Climate And The Economy Of California
Drought, as applied to agriculture practices in the US State of California, must be evaluated on a different basis than in other parts of the country.
Typically there are extended periods every Summer with little or no precipitation. This is the normal and expected condition. So, a deficiency of the precipitation becomes significant in the State when the normal Winter Water supply fails to materialize. Winter range is also very important in the livestock industry. An abnormally dry Winter can be disastrous to the raising of cattle.
Approximately 90% of California’s Water supply is used for Agriculture.
A shortage of irrigation water stored at the beginning of the season in numerous reservoirs is very serious, since normal Summer precipitation does not provide a sufficient amount of agriculture’s requirements.
California has about 37-M acres of farmland, but more than 50% of this is open range and less than 33% is cropland.
Approximately 8.5-M acres are under irrigation and this number is increasing. Currently, agriculture, domestic, and industrial demands for Water amount to 30-M acre-feet per year. A requirement for 50-M acre-feet is anticipated within a few years.
Note: according to the data Water users, since Y 2012 California lost 2.3-M acre-feet of Water. An acre-foot of Water is 325,851 gallons. That means that in the last 4 years, California has lost 749-B gallons.
Most of the Water supply for crops comes from the mountains of the State.
Falling as rain or snow during the Winter, the Water is held in reservoirs and as snow pack until needed during the growing season. A smaller part of the State’s water requirement is met by the importation of Water from the Rockies via the Colorado River. This water is used in the southeastern Desert and the South Coastal area.
Within the State more than 70% of the streamflow is generated in the area North of the latitude of Sacramento, while about 80% of the water requirements lie South of this line. Thus, distribution of Water is a Key concern within the State.
The long growing season characteristic of most of the Valley areas where agriculture is concentrated is an important factor in the production picture.
Some parts of the State are able to produce off-season truck crops, fruits and vegetables.
Today’s transportation networks carry these crops to all parts of the country and overseas. Some crops are grown that require a long freeze-free season. Others require the very high temperatures found only in some parts of the Desert.
The long dry spell of the Summer period facilitates the planting, cultivation, and harvest of many crops, and isolated late Spring, Summer, or early Fall rains can possibly cause more damage than good.
Drying winds occasionally cause damage to developing crops. Splitting of ripening fruit sometimes results from unseasonable showers at an inappropriate time.
In general the distribution of temperature and precipitation is highly favorable for most agriculture enterprises in the State.
California must recharge its aquifers, build more storage, enhance filtration, and expand Water delivery systems. Even with this terrible drought, California has sufficient water to meet most of its needs and priorities, while maintaining the flows in the delta required to keep its vital ecosystem healthy.
California’s Water problems are not just from a lack of rainfall and changes in the climate, they exist because of a lack of infrastructure that even in times of record rainfall is not sufficient for the State’s needs.
So, perhaps the best solution is to invest in Water infrastructure that keeps the Water from flowing into the sea.
The amount of Water that federal and state regulators have allowed to wash away into the Pacific Ocean is startling.
The precipitation from El Niño, and the Pineapple Express is not enough to provide a long-term solution to California’s Water crisis.
Conservation and Storage is Key.
Stay tuned…
HeffX-LTN
Paul Ebeling
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