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Water Shortage In California Essay

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How to Prevent Water Shortages from Ruining Crops in California.
The water shortages in California are causing hardships on the agricultural industry. There isn’t enough fresh water to support both the human population and the natural environment. One way to prevent water shortages would be to improve the irrigation systems the farmers use. Instead of using various types of irrigation systems that waterlog the soil, they should increase the use of a drip-irrigation system.
California is the nation’s largest producer of various fruits, vegetable, and nuts (Hull). A majority of these plants go through a process called photosynthesis. In this process, a plant absorbs carbon dioxide, water, and solar energy from the environment and converts it …show more content…

California employs various irrigation systems. These irrigation systems are condensed into four different groups- sub-surface irrigation, surface irrigation (gravity), sprinkler irrigation, and drip/mico sprinkler irrigation (Orang, Snyder and Matyac). Sub-surface irrigation is when there is a pipe or open ditch that is blocked in order to force the water back to the crop root zone. Approximately two percent of the irrigation in California is done this way in 2001. There are six different type so surface (gravity) irrigation- wild flood, border, basin, furrow irrigation without sprinklers, wheel line sprinklers followed by furrow irrigation, and hand move sprinklers followed by furrow irrigation. Surface (gravity) irrigation is the most common form of irrigation in California; in 2001 it accounted for about 50% of all irrigation in California. There are various types of sprinkler irrigation systems. A few of the ones mentioned in this report include solid set, hand move, linear move, wheel line, and hose pull. The final category of irrigation systems is drip/micro sprinkler irrigation. Drip/micro sprinkler irrigation systems consist of having mini sprinklers above and below ground. This irrigation system made up about 33% of the irrigation in 2001. This type of irrigation would drastically help with water shortages. It would help because it doesn’t flood the fields with water …show more content…

The component that accounts for the majority of the cost is the engine and pump ($2,500). The maintenance includes checking the filters daily and unclogging, checking for leaks, and cleaning the pipes to dissolve excessive minerals. The drip irrigation system consists of six main parts- the delivery system, filters, pressure regulators, valves/gauges, chemical injectors, and controllers. The main component of a drip irrigation system is the delivery system. This component is constructed of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe (underground) or aluminum pipes (above ground). This part transports water from the source to the sub-mainline. The sub-mainlines are connected to the drip lines. Farmers need to understand the water flow rate, emitter spacing, wall thickness, diameter, and pressure compensation of their drip lines in order to make them efficient. Another crucial component of a drip system is the filters. These filters help prevent clogs in the pips. There are six components of the filtration system. If each of these components are installed and maintained properly, the installing cost will be paid

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