[Sherman Logan]

The most heavily affected areas of CA are the Westlands, which are on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley. These were irrigated only by massive infrastructure projects built by the (evil) state government, probably subsidized by the feds, starting in the 60s. These bring water from the much wetter north of CA via enormous canals.

To use desal to provide the same amount of water would require it to cross the Coast ranges, meaning either massive pumping stations and pipes or boring of tunnels. Neither would be cheap. The Israeli situation is by comparison easy-peasy and itsy-bitsy.

[Disambiguator]

To use desal to provide the same amount of water would require it to cross the Coast ranges, meaning either massive pumping stations and pipes or boring of tunnels. Neither would be cheap. The Israeli situation is by comparison easy-peasy and itsy-bitsy.

It would probably still be less expensive than the high-speed rail project, and definitely much better use of funds. The ROI would be infinitely greater on the water plants.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Hey Sherm, I don't want to dismiss your realistic assessment of the technical difficulties and costs, but it's a matter of priorities, isn't it? It would be fun to look over the California state budget, rank state-funded projects on a most useful --> least useful scale, and then start cutting out state programs from the bottom until you've got enough $$ to do the desalination and tunnels. Think of all the useless socialist bullshuck boondoggles you could get rid of in the process! It's a win=win!

BTW, Love those Israelis!

Water surplus in Israel? With desalination, the once unthinkable is possible.

From the above link:

"Drawn from deep in the Mediterranean Sea, the water has flowed through pipelines reaching almost 4,000 feet off of Israel’s coast and, once in Israeli soil, buried almost 50 feet underground. Now, it rushes down a tube sending it through a series of filters and purifiers. After 90 minutes, it will be ready to run through the faucets of Tel Aviv.

Set to begin operating as soon as next month, Israel Desalination Enterprises Technologies’ Sorek Desalination Plant will provide up to 26,000 cubic meters – or nearly 7 million gallons – of potable water to Israelis every hour....The company’s U.S. subsidiary is designing a new desalination plant in San Diego, the $922 million Carlsbad Desalination Project, which will be the largest desalination plant in America."

Smart technology and a can-do attitude. If the Israelis ran California, they'd feed the world. If the Californians ran Israel--- ouch, I don't even want to think of it.

[Dan Cooper]

Don’t use desalinated water to irrigate crops in the valley, build and use desalination plants in Southern California and stop shipping the Northern water south. That would leave a lot of water to irrigate the valley.

[Mike Darancette]

To use desal to provide the same amount of water would require it to cross the Coast ranges,

Yes desal will not work for agriculture. But use the desal for the populated coastal reason and the rivers for agriculture, flow to the sea or both.