Drought musings

[callistotoni]

This article, http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/02/04/MNV415MGLA.DTL , inspires me to write down something I've been thinking about.

I am a Californian. It's a big state, but I come from the Land of Brown Rolling Hills. But for a brief time each year, those hills turn emerald green. Then we get poppies blooming, and lupins, and the cherry and apple trees bloom, and it all looks like a freaking easter basket for a little while. This happens, of course, because from about November through late March it rains.

Well, the hills have finally turned green around the barn do to some recent rain, but mostly the hills are still pretty brown (sort of like camoflage). We've had very little rain this season, along with some unseasonably high temps (which admittedly have made my winter barn time much pleasanter than usual). We haven't had our normal amount of rain, and the snowpack has been below normal, for a couple of years now. Because of this there's been talk of water rationing for several years going. But this year I think rationing will really happen.

I was in high school the last time CA had a serious drought (back in the mid to late '70s). I remember rationing. I remember what a pain it was to shower: turn on water, get wet, turn off water, soap up, turn on water, rinse off. Toliets were disgusting (I'm very squeemish in that department). No watering of lawns, so yards looked really sad. To this day I never leave water running when I brush my teeth (wet toothbrush, turn off water, brush teeth, turn on water and rinse).
Amusing side note: It was brought home to me that I'm a Californian and J/S is not when we went to the B&B in November. This was the first time that we had stayed together outside of a camping SCA event. J/S left the water running while brushing his teeth, and my gut reaction to that was to be really surprized and taken aback. And then, of course, it hit me: water is not in such short supply in OR; not exactly a drought culture up there... :-0

Water rationing. Fun times (not). And, OMG, there are *so* many more people living here than there was in the '70s.

And it feels weird to me to know that up north they are having an unusual amount of rain and snow, while we're having warm weather and a drought. In CA, there's no fight like a water fight. Why do I have a feeling this might get politically unpleasant? :-/

Comments

[j-i-m-r.livejournal.com]

SF is subsidising rain barrels for residents. I put in my order for one yesterday. I hope it gets here before the rain is all gone for the year. Oh, well, dry farmed tomatoes are more intensely flavored :-)

What a brilliant idea...

[dakini-bones.livejournal.com]

every city should have this program!

[duchessletitia.livejournal.com]

I remember also. If they do ration I hope they make southern Cal ration also. Last time the South kept on watering their lawns.

Remember the saying "It it's yellow, let it mellow, If it's brown, flush it down"?

[callistotoni.livejournal.com]

Hell, yes. I even remember when Herb Caen had it translated into French (something like (sp?) "jeaun, c'est bon; noir, au revoire!")

[ermine-rat.livejournal.com]

You know, I remember droughts from the 70s, 80s, 90s and the last 3 years of this decade. I don't try to waste water, but it seems like we are always in a drought, coming out of a drought, or fearful of the coming drought. If droughts happen this often, perhaps 'drought' is the wrong term. Perhaps 4 years out of 10 with a rain shortfall is normal for this part of the state...and we could call it "climate".

Perhaps if we stopped sending water down south, we could get the delta healthy again...but that would annoy millions of LA voters.

[ula1066.livejournal.com]

Specifically J/S is from WEST of the mountains (via Hawaii). Those of us that grew up on the east of the mountains remember the droughts of the '70s. We were wheat farmers (well, dirt really but we pretended there was a crop).

I also still turn off the water when brushing my teeth.

[catagon3.livejournal.com]

A memory from my very first SCA event was having someone chew me out (very nastily) for leaving the water running while brushing my teeth at the flushies. I had just returned from four years in Ohio.

You'll have to come admire our tree rings, which I'll hopefully post about soon.

*GET* politically unpleasant?

[learnteach.livejournal.com]

...wow, I know too much history. Sluice and Hydraulic mining killed the Bay. The farming of the Delta is dropping island levels, slowly. San Francisco grabbed first eastern Alameda county water rights, then mountain water rights, both times opposed, after the 1906 earthquake. Owen's Valley and Los Angeles and Mono Lake, and San Diego/Tijuana and Colorado River...the great subsidence of the SF South Bay, which killed Alviso (used to be a pleasure harbor, now a mudpit) and a lot of the last orchards as well. Water fights are going to go even bigger.

There's been shooting over this before; we will probably see infrastructure damage over water this time around.

On the other hand, moving the big industries out (tanning, salt making, chip making, etc) has moved the big industrial consumers on, and we're starting to get smarter.

But Rat, "Drought" is a political word, meaning "We're out, do something." But who wants to think long term about infrastructure?

[elfreda.livejournal.com]

I had to bug my sweetie, too, who's PDX born&bred, about the water running/tooth brushing thing. The thing is, we *have* had water shortages here. I can't remember if there's been anything more than voluntary usage cutback requests.

Actually a lot of lawns, including ours, are green all winter and go brown in midsummer. We never water the lawn, just the bamboos and kerria.

[kareina.livejournal.com]

lol--I grew up in Alaska, where we have plenty of water, yet I don't even turn on the water till I'm finished brushing my teeth. Tooth paste in a small amount onto dry brush, brush teeth, then, when I'm nearly done brushing, I wander into the bathroom (don't keep my tooth brush in the bathroom--icky place, bathrooms) so I can spit, rinse the brush and take it back away.

[acanthusleaf.livejournal.com]

There may still be parts of the state that have no water meters st the house -by-house level. 20 years ago we didn't have them in Davis.

SoCal is a mix - some areas surprisingly far inland do fine on their own well water, and some depend on imports for over half their usage. Someday we'll get smart and quit wasting drinking water on lawns. Gardens I can support. When I first moved south I was shocked at the public fountains where up in the bay area they were all dry.

But the North has the water and the South has the money, and therein lies the story of California.

[gurdymonkey.livejournal.com]

I haven't washed my truck in two years. I've written to three supermarket chains and the EBMUD about fake thunderstorms in the produce aisle and still the canned thunder rolls and crops that have already been picked continue to be irrigated for no good reason except someone thinks it'll sell more lettuce. I have nearly waist length hair and routinely can manage a three minute shower.

OH, and I'm from New Jersey.

[trystbat.livejournal.com]

We're not as bad as Las Vegas, but much of California is meant to be brown. Things like green lawns are an aberration (I don't care what my neighbors think, I'm killin' mine!). Southern Cal, even more so. I shake my tiny fist in the sky every time we drive over I5 & cross the aquaduct & see our sweet northern water flowing south.

It's not so much drought as skewed expectations.