North California Water Problem and Solution to It Research Paper

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Introduction

California is the United States of America’s most populous state and it faces several complicated problems one of which being the water problem. According to the polls conducted however the most pressing issues in California are education, crime, unemployment, immigration, and job security. However, the truth is that water is a major problem and it is the drive of the state’s economy (Reisner, 2000). The water issue has over the years been faced by challenges like who to manage and control the water quality and quantity in California. This battle between the farmers and the environmentalists has not solved this issue so far and a lot needs to be done to save California. The state faces a critical water shortage and supply of limited water as the state also continues to face long periods of drought and an ever-growing population. The population of California is currently about 35.5 million and is estimated to reach 49 million by the year 2025. (US Census Bureau)

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The scope of water Problem in California

In 1998, the Department of Water Resources in California carried out a water Plan Update in California forecasting that there would be a water shortage as the gap between water supply and demand continues to widen from 2.4 million acre-feet to in good weather years to 6.2 million during years with drought where an acre-foot of water is equivalent to 326000 gallons which can cover about an acre of land with a depth of one foot and can meet average water needs of two average households.

California faces a serious problem of global climate change. From predictions carried out on various scenarios, the temperature of California is likely to rise by three to five degrees Celsius by the year 2090 that will affect the amount of precipitation and the pattern as well. California has two major water serving arteries which are a source of surface water for both urban and rural agricultural areas. These serving arteries are:

The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is commonly known as the Bay-Delta which is a major water source serving 75% of the state which is about 22 million people. The delta is fed by the river Sacramento from the North of the State and San-Joaquin from the south of California. These two rivers producing freshwater also combine with San Francisco Bay which has salty water to form the largest water sanctuary in Northern America. From this marsh, 5.5 million acre-feet of water are pumped yearly to California via the State Water Project.

The second source of water is the Colorado River which runs through the southwest United States and terminates in the Gulf of California in Mexico. This river provides water to seven states including California along its way. The use of this water is limited by the river Colorado Compact of 1922 which permits California to only use 4.4 million acre-feet of this water per year. However, this has been far much less and California has been using more than this amount. The secretary of California has ordered California to reduce this consumption as water conditions have been tightened which has affected the users of river water in California.

The water problem also raises concern to the management over the balance of water needs and environmental conservation in the Northern part of the state of the Bay-Delta. There have been restrictions in the use of water from the river Sacramento from the Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) due to the protection of the Salmon, a type of fish that winter-run and spring run from the river to the Pacific Ocean for a complete cycle. This action has also fueled the water crisis on water distribution among the farmers, cities, and environmentalists.

The drought that hit California between 1987 and 1993 created a water problem after which precipitation above the normal occurred and covered a little from the beginning of 1995 to 1999. In 2000 the state faced a drought again until 2002 when the late-season rains occurred for more than a year and ended in 2003. (Hart, 1996)

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The solution to the Water Problem

The drought from 1987 to 1993 was an eye-opener to resolve water problems in California. A coalition was formed between the federal state and the management in the Bay-Delta after the drought in 1995. This coalition is called the CALFED Bay-Delta Authority and has over the years made notable changes in water supply in several areas in the state of California. The authority has used various methods to resolve the water problem. These methods include a groundwater storage system that has been designed to store water for the drought season use, the environmental water account, restoration of the ecosystem, water conveyance, and water recycling.

The state voted for this project in 2002 and the state is ready to fund the project although the federal government has not given it support. CALFED has a special program called the Ecosystem Restoration Program (ERP) in the Delta which addresses the diverse water problems in California. The water diversion and land-use changes have affected the native fish species, wildlife, and some plants in the region. The ERP works towards assisting Delta Bay’s recovery of the endangered species.

The ERP carries out adaptive management which helps bridge the existing gap between reality and scientific theories about the restoration project. These will allow research to be done, test the restoration pilot projects and change the projects if they are not viable to meet the set goals. CALFED has identified various actions towards solving key problems, the acquisition of water from the sources in the delta watershed to be used to provide flows and improve habitat conditions for the fish, removal of fish passage barriers along with the dams and the rivers along the Delta.

Public interest and various environmental groups in conjunction with the urban water agencies and irrigation districts are focused on looking for possible solutions to the water problem that is facing California. The groups have used different innovations which are key components of the solution to this pressing problem.

The agencies have gone to an extent of water marketing along with desalination and water recycling as a long-term solution to the California water problem. These proposals however have faced several challenges. The recycling of water using modern technology has not been embraced by the public as they keep on questioning the possibility of changing wastewater using science and technology to making it potable. (Philip, 2002)

Water marketing on the other hand has faced the problem of lack of a defined market. The public is finding it very hard to trust and accept this model as a solution to the water problem.

Likewise, the process of desalination faces obstacles as the costs estimated are too high to be met, and also there are other environmental hurdles.

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Another challenge that stands in the way is the crisis that occurred as a result of the federal state’s efforts to protect the endangered water species which has changed the societal values i.e. from an ethnic of nature conquering to the value of coexisting with nature. These changes in the societal values about nature together with the strict federal laws protecting these species and their water habitat have altered some important water development strategies over the last 20 years in California.

The use of the available abundant water resources in California and directing them to the satisfaction of human needs, led to the transformation of California and the west of America into useful regions in food production and manufacturing from the wilderness of vast and scantly populated areas during the famous Gold Rush.

This process caused severe environmental changes in the state. The population of fish and other species reduced at an alarming rate whereas rivers were forced to follow through artificial channels such as Dams and Levees, therefore, altering the flow of water from its natural pattern. The native species of fauna and flora have declined and some became extinct due.

The quality of the water, as well as the quantity, was impaired. Pollution from the mines, the urban activities of the industries, and the agricultural activities caused serious water pollution in California.

The solution that bridges the gap between supply and demand of water can be through the construction of new facilities such as Dams to hold water that can be used in both the drought and rainy season and underground aquifers (water tables) to generate water that can be able to serve the ever-growing population. The construction of these new water storage facilities is however very costly and cannot be simply implemented. The underground water sources are also dangerous to the safety of the environment. Although they are abundant in California, they face challenges of causing land subsidence due to continuous pumping of this water that leads to the collapse of the aquifers- which is a health hazard.

Conservation can also work towards the elimination of the water problem. The state’s officials estimated that if the agricultural and the urban water demand are well managed through special programs such as land fallowing, rationing voluntarily during droughts, banking of water, and vacating of land in areas with poor drainage can cut the current water demand by about 3 million acre-feet by the year 2020. The reduction of agricultural water used for irrigation by just 10% (Agriculture in California uses 75% of water supply) could also free enough water to be used in the urban areas. (Reisner, 2002)

The supply of water can also be increased by the joint use of the ground and surface water. Many water agencies in the state deal with the recharge of groundwater that they buy from other users relying on surface water.

Water marketing is also a key strategy in meeting the increase in water demand. It means the lease or sale of water from one user to the other. This water transfer can however become a challenge due to the nature of water and the traditional use of water known to the people.

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Water for agricultural use can be transferred for use in the urban and this can help tackle the water problem. (Hart, 1996)

Conclusion

The issue of water in California is a serious problem and needs to be tackled using the possible technological aids available such as desalination and water recycling. It should be noted that the water problem in California ranges from quantity to quality and the solution should therefore address these two issues (Philip, 2002). Pollution in California is difficult to exclude as it comes from various sources. The agricultural activities that are improvised cause serious water pollution problems. The street run off to the river Colorado and delta as well as the man-made dams lowers the quality of water in California.

References

Hart, J. Storm over Mono, the Mono Lake Battle and the California Water Future, Berkeley: UC Press, 1996.

Information on the California Water Problems. Web.

Nevada Humanities Committee. A River Too Far, the Past and the Future of the Arid West, Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1998.

Philip, L. A River No More, the Colorado River and the West, Tucson: The University of California Press, 2002.

Reisner, M. Cadillac Desert, the American West and Disappearing Water, New York: Penguin Books, 2000. Web.

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IvyPanda. 2021. "North California Water Problem and Solution to It." October 5, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/north-california-water-problem-and-solution-to-it/.

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