...Water Crisis Impact in California Monica Mois Essentials of College Writing/COMM/215 October 6, 2014 Carolyn Geiser Water Crisis Impact in California Due to the lack of rain in the past few years, and particularly in the last few months, California faces severe drought. This is the worst drought in more than one hundred years. The impact of California drought affects community, agriculture, organic ranchers, and dairy farmers. Because of these facts, the United States must rethink the way it uses water. Californians alone are asked to reduce their water usage by twenty percent to prevent water waste. Communities, Agriculture, Organic Ranchers and Dairy Farmers Many communities in California struggle with shortage of drinking water. One example is “the small community of Cameron Creek Colony in Tulare County is struggling due to severe drought. About ten percent of its residents have no access to water because their wells have run dry. Others have only intermittent access” (USDA, 2014). In other communities, residents are urged to avoid wasting water. The Waterboards.ca.gov (2014) website has a list of emergency water conservation regulations stating that every citizen is prohibited to use potable water to wash sidewalks and driveway, to use hoses with no shut off nozzles to wash their cars, water the lawn more than two times a week, and reduce the amount of watering time for each station using an automatic sprinkler system. Residents could face...
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...California Water Crisis California is the third largest state in the United States and the nation’s leading agricultural producer and has been for the last 60 years. Located on the west coast, its agriculture provides millions of jobs and generates close to $27.6 billion dollars in sales annually. With California being the leader in agricultural production, a lot of water is a necessity and the biggest user of water in California is, you got it, the agriculture industry. Before 1922, 6 of the 7 states, including California, which are visited by the Colorado River, signed the Colorado River Compact. This was an agreement among the states governing the allocation of the water rights to the river’s water. California’s rapid growth in population and agriculture began to cause concern for other Colorado River Basin states who feared that California would established priority rights to the river water. The Imperial Valley, located in Southern California, was already relying heavily on the Colorado River for significantly agricultural development (www.usbr.com 2012). For years, California has had their fair share of problems regarding the amount of water that had supposed to been allocated to them or surplus water that the other states never used. In the 1930’s, Southern California’s rights to the river water were thought to be settled and solidified when several agencies signed water delivery contracts with the Secretary of the Interior. The contracts stated the priorities...
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...nt1320 The State of California is in its worst water drought to date, many are affected by the water shortage including farm crops, and small cities. The management of the states water resources are not up to standards; however; their efforts of water conservation are improving. The state of California has issued state-wide regulations for water use, but many cities are taking it a step further. The City of Fresno is in a stage two storage contingency plan, which regulates outdoor water usage. According to the city of Fresno's website (www.fresno.gov) the watering schedule allows residences and local business to water outside on specific days Depending on the last digit of their street numbers. For example; street numbers ending in ODD numbers can water on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Street numbers ending with EVEN numbers can water on Wednesdays and Sundays. Also watering can only happen from the hours of 7:00pm to 6:00am. Anyone who is caught not following the water restrictions in the City of Fresno can face a $500 daily fine. In Madera county, the city has declared a stage four plan to conserve water. This means that watering outdoors is prohibited, even parks and other recreational facilities. Their goal is to reduce water usage in half. If water usage is being abused the board of supervisors can increase the penalties. The states government is also trying to request a bond that will allow the state to build reservoirs and aboveground water storages including a dam...
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...The Californian Drought Crisis This section of the paper will outline the current Californian drought crisis, taking the position that climatically, it is a combined result of lower than average precipitation and higher than average temperatures and that the population, in residential, commercial and agricultural settings place an excessive demand upon the state’s water supply. Working together, these stressors have a collective effect in causing the drought crisis in California since 2012. 2015 marks California’s fourth consecutive year of severe drought. The last two years alone have been the driest and warmest individual years since records began in 1895, with ten of the last fourteen experiencing below normal levels of precipitation (Howitt, et al., 2015) (Mann & Gleick, 2015). From autumn 2013 to spring 2014, central and southern California experienced some of the lowest precipitation on record, it is said that the impacts...
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...PAC -10 CONSULTING | Water Crisis: Extracting Surplus from a Deficit To: Dr. Lee Cerling, Director of Research and Communications From: Jordan Pinkus Date: [ 9/29/2010 ] Re: PAC-10 Overview of Water Crisis: Key Opportunities How to Use This Memo Template Global shortages of potable water have signaled an emerging crisis. The shortages impact developed and developing nations, though the evidence is harshest in the developing world. Despite available drinking water and seemingly abundant domestic water supplies, the United States faces increasing and accelerating shortages. However, in this era of crises (global warming, the energy crisis, the financial crisis), a crisis means business opportunity. 1,4 The average resident of the United States uses 616 gallons per day. Comparatively, this ranks United States second to Canada for per capita consumption. However, the United States population is approximately 10 times that of Canada and therefore total domestic consumption exceeds Canadian several times over, ranking first globally. The scale of water demands strains the hydrologic cycle, which governs the replenishment of fresh water, thereby jeopardizing long-term water resources. 3 Meeting the United States’ water demands traditionally required engineering solutions to a consistent question: Where can we get more water? However, continued strain on resources reveals the need for more than the quick fixes engineers have always turned to. 1 Water-conservation solutions...
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...given current environmental crises like global warming and municipal water system failures. The common theme of corrupt corporations seeking to make money at the expense of human health continues to play out on a national and global scale. Erin Brockovich sheds light on the public health issue of clean drinking water, something most view as a human right. It’s a film that many can relate to and can serve as a case study in Environmental Law and Public Health. Purpose of the Film The exact details which reveal why the film was made are unclear. Erin Brockovich mentions being approached by a writer and film studio in the 1990s, however, there is no mention of why they chose to tell her story. One can assume the writer and film studio felt the David and Goliath story of a small town legal secretary taking on a large corporation, was worthy of dramatizing. Their hunch was correct and the film was nominated for an Academy Award. Appropriate Audience This film would suit a wide range, from teens to the 60 plus crowd. There is some swearing so it's not appropriate for children; parents will have to decide if it's ok for their teenage children. Erin Brockovich is a great case study for those studying environmental law or public health. It’s also relevant to anyone studying business or ethics. The science has been called into question, yet the fundamentals of leading an inquiry into a community's drinking water remain relevant today. Public Health Issue Given recent developments...
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...This year, California is experiencing its worst drought ever recorded in history. “The drought is so dire that experts are considering adding a fifth level to the four-tiered drought scale” (Hamblin, 3). Due to the constant dry heat during the winter and the rise of global warming, California’s water supplies has become limited. In California, there are three major water sources that they use: snowpack, reservoirs, and groundwater. “This year the snowpack is at a record low, just 5 percent of normal. Reservoirs are doing a bit better, at about two-thirds of normal. Groundwater has made up some of the difference, and is being pumped at a rate thirty-four percent above normal” (Holthaus, 2). As a result of over-pumping, the integrity of the...
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...California Water Security Much of the American West is experiencing historical water shortages; however, California, the most populous state with 38 million people, has been hit the hardest. California is the world’s sixth largest economy, despite only being a state. Historically, California has had an abundant amount of water. When pipes and damns and reservoirs were built up, rural regions of California were given huge quotas for water, furthermore the price of water was incredibly cheap. There was no stress on the need for water – modern California is not like that. For the past four years, California has been suffering from the worst drought in its history. Due to this, many efforts have been put in place in order to improve the state’s water security. Much of California is arid, it only receives 250-500mm of water a year; just above desert climate. Around 65 % of that precipitation is lost through evaporation and transpiration, 13 % flows out into the sea - leaving only 22 % left for human consumption. Furthermore, California's natural supply of water levels is seasonal, leading to shortages in between seasons that do not have a lot of rainfall. North California is in water surplus, over 75% of water falls there but around 75% of California's population live in the south – where there is a water deficit, leading to an immense amount of pressure to the population and how much water they are able to get. Agriculture and water usage Currently, 43 % of California’s...
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...the crisis of the drought, one controversial issue has been the conflict between water reductions. On the one hand, Justin Sullivan argues that this drought has been a difficult burden since people will argue about who cuts more of their water usage. He states, “People will say, ‘What about the farmers?’ Farmers will say, ‘What about the people who water their lawns”. As we all know outdoor use of water wastes much more water that is not even necessary. Some examples include: watering lawns, washing cars, watering gardens, and cemeteries over watering their grass. Sullivan argued that Mr. Brown stated that California would enforce these water restrictions and have a 25 percent cut in water consumption. People should value the importance of water and it should not be wasted on the contrary, it should be used in only the most necessary things. On the other hand, Damon Winter contends that the 25 percent of water reduction does not apply to farms and they are the ones who consume a great amount of the state’s water. Others like for example Mark Hertsgaard, maintain that the water is priced more cheaply than it should be; therefore, it encourages over consumption which leads people to waste water. My own view of this drought is if we the people don’t make changes and save water the drought will eventually worsen since their won’t be any people cooperating and trying to make a difference. When it comes to the topic of who has the right of using most of the state’s water, most...
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...Environmentalists are said to be one of the main problems that causes the drought in California and they are defending themselves. Environmentalists have a problem with farmers and agriculture. It is point out that environmentalist tried to preserve the federal guideline that limiting water supplies from the north to the south California while farmers said they were restricting important source of water supplies from reaching places that need the water (“Facing Drought, California”). At this point, it can be seen that environmentalists and farmers have their right point of view about the water supply. One side supposes to preserve water for fishes and this can help fishermen survive while the other is against that people need more water than...
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...California’s Water Problem Introduction: Water Sources in California In her book entitled Managing Water: Avoiding Crisis in California, the ecologist and historian Dorothy Green describes the complicated and intricate California water system (University of California Press, October 9, 2007). Green’s description and analysis becomes more important to the people of California with every week that passes/ This is because California is now in the fourth year of drought in which no rain, snow, or hail has fallen (“California Drought”, CA.gov. Online at: http://ca.gov/drought/). In her work on the topic, Dorothy Green describes very carefully the system by which the rain, snow, and hail that fall in northern California move downwards in a flow of water that serves the entire state thanks to the power of gravity. The river systems of California include Colorado River and the Sacramento River. These great river systems move the water southwards, (to Los Angeles) and westwards (to San Francisco), respectively. In addition to these well known rivers to the system of rivers in California includes more than thirty rivers including the Klamath, the American, the Tolumne, the Merced, the Yuba, the Kern, the Russian, the Tule, and right here in Los Angeles the Los Angeles River which runs right through the industrial section of downtown Los Angeles in a cement channel : In addition to the river systems of California, Green describes a network of dam release channels, canals...
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...vast area of land. Indirectly, this issue could affect the entire world. The amount of fresh water is limited, and there is conflict over the allocation of this necessary resource. People need an adequate supply of freshwater with good quality, affordable prices and consistent reliability. The survival of human life is contingent on the availability of water. There is no guarantee that water will always be there, and this is becoming more and more evident as population increases and the supply decreases. Two major means for freshwater in the western United States are the Colorado River and the Ogallala Aquifer. These bodies of freshwater have had a vast history of disputes over how they should be allocated, maintained and treated. Up until now, there have been no agreements that have satisfied everyone. The allocation of fresh water resources in western America needs to be secured because if the status quo is maintained, the consequences will be enormous to humans and the environment, as well as the economy, whom are all dependent upon freshwater for survival. The Colorado River has had a long history of water allocation controversies. It is a major river that runs through seven states including Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico, Arizona, California and Nevada. It then continues into Mexico and empties into the Gulf of California. This river is 1,450 miles long and supplies water to over 40 million people. (Imperial Valley) The seven states the river runs through came together...
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...to the extreme water drought. As a matter of fact there are multiple cities in California that are facing these hardships. How can the government and it’s people prevent this drought to worsen or expand to the rest of our country. Resident of East Porterville, Angelica Gallegos declared that she has gone five months without showering due to the drought her city is going through (Source two). This is all due to the fact that water ground reserves have been exploited without regulations or consideration of future water needs. Jerry Cadagan, resident in Stanislaus...
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...NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS THE CHINA-INDIA-PAKISTAN WATER CRISIS: PROSPECTS FOR INTERSTATE CONFLICT by James F. Brennan September 2008 Thesis Co-Advisors: Alice Lyman Miller Feroz Khan Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instruction, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188) Washington DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED September 2008 Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE: The China-India-Pakistan Water Crisis: Prospects for 5. FUNDING NUMBERS Interstate Conflict 6. AUTHOR(S) James F. Brennan, Lieutenant, United States Navy 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Naval Postgraduate School Monterey, CA 93943-5000 9. SPONSORING /MONITORING AGENCY...
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...We take advantage of the amount of water we have by using it for unnecessary things. Most people are oblivious to the water crisis or just don’t care. We use water for things like aquariums, water parks, and for maintaining golf courses, while there are people out there who struggle to just take a bath. About half a billion people live in countries where the water is scarce and by 2025 it is estimated to increase to three billion because of the increasing population, which is expected to be 9 billion by then (Hanjra, 2010). Using up 50 billion gallons of water every year for golf courses alone, recreational things account for a lot of wasted water (Kaufman, 2009). Golf courses aren’t the only recreational activity that waste water, but they are certainly a major one, which is why there are different ways to help conserve water (Kaufman, 2009). The average golf course uses up a lot of water in order to keep the fairways nice and green (Getchell, 2000). Water is not only used to grow the turf, but after the turf is grown there is still very large water consumption (Getchell, 2000). But in places more harsh, like the Joshua Tree National Park in southern California, golf courses would require much more water (Himot, 2003). In this environment, the stream beds are usually dry, the average annual rainfall is slightly over four inches, and there are very few waterholes (Himot, 2003). Although the conditions aren’t perfect for a water conserving golf course, a private developer has...
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