California Drought

[houstonscott]

Meanwhile back at the ranch ... RedNeckGeek's Chronicle article links to another article saying while popular, new dams are the most expensive of several alternate solutions. A formal program to recharge aquifers is so new that it is considered experimental and doesn't have any funding support, although the need to halt subsidence before the aquifer space is ruined seems like an obvious way forward. (something I read elsewhere: a private investor owns the only such project running today, he gets flood water at nearly no cost and sells it back to the State for premium price later in the year). Another alternative for flood control as well as aquifer recharge is to expand the floodplain diversion channels that are already used to bypass water around Sacramento. This bypass at times carries volume exceeding the Mississippi. Dams remain in line for bulk of funding over cheaper alternatives - San Francisco Chronicle

Desalination is cheap, California has the natural gas and oil to operate it too. Just depends on how thirsty they get... Global warming hoax or water....

 

[ForestGrump]

Meanwhile back at the ranch ...

RedNeckGeek's Chronicle article links to another article saying while popular, new dams are the most expensive of several alternate solutions. A formal program to recharge aquifers is so new that it is considered experimental and doesn't have any funding support, although the need to halt subsidence before the aquifer space is ruined seems like an obvious way forward. (something I read elsewhere: a private investor owns the only such project running today, he gets flood water at nearly no cost and sells it back to the State for premium price later in the year).

Another alternative for flood control as well as aquifer recharge is to expand the floodplain diversion channels that are already used to bypass water around Sacramento. This bypass at times carries volume exceeding the Mississippi.

Dams remain in line for bulk of funding over cheaper alternatives - San Francisco Chronicle

I guess I disagree with your assessment of the article. Aquifer recharge is not new. It's how Mother Nature does it. Bakersfield as the article mentions has had a system in place for many years. It was there when I moved there in the early '80's. I'm not so sure of the aquifer destruction comments due to over pumping. I think the real issue is "water rights" . These are rights probably dating back more than 100 years. For example Irv Nichols, Bakersfield, held/holds most of the water rights for the Kern River. So the whole issue is very very complex.

Subsidence is also a legit issue with any mass withdrawal of fluids. Such as in oil fields. In retrospect artificial pumping of fluids downhole can also present issues as we are seeing with fracking.

Not many people are aware that, also in Kern County, near Bakersfield, Major Oil Companies used to dispose of their oil production produced water in "percolation ponds". So if an oilfield made 100,000 BOD then it would make close to 1,000,000 BWD which was either reintroduced into the reservoir by direct pumping, waterflood and/or steamflood and of course the percolation ponds.

Disposal of wastewater and rainwater runoff into the ocean or elsewhere from its origin is also a huge non productive problem. Here in Big Bear our water comes from our aquifers and then our wastewater goes downhill to Lucerne Valley for discharge. I understand they will be beginning an aquifer recharge program in the near future.

So life is complex.

 

[California]

I guess I disagree with your assessment of the article.

No disagreement here, you have a better understanding of the subject than I do.

The main thing I noticed in the article is there seems to be a bias to spend available funds for dams, a known technology, while trying to develop aquifer and bypass solutions isn't so well funded.

Thanks for advancing the discussion.

 

[AchingBack]

Every 2�� years California suffers a storm of biblical proportions this year痴 rains are just a precursor - The Verge


Science
US & World

Every 200 years California suffers a storm of biblical proportions this year's rains are just a precursor
The last freak rainstorm turned the Central Valley into a lake, and we are due for another one

 

[Dadnatron]

Desalination is cheap, California has the natural gas and oil to operate it too. Just depends on how thirsty they get... Global warming hoax or water....

OMG!!!

Don't you even care about the plankton!!!

 

[dickfoster]

Hmmm. I guess you missed it:

Gov. Brown Issues State of Emergency in Response to Oroville Dam Spillway Trouble | FOX4

Oroville spillway: Gov. Jerry Brown requests direct federal aid "to save lives"

Oroville spillway: Gov. Jerry Brown requests direct federal aid "to save lives"


BTW, the 70s just called. They want the term "moonbeam" back.

Yeah I saw those but it isn't much considering the state of things. Funny thing ,one minute he's sticking his thumb in Trump's eye and the next he hat in hand looking for a handout from him.

 

[dickfoster]

Desalination is cheap, California has the natural gas and oil to operate it too. Just depends on how thirsty they get... Global warming hoax or water....

Desalination is anything but cheap. Just OK but not cheap to get a little water for household consumption but it is far too pricey for AG. To get desal anywhere near cheap enough you need a really cheap and clean source of energy like nuke.

 

[dickfoster]

OMG!!!

Don't you even care about the plankton!!!

Or the striped northern sierra pissant.

 

[ultrarunner]

Monsoon rains on and off today... I've been around a long time and this would match anything I've seen.

I'm glad the I did the last of the roofs in 2016!

 

[Raspy]

Yeah I saw those but it isn't much considering the state of things. Funny thing ,one minute he's sticking his thumb in Trump's eye and the next he hat in hand looking for a handout from him.

Disaster relief has nothing to do with begging or "hat in hand looking for a handout". And it has nothing to do with differing political views. Trump isn't being asked to do Brown some kind of favor. It's the people in the state that are having trouble and that is what disaster relief is for.