Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am in Orange County, CA about 50 miles south of downtown LA via I-5. From July 1 last year to now, a local weather station that I access on the web has recorded 6.9 inches of rain. Weather stations in California track rainfall from July 1 to June 30 because most precipitation here falls from November to April. That way they can record the precipitation amount of each rain season.
I have not read or heard anything lately about water conservation warnings for my area. Much of our water comes from the Colorado River via aqueduct, and the other main source is the California Aqueuct that brings water from the Sacramento River Delta 300+ miles south to the Los Angeles basin. The California Aqueduct was a 1960's project on the scale of building the pyramids and includes a massive pump station that enables a river of water to climb the 4000' summit of the Tehachapi Mountains.
Most waste water here is treated and then re-used to water local landscape and golf courses. There is a seperate water distribution system for treated waste water, in purple pipes and purple plastic sidewalk box covers. It is amazing how green things look within the city limits in our area. You would never think there is a water shortage if you visit the cities in Orange County. Along the coast where there is almost daily mist from ocean fog there are places that look tropical and lush. However you head about 15 miles inland and beyond the developed areas of the cities and towns, the hills become brown and tinder dry at this time of year. All the green is gone and what remains is mostly dry brush and some oak trees and some cactus.
I think water will become a much bigger issue in the not too distant future in the entire southwest region from California to Texas. There is over a century of water wars history in this region. It is already serious in some places but the big population centers have not been in a panic mode, yet. It will be a battle between agriculture, mining, drilling, industrial and household consumers. Don't forget power companies need water to run turbines to create power at hydro plants and gas burning steam generation plants. All have a stake in water use and all of them want their share. I don't know who will have the clout to get the water they want or need, or where all the water will come from.
Thanks, Recycled. I know that NM and Colorado are taking the drought seriously. Well, at least they conserve a little. In NM, in the summer, we can water our outdoor plants/lawns, etc., only three days a week. I'm not sure that applies to golf courses -- which are watered year-round, even in the rain.
Water conservation activists say that the water shortage will seriously impact our ability to live (in Albuquerque) within 3-5 years. I don't know what "seriously impact" means -- but I'm not taking any chances. I'm moving out. (And more and more, I'm thinking that Southern CA is going to be a good place for vacation -- but I don't want to live there again.)
I know this topic is not getting a lot of traffic, but that's all right. I was hoping that just the title of this thread might get people seriously thinking about water in their area.
Also, I consider myself not just from San Diego (where I was raised) but OC also, where I lived for 35 and worked for OCSC for almost 30 years. I loved southern OC -- where you are -- thought it was lovely -- but the rest of OC is buildings and freeways. Really didn't like it at all.
Thanks, Recycled. I know that NM and Colorado are taking the drought seriously. Well, at least they conserve a little. In NM, in the summer, we can water our outdoor plants/lawns, etc., only three days a week. I'm not sure that applies to golf courses -- which are watered year-round, even in the rain.
Water conservation activists say that the water shortage will seriously impact our ability to live (in Albuquerque) within 3-5 years. I don't know what "seriously impact" means -- but I'm not taking any chances. I'm moving out. (And more and more, I'm thinking that Southern CA is going to be a good place for vacation -- but I don't want to live there again.).
Towns in Texas have seen their town wells go dry. No city water from summer to fall.
Each year the droughts continue in drought-prone regions, it gets worse.
My father spent 10 years living in Arizona hauling his water from over 100 miles away every week.
Do you know if your state if experiencing a drought/water shortage?
I live in NM. We are having a drought that has been going on for so long and is so bad that it's beginning to affect our farmers. Farmers are giving up their cattle and not planting crops.
There is no end to the drought in sight.
The main reason I'm moving out of NM.
I live in Texas, water shortages are a fact of life here. It is natural, always has been here. We need consistent rain every year or we have shortages and this becomes more of an issue as the populations increase.
Past that, be careful to believe that we are having massive droughts everywhere. Look into it very closely, check all positions on the issue and look heavily into the historical data concerning the occurrence. You may just find that... well... nothing so out of the ordinary when you do.
Where I live in So Cal (Inland Empire) the water department has not issued any warnings but the water rates have been increasing over the last few years. It gets very hot here in the summer and dry. I'm going to start removing about 40% to 50% of my front lawn (I live on a corner) and replace it with drought resistant plants, mulch and extend my existing drip system to that. The mulched areas will be scalloped so it will look nice. Not only will I save water/money in the long run but my yard work will be reduced dramatically. The homes in my neighborhood were built in the mid 80's so all the homes have parkways. If all the houses would at least remove the grass from the parkways and replace those areas with brick pavers or drought resistant plants the home owners would save a lot of water on a yearly basis. Speaking of parkways, my city has grass parkways all over the city. That's a lot of water usage during the summer to get the grass green. I don't understand why cities especially in dry, hot areas install grass in these areas instead of drought resistant plants and/or cobble stones like they do on the freeways. All the new sub-divisions in my city don't have parkways and the front yards are very small (how nice!)
Lubbock is suffering from the same drought. I'd say almost half of the large trees in the country are already dead or dying. Its been going on since Nov. 2010. In that span of time we've only had about 20 inches of rain, and west of here is been much less. So yes its bad. Some farmers are running out of water, but the aquifer has been going down for years and this drought will just make the days come sooner when their water will be exhausted, and they'll only be able to graze the land with cattle or dry land farm. The city of Lubbock has water rights in several counties that should supply water for the next 100 years, so we aren't on any real severe restrictions.
I live in Pittsburgh, PA. We always have plenty of water here. We get more precipitation per year than Seattle. It's lush and green. The economy is strong and the cost of living is low. You don't have to live far from the city to live off of well water. If you want to live in an apartment, you'll have public water. There's no way around that. Water is abundant here either way.
Living in Colorado we have had water shortages for some time. Although some of this shortage is caused by the ridiculous waste of water everywhere. Where I live we have water retrictions every year, always have. Then when I travel I see blatant waste of water, especially in SO Cal. Sidewalks being watered daily, watering in the heat of the day. water running down the street as they wash their driveways.
The worry about water is one of the major factorsin why we are leaving Colorado where I have lived for my whole life.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
