The Causes Of Drought In California

I.) Water and Drought in California: Facts and data show that the weather we are experiencing here in California is that there is a difference between La Niña that brings the ocean temperature down and making them cooler and El Niño brings much warmer ocean temperatures. Currently california is experiencing a weakened La Niña. With a 55% chance of this weather continuing for the next 3 months. La Niña affect patterns of rainfall, atmospheric pressure, and global atmospheric circulation. Even though California is in a severe drought, with coordination, modernization, and compromise, California should be able to provide enough water for a growing population and growing economy.

Undoubtedly, Groundwater plays a significant role in California water supply. During a normal year, 30% of the state 's water supply comes from groundwater. In times of extreme drought, groundwater consumption can rise to 60% or more. Even though groundwater is more evenly distributed, over half of the groundwater is unable to be extracted due to the high pumping cost. The largest groundwater reservoirs are found in the Central Valley, with the majority of the supply existing as runoff that seeps into the aquifer.

California has always had a warm climate, yet its supply of water has rarely been affected. In 2014 California’s water shortage issue truly began. Due to low amounts of snow in the winter in recent years, California has tried to equal out these shortages by drilling water from underground aquifers. Yet, underground aquifers recharge much slower than surface water sources. California has already made significant drawbacks to attempt to limit the amount of water they use, so these aquifers can recharge. But still resources continue going down and the Central Valley Aquifer’s water level is rapidly declining. Luckily, on April 7, 2017 the drought stage of emergency in California was ended. Yet the issue isn’t truly resolved. Glen MacDonald

California state and some other west regions face the problem of severe drought and the researchers show several reasons to explain this phenomena. According to research in weather data for the past century, in terms of overall precipitation and spring snowpack, the past three years are not record-breakers and paleoclimate studies show that the current drought is not exceptional given the natural variations in precipitation of the past seven centuries. It cannot thoroughly attribute drought to global warming. California may be faced a future of “perfect drought” because of following reasons. Rising heat increases the evaporation, continuing depletion of ground water, and growing water shortages on the Colorado River [1]. It is predictable

Most of us consider drought as a period of dry and hot weather with too little or no rain, and while any or all of these conditions might be existent during drought, the definition of drought is more complex and subtle. According to the United States Geological Survey, California Water Science Center (as cited in Congressional Digest, 2015, p. 2):

Over the years, California's drought has progressively gotten worse. Although some years we experience some rain, it is not enough to fulfill the need for water throughout the state. So where exactly is all the water going? Well, all of California’s water is split into three different sections: Environmental, Agricultural, and Urban.

Due to the lack of rain in the past few years, and particularly in the last few months, California faces severe drought. This is the worst drought in more than one hundred years. The impact of California drought affects community, agriculture, organic ranchers, and dairy farmers. Because of these facts, the United States must rethink the way it uses water. Californians alone are asked to reduce their water usage by twenty percent to prevent water waste.

Studies show from tree rings and natural clues that in the California's past there have been long droughts lasting 10 or 20 years long (Rogers, Paul). Who knows what California's future could be like considering its been in a four year drought so far. In the 2013-14 rainfall season they hit their driest in 434 years(Rogers, Paul). California has tried to adapt to these conditions over its time by changing there water managing (Floods, Droughts, and Lawsuits: A Brief History of California Water Policy). During the gold rush they tried experiments with there flood management (Floods, Droughts, and Lawsuits: A Brief History of California Water Policy).

Currently California is facing a water shortage. The issue has been addressed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in February. He called for all state agencies to find the way to help in the statewide water shortage. This is California’s third consecutive year of drought and last spring and summer was the worst of the season because it had the lowest amount of water recorded and California’s reservoirs were at their lowest point as well which did not help in the water shortage. Many agencies have been acquired to find possible solutions to the water shortage, the Department of Water Resources has been directed to find solutions to the problem as well as asking people to conserve water.

According to NASA studies The Great North American Mega Drought is predicted to happen within the next few decades (Howitt). California being one of the states heavily hit by this drought and it is already evident that the mega drought will happen. Central California was once one of the most fertile lands on the earth is drying up and the Sierra Nevada snow packs are melting away. The cause of the drought can be directly attributed climate change. The Ridiculously Resilient Ridge is an area of persistent high pressure that redirects moist subtropical air to the north. The ridge causes atmospheric water to flow around the pacific edge of California and move up north into Alaska and British Columbia. Leaving us with precipitation deficits and

Geographic Inquiry Model – Drought in the West Define the issue: For four years now most of California is experiencing droughts Causing water crises Drought would cost California's economy $2.7 billion Cities and towns are ordered to reduce water use by 36% Mixed views regarding climate change can be blamed for California's drought Global warming was worsen the drought's effects Impacts on Physical Geography Threatening populations of geese, ducks Agricultural industry is suffering Farming and agriculture use more than 70 percent water Impacts on Human Geography Farmers cities and towns are said to cut down on water Farmers are disobeying the rules Water crises causing a problem for firefighters to do there

Much ado is being made about the current drought in California, and it is a serious problem that does require citizens, government and society as a whole to rise to the occasion in order to mitigate what absolutely could turn into a disaster. However, the reality is that water issues have plagued California since its inception as a state in the U.S. Anyone engaging in histrionics about the subject or acting like this current acute crisis is really anything new is simply unversed in the history of water use and availability in the western United States.

California has had the driest year on record recently. There are different types of drought. Drought can thought as dry, cracked earth; low water levels, such as lakes and stuff; and barren fields, but these are examples of different types of drought, each of which is measured differently. Meteorological drought, which is very specific to the area as average precipitation, may vary considerably spatially. This is a most often thought of as drought in comparison to precipitation, assessing the degree of dryness (in relation to a local or area average) and the duration of the dry period. A concern of farmers is agricultural drought when available water

California has been in a drought for about 4 years now and it has been considered the most severe drought in the last 15 years. The California drought has been causing multiple ongoing problems for the last few years. The state of California has tried to take actions toward ending the drought, but the efforts put forth are clearly not enough to end this drought. The main focus in ending the drought has been water conservation, but many California resident are taking the seriousness of the drought too lightly. The drought has already caused several problems, for example water shortages, dying crops, and wildfires all across the state. If serious actions towards ending the drought are not taken soon, California will continue to surface or may get worse. There are a few ideas underway to try and end the drought in California such as, desalination, wastewater recycling, ground water digging, and the main focus water conservation. All of the solutions to ending the drought will cost a good amount of money, so the fact of the matter is which idea would be most efficient and less costly.

California has been dealing with a drought for many years and day by day, month by month, and year by year, this drought is getting worse and worse. Due to this very low amount of water there have been mandatory water restrictions set in California.