Factors Affecting California's Water Crisis

February 21 , 2022
First, California's fisheries are collapsing. One of nature's healthiest foods and a source of employment, salmon is threatened in all of our major rivers.

Second, climate change is changing the amount and timing of snowmelt that feeds our reservoirs. This reduces the reliability of the state's largest water system.

Third, the fiscal crisis is making the old approach impossible. With unemployment in excess of 12% and the state budget deficit in excess of $20 billion, we can't just keep asking taxpayers for more money to solve these problems.

These practical tips will go a long way towards delivering a safe water future for residents, businesses, farmers and the environment, and will create good new jobs we can afford:

Start by using an already approved bond. There are still more than $3 billion in bonds that voters have approved. Existing funds should be carefully invested in top priorities before taxpayers are asked to approve more borrowing. This includes ensuring safe drinking water for the hundreds of thousands of Californians who cannot drink water from the tap.

Increase water supply through safe recycling. Every year in California, we draw 4 million acre feet of water from rivers, use it once, partially clean it and dump it into the sea. That's more water than the sprawling national water project can provide. The Department of Public Health needs to develop standards for purified water to safely supplement our water supply.

Develop flow standards for deltas and major rivers. A big reason for the collapse of California's fisheries is the lack of science-based information and standards to determine how much water is needed to stay healthy. This information will also improve the certainty of our water supply by telling us how much water we can reliably transfer to people, farms and other businesses.

Analyze a smaller delta tunnel. Instead of building a massive $10 billion peripheral canal (slightly larger than the Panama Canal), we should be looking at building a smaller tunnel to allow water to be diverted from the northern delta while diverting water from the existing southern delta facility. It would be much cheaper and less disruptive to the delta's main agriculture. Screening intake from smaller tunnels can reduce fish kills. The tunnel will also provide a reliable water supply in the event of a massive levee failure in the delta.

Requires aquatic development. California needs to accommodate an additional 10 million residents over the next 20 years without requiring additional water from sustainable agriculture or the environment. One way to do this is to have new developments incorporate state-of-the-art conservation measures to reduce water usage, and then offset the remaining demand through additional conservation and recycling in existing communities.

Converting uncultivated land into solar energy production. On the west side of the San Joaquin Valley, hundreds of thousands of acres are shutting down due to unresolved drainage conditions. Converting these unsustainable lands to large-scale solar production will create new manufacturing, installation and maintenance jobs. It will also reduce over-allocation of the state's water supply.

Protect California's primary water source. Fires, erosion and other changes caused by climate change are degrading the headwaters of the Sierra Nevada watershed. We need to invest in watershed restoration to maintain the state's largest water supply and protect the natural environment.

When the economy improves, consider using smaller water keys. If California's economy rebounds over the next two years, voters should consider issuing about $3 billion in bonds to spread out innovative water projects, improve safe drinking water and restore the state's most important fisheries.

The scope of the water crisis is global, so solutions are being sought all over the world, Airwaterawg has been working on water scarcity for 20 years, producing various models of Air Water Making Machines that not only provide convenience to families, but also Agricultural and industrial assistance can be provided to remote areas.
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