California plans to dramatically curtail water delivery next year to 27 million ....

[IcyPeas]

I posted this in the Environmental Group also, but thought Californians should know about this. Call me crazy but I think this is big news... and not good!!!

California plans to dramatically curtail water delivery next year to 27 million Californians and three-quarters of a million acres of farmland because of a two-year drought

Link to tweet

California plans to dramatically curtail water delivery next year from its network of canals, pipelines and reservoirs to 27 million Californians and three-quarters of a million acres of farmland because of a two-year drought.

The California Department of Water Resources said it will prioritize delivery from the State Water Project only for health and safety needs, to maintain salinity control in key wetlands, to protect endangered species and to put water in reserve. That means farmers won’t get any water from the system they had applied for unless conditions improve.
...
California is the country’s largest agricultural producer, with its farms and ranches generating $49 billion of sales in 2020, including milk, nuts, fruits and vegetables, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

More in article
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-01/california-to-cut-water-to-farms-and-cities-as-drought-worsens

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. It's true that this is not good news, BUT it is reality.

The Department of Water Resources has to make decisions based on what is happening with climate change and our water supply.

There's not a whole lot that they can do.

I think they're making the best of a terrible situation.

[JohnSJ]

2. How about start building desalination plants

[TheRealNorth]

3. Might be a good use of that infrastructure money.

[JohnSJ]

5. I think so too

[sdfernando]

4. We have one in northern San Diego County.

They are expensive to build and maintain...and they have their own host of environmental problems. For instance, increased ocean water salinity around the plant.

[hunter]

6. The water produced is too expensive for most agricultural uses...

... and landscaping uses as well.

Furthermore, it's complete madness to burn fossil fuels to desalinate seawater since global warming will only make droughts worse.

Desalinization is not too expensive for indoor domestic use. It's usually advertised as a "half cent a gallon," which is less than it costs to heat water for a shower, but magnitudes greater than farmers pay for water.

Most people can afford to pay a penny to flush a toilet. If major dairy operations had to use desalinated water the price of milk would skyrocket.

The environmental impacts of desalinization go beyond dumping the salt. Various chemicals used to keep desalinization systems from fouling also end up in the waste stream as well.

I don't think any urban areas are going to dry up and blow away because of drought. Phoenix and Las Vegas are safe, they'll probably buy water rights from California, and California cities will in turn recycle sewage and desalinate sea water.

But agriculture in the Western U.S.A. is going to become a less viable business.