Southern California and water - an introduction
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 6, 2008 at 6:40 amBack before Aquafornia, I wrote for a local website in Santa Clarita called SCVTalk. This is an adaptation of my very first article on water; yes folks, this is the article which started it all! This article was originally posted on SCVTalk and discussed where Santa Clarita’s water comes from. I have reworked the article to take a more regional focus on where Southern California’s water comes from, making this article is a ‘prequel’ of sorts to the California Water Crisis article. This article is posted on the new Aquafornia Information Desk on the right-hand side of the page.
California is a beautiful fraud; a magnificent put-on, an exquisitely lush illusion. From the farmlands of the Central Valley to the swimming pools, green lawns and flowering landscapes of Southern California, it is all a brilliantly engineered masterpiece, an extensive rearrangement of the existing natural order, created by the ingenuity and will of man, and costing
billions of taxpayer dollars in the process. The palm trees, the tropical flora and fauna, as well as the millions of people, all of it does not belong here. Not any of it.
In the West, it is said that water flows uphill towards money, and nowhere else could that be truer than here in Southern California. About half of the water that flows freely from our taps started as snow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and has traveled 444 miles from Northern California. It has leapt up 3000 feet to traverse the Tehachapi Mountains, and traveled through gigantic siphons, pumps and tunnels to reach us.
WATER DEVELOPMENT WAS KEY TO CALIFORNIA’S GROWTH 
As early as 1900, Los Angeles had already outgrown its meager water supply, the Los Angeles River. William Mulholland found the water the growing city needed in the Owens Valley, and embarked on an ambitious project to bring it here. And ever since then, California has remade its landscape on an unprecedented scale. There are reservoirs where there once was desert, desert where there once was cropland, and cropland where there once was a swampy marsh. Some rivers have been dried up; some rivers flow through mountains into other rivers’ beds; and some rivers even flow backwards at times. 
Since the Gold Rush era, California has been transformed from a vast, sparsely populated area into one of the world’s leading agricultural and food production regions. Much of this development is due to the development of the area’s natural resources, most especially water. Water development, storage and distribution projects have transformed deserts into farmland and supported development of large cities and towns. These water projects have helped make California a leading agricultural producer, a major manufacturin
g center, the most populated state in the country, and the eighth largest economy in the world.
However, this rapid and intensive development has not been without its consequences. Fish populations have been depleted, wetlands have been drained, and dams and levees have altered natural water flow patterns. Native species of many plants have declined or become extinct, and water quality has been impaired by agricultural, mining and urban sources.
IT NEVER RAINS IN CALIFORNIA …..
No other state has rearranged their environment to the same extent as California. The truth is, most of California is an arid semi-desert, with a climate similar to that of the North African Plain. Los Angeles is drier than Beirut. About 65 percent of the state receives less than 20 inches of rainfall per year, most of that in the winter months. While 70 percent of California’s runoff occurs north of Sacramento, 75 percent of California’s urban and agricultural demands are to the south.
The abundant sunshine and mild temperatures of Central and Southern California are ideal for agriculture; the only ingredient missing is the rain. California’s rainfall is seasonal – dry during the hot summer months, and wet for only a few months in the winter. Still, California has more irrigated acreage than any other state, thanks to massive water projects started early in the twentieth century and still continuing today.
WATER PROJECTS AND THE STATE’S ECONOMY
Water development has three primary goals: flood control, water storage, and hydroelectric power generation. California is home to four massive water projects, plus numerous local projects. The map to the right shows the water projects located throughout the state. The Los Angeles Aqueduct brings water from the Owens Valley south to Los Angeles. The Colorado River Aqueduct brings water from the Colorado River for irrigation in the Imperial Valley and urban uses in Los Angeles and San Diego. The Central Valley Project irrigates farmland in the Central Valley and provides water to the Bay Area; the State Water Project brings water from the San Francisco Bay Delta and delivers it to farmers in the Central Valley, as well as providing water for urban uses in Southern California. In addition, the Hetch-Hetchy Aqueduct and the Mokelumne Aqueduct supply water to the Bay Area. Click on the map at the right to see it enlarged and to visit the DWR website. 
Moving water around the state is an energy intensive process. Total energy used to pump and treat water accounts for at least 6.5% of total electricity used statewide. The State Water Project is the state’s largest single consumer of electricity, accounting for 2 to 3 percent of electrical energy use per year. Hydroelectric power does produce a portion of this energy back, but whether the project is a net user or net producer of energy depends upon the distance the water must be moved. In most cases, more energy is used than is produced by these projects. 
Water fuels the economy of California, and managing it properly is of paramount importance. It has also been a source of decades-long political wars. Besides the satisfying the needs of a growing population, demands for more water also comes from the agricultural industry, businesses, manufacturers and developers. These needs must be balanced against demands for protecting water quality and for protecting fisheries, wildlife and recreational interests. The fundamental controversy is one of distribution, as conflicts between these competing interests continue to be exacerbated by continued population 
growth and periods of drought.
Everything depends on the manipulation of water – capturing it behind dams, storing it in reservoirs, and rerouting it in concrete rivers over hundreds of miles. California has twelve hundred major dams, the two biggest irrigation projects on earth, and some of the biggest reservoirs in the country. Only about 25% is for urban use, the remainder is split between irrigation and environmental purposes.
Click “more” to read more of this Aquafornia exclusive!
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Aquafornia Exclusive: Why the Delta matters to every Californian
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on September 3, 2007 at 11:24 pm
Anyone in California who remotely follows water news or current events has no doubt heard about the Delta, and the multitude of problems and issues facing this vital region. These issues, if left unresolved, can have huge ramifications for the entire state, but it can be hard to understand just how this relatively small area in Northern California could be of such concern to those of us living in Southern California, or elsewhere in the state. Many Californians, including some who live in the region, don’t even know where or what the Delta is, or why they should really care. What could the Delta possibly have to do with me?
Well, a lot, actually. Everyone in California depends upon the Delta for something, be it drinking water, fresh produce or livestock, goods shipped over the highways and railways that transverse it, or gas and electricity that is carried in pipes and transmission lines. Wildlife also depends on the Delta, as it provides a crucial habitat for wildlife, and an important stop for migratory birds.
The relatively small region has a big job: it is the hub of California’s massive water storage and delivery system, with water exports to agricultural and urban users in the Bay Area, Central California, and Southern California. Two-thirds of Californians rely on the Delta for their drinking water.
However, the Delta is in decline by all accounts. Its levee system is fragile, many of its native species are declining, there are water quality issues in some areas, and no governmental entity seems to be squarely in charge. The issues facing it are complex and intertwined; it is virtually impossible to fix one problem without creating several others. However, in recent years, it has become obvious to all the stakeholders that ‘business as usual’ in the Delta region simply isn’t sustainable.
These issues, if left unresolved, will have ramifications for nearly every California resident. So, let’s take an in-depth look at the issues facing this unique region of our state. Read more
Is Desalination the Answer to California’s Looming Water Crisis?
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 30, 2007 at 9:44 pmAn Aquafornia Exclusive:
In Southern California, much of the water we use here is imported from the San Francisco Bay-Delta area, the Owens Valley, and the Colorado River. Southern California is experiencing its driest year on record, and water resources throughout California and across the Southwest are being impacted by a persistent drought, global warming, and continued population growth. With 20 desalination projects proposed for the California coast, desalination is being considered as an answer to California’s dwindling water supply. Desalination would provide a reliable, drought-proof water supply from a seemingly endless source and would give local control to municipalities who are located far from fresh water sources. But is desalination truly the answer to California’s water shortage?