The General Problem Of Southern California

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

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.

California’s continuous drought not only affects California, but essentially impacts the entire food system. Could you imagine an entire state unable to contribute to the growing demands of a thriving economy? As California enters its fifth year of drought the consequences of an ever depleting natural resource, water, continues to negatively impact landscape plants, agricultural production, wildlife, and the economy. The lack of water in California has the potential to have a devastating effect on an ever thriving economy.

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.

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.

Community leaders, California is experiencing the most severe drought in decades, perhaps the worst in the past century. Our current drought has led to fierce wildfires, water shortages and restrictions, and potential loss in the agriculture business. While it has only been four years since the drought began, we have already seen a substantial loss in the body of water California water reservoirs contain. And while hopes for strong precipitation are high, the reality is that we are too deep in our drought to recover with a year or two of strong precipitation. The sad truth is that California uses a vast amount of water each year, varying from public supply and industrial to thermoelectric generators and irrigation systems, all without replenishing

California is in its fourth year of a drought and continues to affect the lives of our community. The drought is the “region’s worst in at least 1,200 years” (Holthaus) with “more than 70 percent of the state classified as in ‘exceptional’ or ‘extreme’ drought” (Cockerham). As a result, California has experienced many more wildfires, the drainage of main reservoirs and less crop production. Over the years, studies regarding the cause of the severe drought have been performed and the government has deliberated ideas for solving it.

In California, groundwater is not merely another integral part of the hydrologic cycle, but a key component that drives the state’s economy, contributes towards environmental stewardship, and supports communities that may range from being partially dependent to solely dependent on groundwater. Groundwater in California has always played a key role in supporting the urban sector, meeting the irrigation needs of the arid Central Valley, or functioning as a supplemental water source during times of drought. Given the importance that groundwater has in the state, it is no surprise that California pumps more groundwater than any other state in the nation, pumping roughly 16% of the annual groundwater supply (Groundwater update). Despite how important groundwater maybe, there has not been an established system to manage it throughout the state. The degree of groundwater management will vary where some regions will have some guidelines where others will have none at all. Although, the lack of groundwater management may soon change after the passage of the Sustainable Groundwater Act that was signed in 2014 by the California Governor Jerry Brown. The legislation holds a promising future for groundwater management in that it is geared towards establishing efficient groundwater management practices that strive to achieve groundwater sustainability by the year 2040. The introduction of this legislation is the first of its kind in California and represents a pioneering era in how we will manage our groundwater in the years to come.

The state of California has been undergoing continuous severe droughts, with 2013 being California’s driest year ever (USGS, 2014). On August 1, 2014, Santa Clara local reservoirs contained only 69% of the historical 20-year average water levels. The drought presents short-term issues such as decreases in hydropower production, adverse impact on recreational activities, and the destruction of habitat for aquatic species. If groundwater is used to compensate low streamflows, there will be a decrease in water availability and deterioration of

So. here’s the facts: in the last four years, there has been an average 33% increase in household water prices, many Californian farmers have had to tear out their orchards and let their crops lie fallow, and the ground is a dull, parched brown. We know these things, and we also know why: the drought, of course. 2013 was the driest year in Californian record, and "the drought of 2014 is shaping up to be worse. Several of the state's critical reservoirs - Folsom, Lake Oroville, and San Luis - are at lower levels for this time of year than they were in 1977... And the state's depleted reservoirs must serve a population that has more than doubled from 18 million in 1977 to 38 million today." (Association of California Water Agencies, 2014 Drought Fact Sheet)

California’s water reservation is playing a big role in their current drought situation. California has made rules against water wasting that block, stifle or threaten homeowners from reducing or eliminating the watering of vegetation or lawns during a declared drought emergency in violation of existing law. They started a new regulation they go by, they now have to have monthly water checks for their urban water suppliers. All of this is because if not taken into action this could affect 6.5 million Californians for a year.

The environmental issue to be considered is the water consumption of the state of California and how this consumption has been influenced by the most recent historical drought from 2011 to 2016. Conditions are improving, but unfortunately, California is not completely in the clear (Miller, 2017). The main cause of the drought cannot be determined (Valentine, 2015), but what is known is that a mass of warm water in the Pacific Ocean has prevented rainfall from reaching the state (Klusinske, 2015). California is a major agricultural state, producing two-thirds of the nation’s fruits and nuts as well as one-third of the vegetables grown, while producing over 400 commodities in total (California Department of Food and Agriculture [CDFA], 2015).

Groundwater is the most important natural resource a state can obtain. This is true for the state of California, which is fifth in the world for the production of agriculture. In a state with numerous climate regions and various different landscape and soil profiles it is astonishing to be able to grow over 400 different commodities. This is only possible with the unique design of the irrigation systems that provide eighty percent of the total amount of water used by agriculture producers in the state. Although, farmers and rancher only use forty percent of water in California. Since California is experiencing its fourth consecutive year of drought water is a hot topic. The general problem is the lack of water in the state which is causing

The human body is more than 60 percent water and humans can only live roughly a week without water. With that in mind, people today are not preserving enough freshwater. At the rate it’s going, parents are burdening their children and future generations with their choices towards water preservation. Droughts are happening everywhere is the United States. Recently, the many droughts in California have brought to light the severity of this crisis that has been silent for years. Freshwater is not endless and due to the luxury use of it in places like California, it has reached the point where laws are now starting to form in effort to prevent the misuse of freshwater. The Us and other economic powers are even raising the prices of freshwater

Water is a crucial component to sustain human, animal, and plant life. When a problem that puts water supply at risk of depletion is encountered, people should concern themselves with the inevitable detrimental effects of water shortage. California inhabitants are currently faced with this problem. Although all of California’s citizens have some awareness to California’s drought issue, many are oblivious to the drought’s severity. They continue to leisurely use water due to assumptions that the drought is short term or that the lack of water is normal because the state is a desert. However, evidence clearly supports that California’s drought is drastic. In “Storms, Drought and California 's Water Situation: Key Points,” the article