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No. Texas went through a severe drought in 2011 and it didn't affect population growth.
I'm no expert on the drought but from what I can gather the drought in California is nothing like the Texas one, or like the ones with abnormally low rainfall around the country.
California never really had an abundance of water to begin with, to say the least. From what I hear it reached an extreme point in 2014 with things like climate change and scientist think this will be the new norm unless something drastic happens to change it.
At least that's what I got from the limited amount I heard about.
If anything, growth will decelerate simply because California is too astronomically expensive for someone of regular means to live. It's already starting to see that to a degree; Millennials aren't California Dreamin', for instance.
Most people don't care about water crises or the environment; look at all the people flocking to the barren desert (Phoenix, Las Vegas, Tucson, Albuquerque, etc.). No water? Rivers don't flow to the ocean anymore? Who cares!
If anything, growth will decelerate simply because California is too astronomically expensive for someone of regular means to live. It's already starting to see that to a degree; Millennials aren't California Dreamin', for instance.
Most people don't care about water crises or the environment; look at all the people flocking to the barren desert (Phoenix, Las Vegas, Tucson, Albuquerque, etc.). No water? Rivers don't flow to the ocean anymore? Who cares!
Hard to see them not caring if it gets bad enough to affect their life directly, e.g. restricted water usage.
No. Go to google and type El Nino. California will have so much water soon that it may soon be exporting water to your state Cityguy7. Ha .
Stop bringing up the El Nino. The El Nino effects us Arizonans too but y'all will still have a drought just like us. California has been relying on not only it's agreed water allocation from the Colorado River but also the surplus from Arizona and Nevada and the other states using the river that weren't being used up. Note that only southern California--not northern California--uses the 4.4 million acre feet allotment from the Colorado River (not too mention Southern California is getting water from elsewhere too I'm sure) and the 800,000 surplus acre feet from not being used by Arizona and Nevada (the 800,000 surplus is more than the state of Nevada gets BTW) and the other states along the Colorado River Basin. Also note that Arizona and Nevada COMBINED have 3.1 million acre feet from the Colorado River, and I'm not sure about Nevada but the water from the Colorado River that Arizona gets goes for our ENTIRE STATE, in comparison to roughly half of California. As Arizona and Nevada continue to grow in population and use their full water allocations from the Colorado River, and the upper river basin states (New Mexico, Utah, Colorado) grow as well there is significant pressure. California has to try to learn to rely on less water from the Colorado River. Somehow southern California needs to take lessons and actually learn to use water within it's 4.4 million acre feet allotment that it had agreed to originally. Last I checked they managed to cut back half of their 800,000 acre feet surplus, but they still have 400,000 acre feet to go.
An El Nino lasts around three to six years I believe, or however long until a La Nina starts. The last big El Nino was in 1998, which was also when Lake Mead was highest in most recent times. We have had several El Ninos since then. If you know anything about the El Nino you should know we are in it now, and scientists believe it will carry on into our wet winter season. And I really hope it does as we could both use it. But California has been in a five-year long drought I believe, in 2013 had one of its record driest years, and is also receiving government pressure from the Department of the Interior to cut back usage.
If you believe the 2015-2016 winter wet season El Nino will be so strong that it cancels out a few year long drought to the point that the ground has absorbed enough and it creates a run-off, so strong that it raises Lake Mead at least several feet so that we are no longer in fear of a shortage, so strong that we no longer need to worry about a drought and we have so much we can sell it, you have the strongest wishful thinking I have ever seen.
I know Arizona has been stockpiling water underground for the major metros in case the government declares a shortage, which honestly I think it will, in the year 2016. That depends on the levels of Lake Mead. We've been doing it for a couple years now at least. Not sure if you guys have been doing that.
Back to the thread. No, it will not halt growth. If in 2016 we see a shortage Arizona plans on cutting 50% of agriculture's water from the Central Arizona Project (Colorado River water), but it won't affect our cities too much since we've been stockpiling. I am willing to bet California has similar plans to attack agriculture first. For the rest of you guys in the country who probably fail to understand why this should be important to them, expect your food prices, and your clothes maybe (Arizona cotton is some of the best in the world, it's also a water-heavy plant), to rise.
There are already claims that the El Nino wouldn't make Califronia break out of the drought.
Quote:
Will there be enough rain and snow to erase the four-year record-breaking drought in California? Even if they do receive above-average precipitation, it will most likely not be enough. It takes more than one season to break out of such a historic drought; it takes many wet seasons. El Niño would need to be present for the next two to three years to finally fill up all the reservoirs, lakes and rivers in the West, and that is unlikely to happen.
Another concern is "the blob": the ridge that has been sitting off the West Coast for two years now. It will help determine how far north in California rain and mountain snow will fall. Not every El Niño brings heavy rain to northern and central California. That would require breaking out of the blocking ridge in the West.
Everyone is so horny for California, especially for San Francisco and the Kardashians so of course people are still going to want to move there. It's going to be too late before they realize, whether they run out of water or the San Andreas fault.
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