California has about one year of water left. Will you ration now?

That's what I don't understand either. We've been raised to believe this notion that humans "rise to the occasion" but I just don't see it where it needed.

a reply to: ATF1886

a reply to: TechniXcality

Life how I hate this rank ingnorance.

Salt water is useless for drinking, irrigating crops or cooling machinery.

Desalination is polluting in and of itself and the quality of the result is inferior.

originally posted by: DuckforcoveR
That's what I don't understand either. We've been raised to believe this notion that humans "rise to the occasion" but I just don't see it where it needed.

a reply to: ATF1886

You just have to wait to the very last minute. Then, as long as it doesn't interfere with the latest thing, you're golden.

originally posted by: ATF1886

Graphics worth a second (and third) look.

Composting toliets would help in CA and everywhere else. They are not that hard to use and provide excellent non-chemical fertilizer that would be of great use in the vast fields of the state's valleys where 80% or more of the produce of the nation is grown.

So a loss of California ag production would hit hard consumers’ wallets and their diets would become less balanced.This is because our state produces a sizable majority of American fruits, vegetables and nuts; 99 percent of walnuts, 97 percent of kiwis, 97 percent of plums, 95 percent of celery, 95 percent of garlic, 89 percent of cauliflower, 71 percent of spinach, and 69 percent of carrots and the list goes on and on. A lot of this is due to our soil and climate. No other state, or even a combination of states, can match California’s output per acre.

westernfarmpress.com...

Pray for snow next year. I think we had one good long weekend since Novemeber 2014. We need months.

a reply to: Phage

Wasn't it a recent effort in Cali to recover potable H2O from wastewater?

If so, I hope it was somewhat successful, however, you would think that moving to that level of investment to provide water for the folks, the folks would have gotten the message?

I am all for conserving resources, I guess my problem is that I actually practice that principle so this Cali deal isn't something I lose sleep over, if the folks there, who live in this crisis, don't take it seriously, why should I....

The Fed gov't can't save them from themselves on this one, hell don't they already get a majority of their water from nearby states?... maybe Nestle can bail them out, for a price, and that would be a concerning outcome considering the move to capitalize on H2O....

here in scotland we have plenty,we,ll sell you some.

a reply to: sparky31

I'd actually pay for a bottle of Scottish water. Put a spring name and a nice label and ya might have an import. Phage the situation is dire but it can and will be over came.

a reply to: TechniXcality
I prefer bourbon.

a reply to: JacKatMtn

The drought persists, but most local water departments have been reluctant to crack down on water-wasters. Warning letters are unusual. Small fines are rare. And the $500 hammer is virtually never wielded.

Maybe so, but as a resident of Sacramento, CA I can attest to the fact neighborhoods all over were clearly adhering to the water restrictions as evidenced by the amount of completely dead lawns. I'm sure there were plenty of 'water wasters'...no doubt. I'd say ceasing to water lawns and turning off decorative water fountains was commonplace. *shrug* I know I let my lawn die, and despite being an avid gardener I greatly reduced my garden size.

a reply to: Lucid Lunacy

I hope you read the entire article, it mentioned areas in Cali that did well under restrictions, not sure if they were in your area...

As far as gardening, I hope you aren't under the restriction to collect rainwater from your roof... it does well to help in gardening, not farming grant you, but if you care enough about conservation, you would be very careful on how you meter the gift from the sky... and those that do, already understand the conservation aspect....

Tough deal out there, but.. it is what it is... the folks that live there need to respect the risk that is forecasted in regards to what is #2 on the rules of 3 for SURVIVAL....

All the best, I hope the folks "get it" before it's too late...

Meanwhile...

a reply to: Starcrossd

Well isn't that lovely... actually opens up FED assistance, since the EPA goofed?

Here's a link to the Bay Area NBC investigation piece:

www.nbcbayarea.com...

Haven't located a followup, but I can't say I am shocked that our FED gubmint has inserted themselves into this crisis....

You really can't make this # up ...

I am going to use all the water i can.

No water for irrigation means no crops and no crops means that some illegals will have to leave the state to find work.

no work means lower prices for property and i can find a place to move to when i retire the first of next year.

the part of the state i live in is only 3 inches short of rain unlike most of the state that is feet short of rain.

a reply to: ANNED

Right on

a reply to: Phage

Nah Jameson saves my soul

originally posted by: babybunnies
It's doubtful California will ask for rationing. Americans don't believe in rationing or conserving anything.

Californians do.

They did it a few years ago and reduced their water consumption.

seems Californians need to make some choices. taking water from other areas should be a definite no go. so they can choose to build desalination plants to get the fresh water they need. it might be expensive, but if they so choose they could pay for it. or they can move into a more sustainable area.

how far do they go to save water? do they save water wherever they can? or do they just do thinks that looks like they are trying to conserve water like the obvious no watering laws or washing cars type of stuff? for instance do they use waterless urinals everywhere? do they continually check water mains for leaks and repair them immediately?

Man the stories just make you take a step back and make you really want to analyze the situation. .
link

East Porterville Calif. (Reuters) - In one of the towns hardest hit by California's drought, the only way some residents can get water to flush the toilet is to drive to the fire station, hand-pump water into barrels and take it back home.

The trip has become a regular ritual for East Porterville residents Macario Beltran, 41, and his daughters, who on a recent evening pumped the water into containers in the bed of his old pickup truck to be used for bathing, dish washing and flushing.

As if to emphasize the arid conditions that led them there, an emergency broadcast warned of a brewing dust storm.

The state's three-year drought comes into sharp focus in Tulare County, the dairy and citrus heart of the state’s vast agricultural belt, where more than 500 wells have dried up.

Donna Johnson's tap went dry in June. Since then she's been trying to help neighbors connect with help from the county and the state. She began making door-to-door deliveries of water donated by charities and such supplies as hand sanitizer – often in withering 100-degree heat.

“I saw all these people who couldn’t take a shower: kids, pregnant women,” the 72-year-old said.

Gov. Jerry Brown, who declared a state drought emergency in January, signed an executive order last month to buy drinking water for residents with dry wells. He also signed bills to regulate groundwater.

Andrew Lockman, manager at the Tulare County Office of Emergency Services, said it could be years before the groundwater management plan yields results.

Meanwhile, some farmers have paid exorbitant rates for irrigation, while others have culled herds, axed fruit trees and fallowed fields, he said. Migrant farm workers have left to seek employment elsewhere.

It's real cute making jokes about Cali now but considering how much food the state produces for the entire country, it won't be so funny when your grocery bills skyrocket. Cali's water problems are everybody's problems.

Well to be fair I don't think California and the majority of the Southwest was mean't to hold populations this size. The majority of the western US is desert, droughts happen frequently.

People need to ration their water and not grow freaking lawns. Kentucky Bluegrass is not native to this area of the US and lawns serve no purpose other than they look pretty. If I had my own home with a yard I'd be using that water to grow food instead of grass lol.

It's interesting I wrote a thread a while back drawing similarities between the events before the French Revolution and modern day United States. If this drought continues a food shortage may in order and that was one of the major driving forces behind the French Revolution. It's not just California either, we're over drawing the Ogallala aquifer in a drought stricken Oklahoma and Texas.