Restoring the Bay-Delta ecosystem to the standards as proposed by various environmental advocates will have a tremendous impact to Butte County by virtue of diminished supplies to appropriative, and possibly even riparian water rights holders along the Sacramento River and its tributaries, including the Feather River, Honcut Creek and Butte Creek. While there are those that will argue the benefits of restoring the Bay-Delta Ecosystem, which certainly have some merit from their perspective, increased unimpaired flow requirements generally come at the cost of the local economy and livelihood the agricultural communities bring to the Sacramento Valley, including Butte County. In a valley that thrives on agricultural production, less water could
“One, it’s tied to putting salmon back in the river. Two, there is no funding for dams or river recirculation technology that would maximize Sierra water runoff and lessen the economic devastation to some San Joaquin Valley farmers.” (McEwen 1)
“Climate change” and its impact on basic water supply is at their foreground. It is an unfortunate reality that the terms of the Colorado Compact, the document dividing the Colorado’s waters, is an unworkable document. Based on allotments formulated in an “especially wet year,” the average volume now flowing does not meet the amounts specified in the agreement. Under the terms of the document, California receives the largest share, but with Southern California’s exploding population, this will be increasingly inadequate. Absent changes in both urban and agricultural use patterns, the deficit will only grow and further stress the state’s political and economic systems. Man’s mastery will thus prove illusory and short-lived and the original problems of water supply will return in highly magnified
Californians are being heavily fined for using a certain amount of water a month, which impacts the daily lives of everyone. Water is a natural resource that is crucial to everyone’s survival. Whether if it’s being used for cooking, showering, gardening, washing your car or just simply drinking purposes; water is a necessity for everyone. Though the bill has not yet been passed by congress and officially has not become a law, the issue still remains on the table. The drought in California has taken a massive toll on agriculture, the environment and infrastructure. The drought is on its route to damage California’s climate change. In the past three consecutive years the average rain fall has drastically decreased, and the winter temperatures have increased. Since majority of California’s water comes from the Western Rocky Mountains, the water supply there is dropping resulting in more strict laws and regulations on how much water can be consumed by the average
As explained here, “… working together on a project should benefit the environment, the fishing industry, and the local economy,” the economy may get better. Among other things, the economy may rise, positively, with the growth of fishing industries and the energies created by the river itself. Grossi iterates the results, “‘… not to mention billions of dollars to complete this project. Is that reasonable?”’(Grossi) With this, Grossi shows the reader how terribly the economy is, at this moment, because of the unnecessary amounts of money going into this project, when, all they have to do is open the river. [Like, bruh.] A flawed restoration plan, will never amount to all of the expectations of the people, but it is surely to do so for some, typically, those with money that get benefits from the San Joaquin.
Bill McEwen in the “ River Plan Too Fishy for my Taste Buds,” exposes that the San Joaquin River restoration has hidden flaws within its complex plan. McEwen supports his claim by explaining the two major problems with the legislation. The author’s purpose is to point out these problems in order to have people take notice in them, and have them see what is going on within the San Joaquin River restoration. The author writes in an informative tone for the locals within the
A primary reason that we should spend our money for the restoration plan is farmers need water for planting. In Tales of San Joaquin video states that, “The Central Valley of California is primary known for farming”(Tales of San Joaquin video). Basically the Tales of San Joaquin video indicating that there are so many farmers in the Central Valley of California that need to use water for their farm. If farmers did not have water to use for planting, they would not be able to plant and make money, so water is so important to farmers.
The San Joaquin River Restoration Project is an unacceptable change for California. The San Joaquin River Restoration Project is a project to restore water that flows from a Friant Dam. The article, “River Plan Too Fishy for my Taste Buds”, by Bill McEwen, disagrees with the restoration project. Bill McEwen, who’s in a 35-years with The Fresno Bee, but his last day at The Fresno Bee will be on October 23, 2015. The Fresno Bee is for farmers, hard working, and people that cares about jobs.This article occurred in Fresno Bee, on March 26, 2009. Bill McEwen cares how did project will affect farmers who depend on the water. He uses lot of facts than opinion, which makes the readers to agree with him and to trust him. It was published in Fresno,
Another one of the many problems that the severe water drought caused was it has a big impact on farmers, families,business, and many other people in the Sacramento area. In “Addressing California’s Droughts” it states that the harsh drought has been hurting a lot of Sacramento families, farmers, and small business that don’t do so well because of the drought which affects their business majorly (Addressing California’s Droughts).The CBS News explain that the State Department of Water Resources Director Mark Cowin says “there simply is not enough water in the system to meet the needs of the farmers” (Facing Drought,California Will Not Allow Water To The Farmers, Cities). It is also said that without the water on the surface the farmers have to pump water from underground aquifers (Facing Drought,California Will Not Allow Water To The Farmers,Cities). This happens to alter the farmers and their business because without the water for their crops they end up not having any business because they don’t have any crops grown to
Water is a precious resource. It is the lifeblood of every living thing on Earth. California is in the midst of a water crisis. Combined with a three (plus) year drought and many people moving into the state there is not enough water to support the crops the farmers need to grow. There is also a tiny little fish that is causing a mess in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The Delta water pumps were turned off to prevent the extinction of the tiny little fish. Some farmers have to let their fields sit idle for the fall and spring planting season. This is causing a lot of problems in California. The pumps need to be turned back on. The needs of the people should come before that of a fish.
Water resources in the state of California have deteriorated drastically as a result of the current drought event in the west coast of the United States. This has resulted in insufficient supplies of water to residents of southern California, as well as the devastation of wildlife and aquatic ecosystems that are characteristic of this area. This policy analysis will provide the context of the issue, as well as possible solutions, followed by a proposed policy plan to reach the policy goal of equitable and reliable water allocation in the state of California, drought resilience, as well as restoration of the destroyed ecosystems.
Environmentalism has always been two sided. Nature versus urban. locals versus national. Frequently, large tracts of public and federal land are bought and developed by industry. Pristine wilderness turned to bustling epicenters of human activity, all in the name of progress and economic growth. This tale of preserving natural wilderness is one that begins with John Muir, an advocate against the taming of Yosemite national park and the Hetch-Hetchy reservoir, while the head of the US Forest Service, Gifford Pinchot, insisted on the reservoir to supply the city of San Francisco with water. This timeless epic of conservation or preservation brings us to the Jumbo Valley, a vast expanse of uninhabited, pristine wilderness home to diverse
Yet, humans have limited control on natural events, so this only reinforces the importance of managing water wisely. Recently California’s government has begun to focus more on sustaining and restoring the water supply. Dale Kasler (2016) articulates in his article some of the steps they have decided to make to solve this serious issue. The government has made the following investments: “$415 million for watershed restoration and other environmental aid for Lake Tahoe; up to $335 million for two proposed reservoirs in California, including the Sites reservoir north of Sacramento; $880 million for flood-control projects on the American and Sacramento rivers in Sacramento; and $780 million for flood-control projects in West Sacramento” (para. 10). This could be the first step to restoring the water to California. But these
The future of California is pretty good, for the state is projected to see growth in almost every sector of the economy as well as the population, but there are many concerns that must be addressed first in order to see California’s growth come to fruition. International trade and business is one of California’s largest industries and it’s expected to continue increasing, for many emerging economies are also located off of the Pacific Ocean. Growth in the economy is good, but requires resources that California has a limited supply of. The main resource California always needs is water, since most of the state’s population resides in the southern regions, which are arid and receive minimal precipitation annually. The state is planning on improving efficiency and the aqueduct system to increase the water supply while decrease the environmental effects California’s aqueduct’s have on regions like the San Joaquin River Delta. For many years California has been considered a very liberal and left state, which is due to the fact that the state has the toughest environmental legislation in the country. With such strong legislation ensuring the protection of the environment California has become a model state in the fight against climate change, and must remain vigilant for there are numerous species endemic to the state that are found nowhere else on the planet. Though there are numerous other factors’ affecting California’s future these are some of the most interesting areas to
ocated between San Francisco and just south of Sacramento is the delta region. The Sacramento/ Bay Area delta area was once vast marshland where 5 regional rivers converged with the Pacific Ocean. Since the discovery of gold over 160 years ago, the area has been excavated and reshaped into a maze of interconnecting levees and waterways. With over 700,000 acers of land and water, the region is an estuary that has become a habitat for over 750 plant and animal species such as migratory birds and an abundant population of fish (Austin, 2015). Most importantly, the delta region provides fertile farmland and drinking water for two-thirds of California’s population.
Water is the most important resource, controlling all aspects of life. The effect on climate change is changing California’s water quality and quantity. This creates