Guest Commentary
by Steve Hunyar
As a born and raised Southern Californian, I have lived through droughts, floods, horrible wildfires, earthquakes, traffic, killer bees, Med flies, and more
Droughts are a way of life here, and the only difference from one to the next is their intensity and duration. There is no question our current drought is particularly dire, given the low levels of the snow pack in the Sierra Nevada range this year.
The most up-to-date information available on the statewide reservoir levels is available online. The two largest NoCal reservoirs which store SoCal water are Shasta and Oroville. As of tax day, each was 60% and 51% full respectively, and 71% and 65% of average for the date. So yes, with the lack of snow, this is a problem.
Now let’s play the blame game. First and foremost, let’s blame nature.
Second, we can point the finger directly at Sacramento, whose politicians have done little or nothing to increase storage capacity. They are more interested in building a gazillion dollar high speed rail between Modesto and Fresno for all those weary Central Californians that are tired of driving Route 99. While we are at it, we can also blame ourselves for allowing these politicians to NOT plan. Have you heard any word of a “Comprehensive Water Strategy” coming out of Sacramento?
Third, we can blame environmentalists who stand in the way of additional anything.
Fourth, blame the unaccounted increase in population, which is 8 million more than the 1970s waterways and lakes were originally designed to accommodate.
Fifth, blame ourselves for not recognizing this is still a desert. Droughtscaping has come a long way and can be very colorful and beautiful.
Sixth, blame that pesky small fish called the Delta Smelt and the EPA for forcing a trillion gallons of water into the ocean to protect this species.
Lastly, we can blame anthropogenic Global Warming — oh wait — perhaps we cannot. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the drought is not caused by global warming. In fact, their admission in a December 2014 article stated that global warming would cause humidity to increase and therefore precipitation.
However, since the blame game is an exercise in futility, where do we go from here? I must admit I do feel a little better having temporarily unloaded my angst, but the feeling is fleeting as I ponder the problem and a few solutions.
So what are a few solutions? Certainly, it makes absolute sense to build more storage capacity. We should be planning for 10 year droughts. It is an easy solution if we used money and resources wisely. Perhaps the high speed rail could be used to move construction materials to proposed reservoir locations.
If the Smelt is such an important part of the eco system, then why aren’t we producing them by the millions in fish hatcheries and releasing them as we do for trout?
There is no doubt that more desalinization is a viable alternative. To our west is a small pond of water that is available, however, desal water is very expensive.
These past examples have been traditional thinking. We need to look for out-of-the-box solutions as well. For example, my research shows we can build a pipeline from the Missouri River to the near headwaters of the Colorado River in the Rockies, to supplement our supplies in the Southwest. The pipe would be approximately 550 miles in length; below is my example that would avoid the National Parks.
Over 140 trillion gals of water pour into the Gulf of Mexico from the Mississippi River each year. Southern California and the other Southwestern States could use a fraction of that water to supplement our water supplies.
For the naysayers, this is nowhere near the size and scope of the California Aqueduct System of the 70s, and I am certain we could find a method to filter the water for wildlife and organisms that are endemic to the Missouri River. In addition, this pipeline would provide relief from the massive flooding that seems to occur every five years in middle America.
Our country is lined with millions of miles of natural gas and oil pipelines. Is the idea of a water line all that unrealistic and abhorrent?
We can begin to think and go big, or we can continue to gamble California’s drought will end sometime in the next few years. I am certain that are other great ideas out there that should be incorporated into a comprehensive plan.
Shasta and Oroville were last full five years ago. The last time Lake Powell was at full capacity was 1999. That is a long time to “hope” for more water. Yet if we continue to embrace nothingness when it comes to these problems, this gamble will eventually bankrupt Californians. Conservation will only work until the supplies are dried up, which is happening in some cities up north.
Why is California so dysfunctional when it comes to this issue? It’s time to get off the couch and be innovative once again. Water is the very first thing we cannot live without.
Prologue
I would like to offer credit where credit is due, to the San Diego County Water Authority and our City and County Boards for negotiating the compact with the Imperial Farmers and providing San Diegans with some drought tolerance, and for the foresight to build the Carlsbad Desalinization facility, which is slated to go online sometime early 2016 and provide 10% of our water needs in San Diego County.
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Hunyar is an author and conservative activist.