Thursday 2 April 2015

California's drought

"Nope. Not an April Fool's Joke. This is the LOWEST snowpack ever recorded in history"


Calif. Gov. Issues Sweeping Water Restrictions




Talking Points Memo,
1 April, 2015


ECHO LAKE, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Jerry Brown ordered state officials Wednesday to impose mandatory water restrictions for the first time in history as the state grapples with a serious drought.

In an executive order, Brown ordered the state water board to implement measures in cities and towns that cut usage by 25 percent.

"We're in a historic drought and that demands unprecedented action," Brown said at a news conference in the Sierra Nevada, where dry, brown grass surrounded a site that normally would be snow-covered at this time of year. "We have to pull together and save water in every way we can."

The move will affect residents, businesses, farmers and other users.

Brown's order also will require campuses, golf courses, cemeteries and other large landscapes to significantly cut water use; order local governments to replace 50 million square feet of lawns on throughout the state with drought-tolerant landscaping; and create a temporary rebate program for consumers who replace old water-sucking appliances with more efficient ones.

The snowpack has been in decline all year, with electronic measurements in March showing the statewide snow water equivalent at 19 percent of the historical average for that date.

There was no snow at the site of the Wednesday snow survey.

Snow supplies about a third of the state's water, and a higher snowpack translates to more water in California reservoirs to meet demand in summer and fall.

Officials say the snowpack is already far below the historic lows of 1977 and 2014, when it was 25 percent of normal on April 1 — the time when the snowpack is generally at its peak.

Brown declared a drought emergency and stressed the need for sustained water conservation.

The Department of Water Resources will conduct its final manual snow survey at a spot near Echo Summit, about 90 miles east of Sacramento. Electronic measurements are taken in a number of other places.



For First Time In History, California Governor Orders Mandatory Water Cuts Amid "Unprecedented, Dangerous Situation"



1 April, 2015

Amid the "cruelest winter ever," with the lowest snowpack on record, and with 98.11% of the state currently in drouight conditions, California Governor Jerry Brown orders mandatory water cuts in California for the first time in history...

Lowest snowpack on record...




98.11% Drought...



As ABC reports,







California Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced a set of mandatory water conservation measures today, as the state continues to struggle with a prolonged drought that has lasted for more than four years.
"Today we are standing on dry grass where there should be five feet of snow," Brown said in a statement after visiting a manual snow survey in the Sierra Nevadas. "This historic drought demands unprecedented action."
For the first time in the state's history, the governor has directed the State Water Resources Control Board to implement mandatory water reductions across California, in an effort to reduce water usage by 25 percent.The measures include replacing 50 million square feet of lawns throughout the state with drought-tolerant landscaping, banning the watering of grass on public street medians, requiring agricultural water users to report their water use to state regulators, and requiring large landscapes such as campuses, golf courses and cemeteries to make significant cuts in water use.
The governor’s announcement comes just a few weeks after NASA’s top water scientist, Jay Famiglietti, declared in a Los Angeles Times op-ed that California only had a year's-worth of water supply left in its reservoirs.
The last four years have been the driest in California’s recorded history. As of March 24, more than 98 percent of California is suffering from abnormally dry conditions, with 41.1 percent in an exceptional drought, according the U.S. Drought Monitor, which estimates that more than 37 million Californians have been affected by the drought. The state’s snowpack, which is largely responsible for feeding the state’s reservoirs, has been reduced to 8 percent of its historical average, and in some areas in the Central Valley the land is sinking a foot a year because of over-pumping of groundwater for agriculture.
... 
We are in an unprecedented, very serious situation,” the governor said in his January statement. At some point, we have to learn to live with nature, we have to get on nature’s side and not abuse the resources that we have.”

*  *  *
And as we noted previously, while all eyes are focused on dry river beds and fields of dust, the maountainous ski resort areas are seing their economies devastated. As Bloomberg reports,








Last year Vail reported a 28 percent drop in skier visits at its California resorts, and the company warned investors that its financial results would be worse than anticipated. 
Those numbers reflect what could be a larger contraction of Tahoe’s ski industry. Seasonal and part-time hiring has slid 27 percent over the last three years, according Patrick Tierney, a professor of recreation, parks, and tourism at San Francisco State University, and spending on ski-related services has decreased from $717 million a year to $428 million. An older analysis by the San Francisco Reserve Bank showed that the value of resort-area homes in places like Tahoe can depend heavily on climate; even a 2-degree increase could cut home values by more than 50 percent.

*  *  *
The drought is getting worse... not better.


From Daily Kos

California governor orders unprecedented water restrictions





NBC News is reporting that California Governor Jerry Brown just issued an executive order that specifies water use to be cut by 25 percent statewide to deal with the state's relentless drought.

"Today we are standing on dry grass where there should be five feet of snow. This historic drought demands unprecedented action," Brown said in a statement. "Therefore, I'm issuing an executive order mandating substantial water reductions across our state. As Californians, we must pull together and save water in every way possible."

Similar measures were considered during California's 1970s drought but were never implemented, according to the governor's office.

This comes after recent reports that California's "snowpack" is at record lows this spring.
California can expect no water for its drought depleted reservoirs from melting snow in the high Sierra. On March 23, one week from the April 1 date used by water forecasters to predict summer run off from melting snow, the Sierra Nevada's snow water content was a record low 9% of normal. Near record warmth is forecast in the coming week and little precipitation is forecast in the next 10 days going into the long, hot, summer dry season. Melting snow normally constitutes one third of California's water supplies and acts to lengthen the spring season. This year summer will come early. Reservoirs and groundwater levels will begin to fall months earlier than normal because of the lack of mountain snow melt this spring.

Governor Brown, just a few weeks ago, signed fast-track legislation to expedite $1 billion inemergency funds for this drought.

From today's release:
For the first time in state history, the Governor has directed the State Water Resources Control Board to implement mandatory water reductions in cities and towns across California to reduce water usage by 25 percent. This savings amounts to approximately 1.5 million acre-feet of water over the next nine months, or nearly as much as is currently in Lake Oroville.
To save more water now, the order will also:
-Replace 50 million square feet of lawns throughout the state with drought tolerant landscaping in partnership with local governments;
-Direct the creation of a temporary, statewide consumer rebate program to replace old appliances with more water and energy efficient models;
-Require campuses, golf courses, cemeteries and other large landscapes to make significant cuts in water use; and
-Prohibit new homes and developments from irrigating with potable water unless water-efficient drip irrigation systems are used, and ban watering of ornamental grass on public street medians.

For those of us living out here, this has been a long time coming. Now we just need to getagriculture under control.
But agriculture consumes a staggering 80 percent of California’s developed water, even as it accounts for only 2 percent of the state’s gross domestic product. Most crops and livestock are produced in the Central Valley, which is, geologically speaking, a desert. The soil is very fertile but crops there can thrive only if massive amounts of irrigation water are applied.
Although no secret, agriculture’s 80 percent share of state water use is rarely mentioned in media discussions of California’s drought. Instead, news coverage concentrates on the drought’s implications for people in cities and suburbs, which is where most journalists and their audiences live. Thus recent headlines warned that state regulators have ordered restaurants to serve water only if customers explicitly request it and directed homeowners to water lawns no more than twice a week. The San Jose Mercury News pointed out that these restrictions carry no enforcement mechanisms, but what makes them a sideshow is simple math: During a historic drought, surely the sector that’s responsible for 80 percent of water consumption—agriculture—should be the main focus of public attention and policy.

The only real nod to agriculture in Brown's release today is here:
Agricultural water users - which have borne much of the brunt of the drought to date, with hundreds of thousands of fallowed acres, significantly reduced water allocations and thousands of farmworkers laid off - will be required to report more water use information to state regulators, increasing the state's ability to enforce against illegal diversions and waste and unreasonable use of water under today's order. Additionally, the Governor's action strengthens standards for Agricultural Water Management Plans submitted by large agriculture water districts and requires small agriculture water districts to develop similar plans. These plans will help ensure that agricultural communities are prepared in case the drought extends into 2016.
It's a start. But a very small one.


Nestlé is draining California aquifers, from Sacramento alone taking 80 million gallons annually. Nestlé then sells the people's water back to them at great profit under many dozen brand name.


Citing the enormous strain animal agriculture has on its dwindling water supply, the state of California announced it would close all meat, dairy, and egg operations and provide assistance in transforming these businesses into water-saving vegan food production facilities.

As the drought continues dust storms will become the norm

Haze of dust obscures views across Las Vegas Valley




26 November, 2014

Strong northwesterly winds kicked up a haze of dust across the Las Vegas Valley this morning, obscuring distant views of the Strip and surrounding mountains.​


Winds up to 29 mph have been recorded at McCarran International Airport and up to 32 mph in North Las Vegas, National Weather Service meteorologist Nathan Foster said. The wind is expected to strengthen this afternoon, he said.

A wind advisory for the valley has been issued for 9 p.m. today through 11 a.m. Thursday, Foster said. Gusts are expected to reach up to 50 mph, he said.

The strongest winds are expected on the west side of the valley, in the Summerlin area, Foster said.

The Clark County Department of Air Quality, meanwhile, issued a dust advisory effective through Thursday morning.

Unhealthy levels of dust have not been recorded, but officials will monitor conditions and post an alert on the department’s website if conditions change. Officials have also sent notices to construction sites asking that precautions be taken to prevent blowing dust.

Dust can aggravate respiratory diseases such as bronchitis and asthma, officials said. Children, the elderly and those with respiratory diseases are urged to stay inside during dust storms.






Nope. Not an April Fool's Joke. This is the LOWEST snowpack ever recorded in history.

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