California Plagued by Dry Wells as Drought Makes Water Elusive

[marmar]

(Bloomberg) Near California’s Success Lake, more than 1,000 water wells have failed. Farmers are spending $750,000 to drill 1,800 feet down to keep fields from going fallow. Makeshift showers have sprouted near the church parking lot.

“The conditions are like a third-world country,” said Andrew Lockman, a manager at the Office of Emergency Services in Tulare County, in the heart of the state’s agricultural Central Valley about 175 miles (282 kilometers) north of Los Angeles.

As California enters the fourth year of a record drought, its residents and $43 billion agriculture industry have drawn groundwater so low that it’s beyond the reach of existing wells. That’s left thousands with dry taps and pushed farmers to dig deeper as Governor Jerry Brown, a 77-year-old Democrat, orders the first mandatory water rationing in state history.

“The demand we’re placing on the aquifer and the deep bedrock drilling, which is going on at an alarmingly fast pace, is really scary,” said Tricia Blattler, executive director of the Tulare County Farm Bureau. “Folks are really concerned we’re not going to be able find water in the groundwater system much longer. We are tapping it way too quickly.” ...................(more)

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-17/california-plagued-by-dry-wells-as-drought-makes-water-elusive

[jamal49]

1. What happens when you pretend you don't live in a desert.

Of course, the CEO of Nestle LLC is salivating over California's predicament. You know, the guy who said that access to clean, potable water is not a human right but a corporate prerogative? California is the future of water, water usage and the coming wars over water rights and the access to water. It will not be pretty.

[Jerry442]

2. How does government in the pocket of the .01% deal with scarcity?

We're about to find out.

[SHRED]

3. I heard on the California Report (KQED)

Agriculture in California contributes only 2% to the state's economy and is just 3% of the employment yet consumes 80% of the water.

[SCVDem]

4. Why aren't the GOP candidates

put on the hot seat on this issue?

Every time they mention Obama, Hillary or Benghazi, redirect them to a very important issue.

[Nitram]

5. Californians are sucking groundwater out as fast as they can.

When that's gone, there is no more. California won't fall into the ocean. It will dry up and blow away if they don't take water conservation seriously.

[snooper2]

8. I read this part and said WTF!

"That’s left thousands with dry taps and pushed farmers to dig deeper as Governor Jerry Brown, a 77-year-old Democrat, orders the first mandatory water rationing in state history."


Just now they are starting to ration?

[Nictuku]

6. Science!

Three Quarters of our Planet is covered with water.

Yet all I ever hear about building desalination plants is 'it is too expensive'

How much will it cost when everyone in California bails and leaves?

The other negative complaint about desalination plants is: What do you do with all the Salt? Well, I'm no scientist (but I do know how to use Google), and I learned that salt can be used to store solar energy.

Gee, a big giant ball of energy in the sky, lots and lots of water, salt used to store the energy needed to run the plants.

I mean, WTF? We should have been building desalination plants years ago.

Science can solve (most) of human problems. It is the damn greedy politicians and businesses that get in the way.

[Nictuku]

7. ... and then there is this:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026519846

I believe in Science. I wish everybody did.

[Nitram]

9. Building the plants is not expensive.

Producing water by desalinization uses enormous amounts of energy and is very expensive.

[Nictuku]

10. Solar Power? Ocean Current?

Yes, I agree that it uses enormous amounts of energy, which if using fossil fuels is very expensive.

We do have an enormous source of energy (the Sun), which once the initial investment is made, will pay for itself.

I'm envisioning floating solar panels generating the energy needed. Or Hydrokinetic (harnessing energy from ocean currents). There are other ways, and fossil fuels is a non-starter.

Time to think outside of the box!

[DFW]

11. We used to learn something in first grade

Any number minus itself equals ZERO.

Anyone who sees a finite resource dwindling down to nothing has to know (assuming they have at least a first grade education) that when you take the last of something, there is no more of it. This is not a shock, but rather the time the last cookie disappeared from the cookie jar.

In 2006, none other than Bill Clinton said his CGI was looking into desalinization plants in the Middle East to help stave off a water war. I don't know what became of that, but it sound like they should have concentrated some of their effort in California as well. Even if emergency construction were started tomorrow, this year is lost, and next year is in doubt. If there's a reason to put this off, I surely don't know what that is. Probably quite a few "not on MY beautiful coastline property, you don't" objections will be raised, but a zillion dollar community without food or water isn't a very attractive place to live any more, anyway.