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Reservoir levels plummet; rationing seen on horizon (SoCal)
The Orange County Register ^ | August 19, 2008 | PAT BRENNAN

Posted on 08/19/2008 1:22:17 PM PDT by TheDon

An important California reservoir is nearing its lowest level in 30 years, and other state reservoirs also are very low – more evidence of a gathering water crisis that could lead to mandatory rationing in Southern California by next year, state officials say.

The Oroville Reservoir in Northern California, a major supply reservoir for water that eventually flows into the Southern California region, is down to 38 percent of its capacity, according to the state Department of Water Resources.

By Sept. 30, Oroville, about 75 miles north of Sacramento, is expected to hit its lowest level since 1977, and by year's end, the lowest level since records have been kept, said Wendy Martin, the statewide drought coordinator.

The agency's Web site says precipitation statewide was 30 percent of average in April, May and June, the sixth driest of 114 years on record – powerfully affecting the Sierra snow pack, which melts and drains into Oroville.

...

Much depends on how much rain the state receives during the coming winter months.

"It's going to be an ongoing story here over the next several months, kind of no matter how it plays out," Patterson said. "Either there is going to be widespread rationing around the state, or we dodge the bullet and it gets wet."

...

Tightened supplies are likely to drive up water rates, water agency officials say. And if the coming winter is relatively dry, local water agencies could impose rationing next year, said Karl Seckel, assistant general manager for the Municipal Water District.

"We're laying the groundwork for mandatory rationing in 2009 – meetings, plans are being laid, so if we have to implement it, we can flip the switch and go to mandatory," he said.


(Excerpt) Read more at ocregister.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: desalination; environment; water
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Way past time for desalination plants up and down the coast!
1 posted on 08/19/2008 1:22:18 PM PDT by TheDon
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To: TheDon

Bingo.


2 posted on 08/19/2008 1:24:33 PM PDT by Crimson Elephant
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To: TheDon

So how many SC golf courses and lawns are getting watered every day?


3 posted on 08/19/2008 1:26:26 PM PDT by the_devils_advocate_666
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To: TheDon
Reservoir levels plummet

California sucks?

4 posted on 08/19/2008 1:29:46 PM PDT by Hazwaste (Vote! Vote for the conservative local, state, and national candidates of your choice, but VOTE!)
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To: TheDon

it’s not cost effective, is it?


5 posted on 08/19/2008 1:32:15 PM PDT by ken21 (people die and you never hear from them again.)
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To: the_devils_advocate_666

Lawn watering already limited to 3x per week in Palmdale, north of Los Angeles. Leave my golf course alone. :-D


6 posted on 08/19/2008 1:33:57 PM PDT by Chaguito
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To: TheDon

We have never had enough water that we could share it with millions.


7 posted on 08/19/2008 1:33:57 PM PDT by Linden1209
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To: the_devils_advocate_666

When we redid our back yard last year I researched artificial turf alternatives to a sod lawn. They are relatively expensive, but pretty dang good looking and feeling— and of course require zero water and much less maintenance.

I practically begged my wife to let me install it, but she INSISTED on a real lawn. Now, I’m out there practically every weekend mowing, weeding, adjusting and fixing sprinklers, reseeding trouble spots, etc. The water bill is ridiculous. Plus, we got a female dog recently and every time she pees on the lawn she burns a hole in it.

Never gonna listen to that dang woman again.


8 posted on 08/19/2008 1:34:14 PM PDT by agooga (Struggling every day to be worthy of their sacrifice.)
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To: TheDon

Southern California is naturally a desert and must take water from other areas - and the population of Southern California continually grows and uses more and more water.


9 posted on 08/19/2008 1:34:23 PM PDT by R. Scott (Humanity i love you because when you're hard up you pawn your Intelligence to buy a drink)
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To: agooga
we got a female dog recently and every time she pees on the lawn she burns a hole in it

Thats some powerful stuff, maybe you should bottle it and put it on ebay. lol

10 posted on 08/19/2008 1:37:30 PM PDT by Orange1998
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To: TheDon
Way past time for desalination plants up and down the coast!

Maybe one of these days our leaders will get a clue. Like maybe when it finally occurs to them to allow offshore drilling too. ;-)

11 posted on 08/19/2008 1:39:04 PM PDT by OB1kNOb (Choosing between McInsane and Obamapalooza is like choosing to ingest a slow or fast-acting poison.)
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To: Linden1209

Let alone a single un-elected judge siding with the enviro-wacko’s to save fish and cut the pumps off for half the water.


12 posted on 08/19/2008 1:41:37 PM PDT by edcoil
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To: TheDon

No doubt this government and our self representatives will come to the conclusion that allowing millions more illegal aliens into the U.S. will be the solution to this matter.


13 posted on 08/19/2008 1:41:55 PM PDT by dragnet2
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To: TheDon

There are too many people in SoCal and they need to stop stealing the water from the north, or build their own reservoirs.


14 posted on 08/19/2008 1:43:27 PM PDT by rivercat
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To: TheDon

I’m sure having 500,000 to 1,000,000 illegals doesn’t help the situation. But we don’t want to mention that because it is “racist”.


15 posted on 08/19/2008 1:44:49 PM PDT by CarWashMan
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To: TheDon

It’s Denver, they are stealing all the West Slope Water for the Democratic Convention!


16 posted on 08/19/2008 1:46:44 PM PDT by Steamburg (Your wallet speaks the only language most politicians understand.)
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To: the_devils_advocate_666

“So how many SC golf courses and lawns are getting watered every day?”

Plus washing the Mercs, BMers, Jags and Escalades several times each week with the fountains and swimming pools being refreshed daily or hourly.

Then, add the daily avalance of illegal third world aliens, who love their new free water in the past 3 decades.

In Jan 1977 during the height of N California’s last great drought, our company had a meeting in the LA area.

As we rode the buses from LAX into the LA hotel, we saw people washing their cars and watering their lawns with zero concern about wasting water.

Our people from Marin, Sonoma, East Bay and the Jose Area couldn’t flush their toilets, tooks navy showers and their lawns and yards were dead or dying went beserk.

Our S Calis didn’t know why we were so bitter and hostile re how they used our water.

Since then, we have no new dams, and envirals have welcomed the illegal aliens, who use a lot of water while demanding more water for fish.

The governator and most of Sacramento worry more about the non global warming than the reality of less water for a growing population.


17 posted on 08/19/2008 1:48:20 PM PDT by Grampa Dave (Obama, the Oreo Bozo, who wants special-ed treatment as an untouchable affirmative action candidate)
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To: TheDon

If the crops all die, there won’t be as many jobs that Americans won’t do. Problem solved. A big desert returns to being a big desert.


18 posted on 08/19/2008 1:48:26 PM PDT by Steamburg (Your wallet speaks the only language most politicians understand.)
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To: agooga
Plus, we got a female dog recently and every time she pees on the lawn she burns a hole in it.

Urine has a high nitrogen content. Since the female dog squats (rather than hiking a leg like the male) the urine is concentrated into a small area, causing a nitrogen overload on the grass, much like dumping a concentrated amount of liquid fertilizer in a single spot in your yard. One way to alleviate the grass burning, is to spray or pour enough water on the spot right after the dog urinates to dilute the strength by 10x or more. Actually, urine diluted at least 10X makes a good fertilizer for nitrogen loving plants.

19 posted on 08/19/2008 1:50:23 PM PDT by OB1kNOb (Choosing between McInsane and Obamapalooza is like choosing to ingest a slow or fast-acting poison.)
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To: OB1kNOb

I wouldn’t count on their getting a clue.

True Story:

I lived in Santa Barbara in the early 90’s during that “desperate” drought. No lawn watering. Water rates tripled to force conservation. We turned off the shower while lathering and no running the faucet while brushing your teeth. Car wash...ha!

Then the gubmint do-gooders really got involved. They offered free low-flow toilets to all takers. Typically, it didn’t occur to them that apartment owners would take advantage. Every multi-family rental and apartment complex had “mountains” of old toilets piled up. The costs soared. And it caused a landfill crisis trying to find room for all that porcelain...not to mention the hauling fees to collect them.

This went on for about 2 years. And then one day we woke up to an enormous photo on the front page of the morning paper. It showed firemen, in the dark of night, aiming their hoses down a manhole. Turns out all those low-flows didn’t produce enough effluent to move the, er, “solids” through the sewer system. So the city had been sending firemen out every night to add water to the sewers...water WE had been conserving!

Gubmint. Ain’t good for nuthin’.


20 posted on 08/19/2008 1:51:28 PM PDT by Timeout (The Brits have their royal family. We have our privileged "public servant" class.)
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