much water they used at the Casino, the timing was such that people started having issues with their wells and had to drill them deeper. The guy who drilled my parents will deeper blamed the Casino, and everyone around there blamed the Casino.

I don't know where the water went, or why so many people had to drill their wells deeper, but I do believe that local government allowed too many special permits for water when there wasn't enough to go around. The Casino is just one example.

Yeah it just kills me when the politicians talk about water rationing out of one side of their mouth then how how everyone needs to be controlled and how great growth is out of the other side of their mouth. They just can't wait to dip into all that new tax money no matter what the cost. Can you say irresponsible? I watched them build out Phoenix during the housing boom and wondered what the h e l l they were all going to drink but the building boom went on regardless until the bubble popped. Idiots! Growing crops like cotton in the middle of a friggin desert is another thing that drives me up the wall and still the gubberment pays them to do it. It's all idiotic to say the least. Nothing creates problems like politics and politicians.

 

[California]

... But you have to look beyond the politics and politicians and learn who supported their elections.

Follow the money, every election and the resulting policies represent the economic power of somebody who considered investing in a politician to be profitable. I think that less-visible aspect is widely overlooked when people complain.

Lets not start naming names in this thread, we don't want it moved to 'Friendly' Politics.

 

[dickfoster]

... But you have to look beyond the politics and politicians and learn who supported their elections.

Follow the money, every election and the resulting policies represent the economic power of somebody who considered investing in a politician to be profitable. I think that less-visible aspect is widely overlooked when people complain.

Lets not start naming names in this thread, we don't want it moved to 'Friendly' Politics.

I'm safe because few of the people I've voted for are elected. Mass appeal equates to mass hysteria in most cases and few vote with their brains anyway, especially in this state.

 

[houstonscott]

... But you have to look beyond the politics and politicians and learn who supported their elections. Follow the money, every election and the resulting policies represent the economic power of somebody who considered investing in a politician to be profitable. I think that less-visible aspect is widely overlooked when people complain. Lets not start naming names in this thread, we don't want it moved to 'Friendly' Politics.

Very true, build desalination plants and get hot, the next drought is around the corner. HS

 

[Egon]

California is not the only place with water problems. I believe the Ogala Reservoir as well as some others are being drawn from at a greater rate than the recharge. That is also what is happening to other reservoirs around the world.