Everything You Need To Know About The California Drought
Trending News: Ten Shocking Facts About The California Drought
Why Is This Important?Because this is the worst water crisis in California’s history.
Long Story ShortThe state of California is under historic water restrictions in an attempt to prevent the region entering a ‘mega-drought’ that could last decades.
Long StoryCalifornia Governor Jerry Brown has imposed mandatory water restrictions for the first time in the state’s history, but there are fears that the water shortage in the Golden State could be here to stay.
The drought in the US Southwest has entered its fourth year, forcing Governor Brown to order the Water Resources Control Board to enforce a 25 per cent reduction in water usage across the state of California in an unprecedented move.
Officials are worried that 2015 will be even drier than the last three years, which have been the driest on record, and it has been stated that California’s reservoirs now have around a year’s worth of water left.
Experts are warning that unless something radical is done, California faces the possibility of a megadrought — a drought lasting two decades or longer — which could have catastrophic effects on the region’s populous and economy.
Some key facts:
- In Los Angeles, residents use an average of 265 litres of water per day but studies have shown that more affluent neighbourhoods use up to three times more water than others. Wealthy areas such as Malibu and Newport Beach showed consumption of more than 560 litres per capita in January.
- Agriculture is exempt from the water restrictions despite using 80 per cent of the available water supply. About 9 million acres of farmland in California are irrigated.
- Food production is a major source of water usage. The water that is used to grow California almonds for export overseas in one year would be enough to fuel Los Angeles for nearly three years.
- California produces almost half the fruits, vegetables and nuts grown in the US. Last year 500,000 acres were left fallow, losing an estimated $1.5 billion.
- The snow pack in California, which historically renews the water reservoirs in spring, is at just 8 per cent of its usual level.
- One ounce of beef requires 106.28 gallons of water to produce. It requires 700 gallons of water to grow the alfalfa — a superfood for cows — needed to produce one gallon of milk.
- One possible solution is to desalinize ocean water. The Carlsbad desalinization plant near San Diego will be complete in 2016 and will produce 50 million gallons of water per day, at the cost to taxpayers of $1 billion. That will still only serve 7 percent of the county’s water requirements.
- Groundwater is the back-up source of water. It seeps into the ground when it rains and accumulates in underground aquifers. It usually accounts for 40 per cent of the state’s freshwater usage but this year could be as much as 75 per cent.
- Individuals caught wasting water could be fined up to $500 and local water providers face fines of $10,000 if they don’t comply.
- About 50 per cent of water used in residential areas is used outside the home. Homeowners have been warned not to maintain their manicured lawns and many are replacing them with artificial grass.
The current crisis has shown stark contrasts between the water usage of California’s wealthy and less wealthy residents, but it has also seen a conflict between those in urban and rural areas. Those in cities use just 20 per cent of the state’s water despite accounting for 95 per cent of the population.
Tensions are running high with residents encouraged to be vigilant of others who may be wasting water and corporate giant Nestle is under fire for making billions selling bottled water by pumping Californian water.
Own The ConversationAsk The Big Question: Are mandatory water restrictions enough to address the current water crisis in California?
Disrupt Your Feed: How can anyone dispute climate change when California is facing a historic drought?
Drop This Fact: Leaky pipes in California lose an estimated 228 million gallons of water a year.