Parched: California's Climate Crisis

A special report on California's changing climate and the ongoing drought by CBS stations across the Golden State. (9-1-22)

[teague]

I've worked in CA Water industry for 15 years. We do not collect rain water when it falls, we release water when we have too much into the ocean, we do not recharge our aquifers with excess rain fall or run-off. Then we build more homes, allow farmers to grow any water hungry crop they want for cash and tell people that their lawn is the real issue.
We also have denied several new agencies from building new desalination plants.

Our political leaders could also get together and do a large public works project, which would provide lots of jobs, to make a new aqueduct from up north. This is a making of our own design, while the weather has pushed it faster, this is our own doing.

[wraprock-itroll-francisfra]

this happens when you continue to take more then you need. The Native Americans knew this 400 years ago.

[snappybabby]

Blaming residential use is NOT the answer since agriculture uses 80%. WHAT is being done in the State Capitol? Where is the coverage? Get control over the farms growing crops for use in other countries.

[hotchicsf]

There is no reason to plant rice in California. It is a water-intensive crop, and we are in a serious drought right now.

[JosephGarbett]

I hope you’re making people aware that dry, burnt ground is less permeable by water, which is why water sits atop (and floods) 👊👌

[bookbeing]

Two things would help:
Stop fast tracking water from storms and runoff out to the ocean. Keep waters inland and in Mountain areas as long as possible so they can recharge the water underground.

[VideoWebb]

Great film. Well done to the entire team who pulled it together. Bookmarked because of its high educational value. Thank you!

[BigGuy]

Very few people know that the state water agencies use more electricity to transport an acre-foot of water from the Sacramento Delta to Southern California, than the Carlsbad Desalination Plant uses to desalinate an acre-foot of water. They use about the same amount of electricity to move an acre-foot of water from the Colorado River to Southern California, as the Carlsbad Desalination Plant uses per acre-foot. Not to mention all the infrastructure cost to maintain all the aqueducts, pumps, and reservoirs along the way. Desalination does use a lot of electricity, compared to getting your water from a river flowing through your town, but LA and San Diego essentially have no rivers. We would actually save a lot of money if we built desalination plants along the coast, and stopped moving water South and West. Central Valley agriculture could have ALL the Sierra water, and Imperial Valley agriculture, Arizona, and Mexico could have all the Colorado River water they wanted, and Lake Mead would refill gradually.

I'm not making this up: The MWD publishes a report every year that states their water totals and electricity used, and the Carlsbad Desalination Plant does too. I looked at them, did some simple math, and figured out the big secret my self. You can too. Meanwhile, my water district buys some of the 50 million gallons of fresh water the Carlsbad Plant makes every day.

[yn]

This is what happens when you let corrupt water board supervisors linger around for 3 terms, then vote to extend another term… There were enough funds to build more reservoirs, and we the voters decide to waste that for bureaucrat raises and consultant fees that did nothing

[eugimon]

We can't talk about water and agriculture in CA without talking about how much of that agricultural water use is for water intensive cash crops like wine grapes and nut trees. On our way to yosemite from the bay area, we can see acres of tree nut orchards that are irrigated by flooding with standing, open air, water in 90 degree weather. Drive down the 5 and you can see unlined, open air, irrigation ditches. And then lets talk about all the golf courses, an average of over 100 acres for an 18 hole course that use 90 million gallons of water per year. We have 921 of them.

[lisad]

I moved to the forest just outside Mena, Arkansas from Temecula, California in 2004 after 42 years of residency. Best decision that I ever made! A reliable 60" of water per year - it's breathtakingly beautiful here. I've got 36 acres...1/2 forest, 1/2 rolling meadow, 2-1/2 acre lake with huge largemouth bass and nesting egrets. The house is modest but the horse facilities excellent. I'm on a paved road with city water, natural gas and electricity. The hospital is 15 minutes away. A MAJOR resort area/casino/Air BnB's is being developed less than an hour away. It's so safe that I don't lock my doors at night. My property taxes are $46/year. It's paradise!

[kimleone]

Reduce birth rate... Reduce migration and immigration. Stop tearing down hillsides to build large houses. If you must build, tear down old industrial areas, clean them up and build there. Redirect rainwaters to retention ponds.

[dorispowers]

It's a proven fact that trees shade the ground to keep the dirt from drying out. Just a though when cutting down Forrest for farming, solar farms and housing developments.

[dwee]

We are building new houses by the thousands all over CA, yet they continue to tell us to stop using water and power….WTF?

[quocd]

10% of our water in CA goes to Almond trees…..bye bye almonds

[TheFarmanimalfriend]

We need to create a lot of water retention structures everywhere, to hold rainfall so it will replenish the water table. We have to be smart and not degrade the environment we share with others. We don't need additional reservoirs to support our wasteful lifestyle. We need to use our intelligence to get us out of what we have created.

[blackrocks]

Californias overpopulation, overuse of resources and apalling factory farming....

[flydubs]

It’s important to note in this piece. When referring to 80% water used in agriculture. “Agriculture” is farming and water pushed directly into river/deltas. Approximately 50% of the 80% is used for farming. The other 50% is diverted directly to waterways leading to the ocean. This leads to a whole larger and more important debate which this news piece does not mention.

[JakeP]

While I do think its important to not carelessly waste water, it seems pretty insane to suggest I should be concerned with saving a handful of ice cubes I drop on the floor, compared to the other astronomically larger wasteful practices going on. Residential conservation is only a very small piece of the puzzle for sustainability.

[robertttttt]

People want to live in and farm in the desert and then whine about not having enough water.