The California drought

NASA: California drought threatens U.S. and world food supply

Chron,

7 November, 2014

We can't see it, but the Colorado River Basin is drying up underground, according to NASA.

Why should we care? Because the water loss in a historically arid region poses a major threat to California agriculture and, in turn, to the food supply for the United States and beyond.

The Colorado River Basin supplies water to about 40 million people in seven southwestern states and irrigates about 4 million acres of farmland, NASA said.

The space agency has partnered with the University of California, Irvine, on a study which has found that more than 75 percent of water loss in the drought-stricken basin in the past 10 years came from underground sources.

The journal "Nature Climate Change" published results Oct. 29 online in an article by James Famiglietti, hydrologist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

Researchers used data from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment satellites -- a joint project of NASA and the German Research Center for Geosciences in partnership with the University of Texas at Austin -- to track changes in the amount of water on and below the river basin's surface, according to a news release.

Between December 2004 and November 2013, monthly changes in water mass showed the basin lost about 53 million acre-feet of fresh water, almost twice the volume of the nation's largest reservoir, Lake Mead in Nevada. More than 75 percent of the loss -- about 41 million acre-feet -- was from groundwater.

"We don't know exactly how much groundwater we have left, so we don't know when we're going to run out," Stephanie Castle, water resources specialist at the University of California, Irvine, said in the news release. "This is a lot of water to lose. We thought that the picture could be pretty bad, but this was shocking."

Since 2000, the Colorado basin has undergone its driest 14-year period in the last 100 years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which is the federal water management agency.

Drought Turns East Bay City Into Wild, Wild West With Thieves Stealing Precious Water

Fire hydrant on Marsh Creek Road.

CBS,

8 November, 2014

Seems the drought has made California into the wild, wild west.

Clayton in Contra Costa County, is a city that remains true to its western roots. There’s even an old-time saloon.

In this town, water has become as precious as gold, and thieves are resorting to stealing it.

The Contra Costa Water District says fire hydrants are their favorite targets, mainly along Marsh Creek Road.

They come in the dark of the night.

“It’s not right,” said resident Delores Vargas.

Marvin Taylor agrees. “People who aren’t authorized to get into a fire hydrant shouldn’t be doing that.”

Unfortunately, they are.

The reason is anyone’s guess. It’s clean. They can sell it, or use it for dust abatement.

For the District, the health risk has become too high to ignore.

“If there was some sort of contamination back in to the hydrant, that would affect the residents that are feeding off of that system,” said Jennifer Allen, a spokesperson for Water District.

“People don’t listen,” said resident Marie Gomes. “They think they can do whatever they want with it, but it’s not right.”

The county is cracking down, now, and about to pull the trigger on a new ordinance.

It raises the fine for first time offenders from $25 to $250. If thieves are caught a second time, it’s $500.

“We want to put the harsher fine in place in order to deter people from the temptation to steal,” said Allen.

The County is also looking into security cameras.

If passed, the new fines kick in January 1, 2015.

For locals, the sooner the better, to keep the water thieves at bay.

Marvin Taylor thinks it’s high time.

“In a drought we need to be saving as much water as possible, and people breaking into fire hydrants to fill up whatever they’re filling up should have some sort of a consequence.”

Meanwhile, if you live in Concord and your well that has run dry, the Water District recommends you contact them. They will allow you to tap into a fire hydrant.

It will cost you, but it’s legal