February 8, 2012
California Blues: What’s Drought Got to do With It?
In 2009, concerns over the lack of water availability in California dramatically escalated—the issue was named by Arnold Schwarzenegger, the governor at the time, as a statewide emergency. Some even believed that following two “critically dry years,” the year 2009 became the most “severe drought year in California history” (water.ca.gov). However, a winter of persistent snowstorms brought close to 61 feet of snow to the Sierra Nevada’s, 143% of normal levels and the second highest levels the state has ever seen (Huffington Post); the drought was over. Today, it is apparent that we need not focus our immediate concern on the California drought, as California remains in the clear and consistently is a victim of this repetitive drought cycle–our history proves that drought in California is nothing new. Instead of focusing on the dry conditions, it is important that we realize our anxiety is a result of water crisis issues that need our attention: California’s aging water infrastructure, its immensely growing population, and the new prospect of climate change. These issues make up the true water emergency faced daily by Californians.
Looking back at California’s drought history proves several points about the state and droughts. First, California is no stranger to droughts. Over the past 35 years, the state has experienced 3 major droughts, one being the most severe ever recorded. Second, the state has been able to respond strongly to survive a drought through statewide policy and conservation efforts. California’s government has taken the necessary steps and measurements to sustain itself and prepare for future droughts. Third, droughts are a normal phenomenon that should be expected in California. The reason droughts have occurred is due to the climate of the region that tends to fluctuate between wet and dry cycles, meaning droughts are inevitable. Thus, if droughts are to be expected they should not be the biggest concern in California, but rather other issues that influence the water crisis in the state, like its aging water infrastructure.
California’s water infrastructure is critical for supplying water for agriculture, the population, and environmental protection throughout the whole state. Lately, these variables have caused a rise in water demand that the current infrastructure cannot support, mainly because it is aging. The major component of the infrastructure is the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta which has weak, aging levees that, if broken, can drastically jeopardize the state’s water distribution for vital use. If major investments aren’t made to upgrade the aging infrastructure in the future, California won’t be able to sustain itself through drought at a time when climate change and population growth in the state exacerbate the growing water crisis.
California is relentless when it comes to growing population numbers. In 1900, California housed about 1.4 million people, and today, according to the 2010 Census, has close to 38 million people. This immense jump has placed much strain on the infrastructure of the state and contributes to the environmental issues–such as climate change–now plaguing the surrounding ecosystems. The main contributors to climate change are exacerbated by human activities, such as burning fossil fuels to produce carbon dioxide. Climate Change is creating a huge problem for California’s water sources, as seen through changes in sea level, snowpack, and river flows. According to the California Department of Water Resources, scientists predict our Sierra Nevada snowpack, which provides one-third of our water resources, to lose approximately 20 percent of its volume. This, along with the increasing population, will soon become a huge contributing factor to the California drought pattern, and needs to be addressed immediately.
Additional Sources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/30/california-drought-is-over_n_842827.html
http://www.calwatercrisis.org/pdf/ACWA.WS.RecordDrought%202007.pdf
Caroline Smith and Sergio Avelar are undergraduates in the USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.
September 12, 2011
Slippery Slope on the Sierras: California’s Water Crisis Continues
The Sierra Nevada Snowpack is one of California’s most important natural water reservoirs. The snowpack is formed during the fall and winter and as it melts in the spring and summer (the two seasons when California’s water demand is greatest), slowly releases about 15 million acre-feet of water. Because of its role in the water supply within California, changes in its formation and melting cycles can play a major role in the economy, infrastructure, and land development of the state overall.
The 2011 snowpack made headlines for its large size; over the winter it developed to 165% its average size, momentarily putting Californians at ease about their water demands being met. This good news comes after years of smaller snowpacks and subsequent droughts. Yet even in a year when the snowpack is projected to meet California’s water needs, there is still cause for concern.
Though it is well known that the size of the snow pack varies, recently there have also been changes in the pack’s melting cycle. Research published in 2008 suggests that the rate at which the snowpack melts has been increasing annually. So much so, scientists predict that by 2100 the snowpack will melt completely a full two months earlier than it does now. Current infrastructure, dams and other water storage and transportation facilities, have been built to best deal with the previous predictable cycle of snow melt. As the climate changes and temperatures in the area increase, the sudden burst of water earlier than expected and larger than these structures were built for threatens to overwhelm the storage facilities and threatens to increase the risk of both floods and waters shortages. Uncontrolled floods and the inability to properly store water from a mass runoff endangers development and the economy in that it threatens to damage development, which render the dams and other storage facilities useless, and after the runoff has ended suddenly there is little water left over for the seasons in which it is most desperately needed.
Land in the Sierras has long been considered prime for development. Since 1973, some 800,000 acres of woodland have been converted to new land uses. It has been projected that by 2040 almost 20% of private forests in the area will be affected or altered by even more development. More development would add more greenhouse gas emissions and increase erosion and runoff, all changing the behavior of the snowpack further. Development and industry could also introduce pollutants to the snowpack, as they have in the past.
The ecosystem accounts for approximately $2.2 billion of commodities and services annually. In 2005, agriculture production in California counties using Sierra Nevada water was valued at more than $18 billion. Any change or damage to the Sierra Nevada ecosystem has dramatic repercussions for tourism /recreation, agriculture and resource extraction opportunities. The water resources themselves contribute more than 60% and yield 65% of the developed urban and rural water supplies for California. In addition, the Sierra is also home to one of the greatest areas of biodiversity, and many rare organisms.
The main strategies for preserving the Sierra snowpack recently have been greenhouse gas emission reduction and water conservation and recycling. The fact remains, however, that the population of California continues to grow while their main water supply source does not. The steps proposed by the California Department of Water Resources can only counteract the observed changes in the snowpack’s melting cycle, but even a healthy snowpack will reach a point where it cannot meet California’s growing needs.
About the authors: Makena Crowe and Minda Monteagudo are working towards their bachelor’s degrees in Environmental Studies and Political Science, respectively, in the USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.