Ag issues:

Water Supply
By: Isabel Murillo
 The beginning of the drought
Recently, California has been going through tough times trying to deal with inefficient
water management. The year 2013 marked the driest year on record for many areas in the
state. Major reservoirs were at less than half of their capacity by January of 2014. While
many thought that the drought was caused by rising temperatures, this wouldn’t be
entirely true. Many people think that the drought was caused by weakness in being able to
manage the allocation in water supply and its management. California’s water supply
proves to remain unstable, and there is still insufficient water infrastructure, unmanaged
groundwater supplies, inefficient water use, and environmental issues that will pose
danger and threats to California for years in the long run, even if the drought has gone
away, or gotten better.
 The beginning of the drought
Even though many people say that the drought is over, it still has many damaging effects on
current agriculture. We still have suffering issues and long lasting consequences from the
recent drought. The water availability varies within the different areas in the state. More
than 75% of the states precipitation occurs in northern California, however southern
California demands 75% of the states water. Even though water usage per capita (per
person) has declined over time, California has a population that
quickly is increasing, which means that the demand
for the supply and usage of water
will also end up increasing, causing further issues.
 Water supply in relation to California’s economy
In California, water supply has been unreliable to meet various demands, however there
have been improvements over the years. Agriculture uses approximately 80% of the total
“developed water supply”. However, agriculture remains to be one of the most valued
sources of income for the whole state, the economy has developed less reliance on water
based industries. Improvements in the economy has been made, for example, agriculture
and other water based industries now only account for around 2% of the whole states
GDP (Gross Domestic Product). California now also gets the largest portion of revenue
from agriculture purposes and in the U.S. Crops that create some of the largest portions of
the agriculture revenue, don’t need much acreage and need less water compared to other
affordable crops. Therefore, during drought slips, the state could make a plan for efficient
water allocation and increasing revenue, by creating mass production on these valuable
crops.
California Surface water storage
Another thing that can help with the crisis of water supply in California can be the surface
water storage. Storage of water plays a key role in the crisis on water supply. California
still has to work on the expansion of surface water storage facilities. Since the 1970’s the
Central Valley Project and the State Water Project have not made any significant
investments in waters infrastructure. The projects that were developed several decades
ago worked for the past population, and supported the demand of 19 million people,
however as I mentioned earlier, the population has been significantly increasing, and the
current population is doubled. This means that water demand increases and the water
infrastructure plans are insufficient to meet demands of people.
 California Surface water storage
However, there actually have been some improvements made in the area of local surface
storage construction, which Diamond Valley Reservoir can be credited with. The federal
government possesses most of the states most important reservoirs, and are in charge of
their maintenance as well. Due to temperature increases, winter precipitation has a
higher chance as coming as rain instead of snow, meaning that the water supply system
should be efficiently operating with enough reservoirs to provide resources, and the
needs for the growing population will be controlled. Another solution to solving the issues
involving water supply is the construction and maintenance of reservoirs and dams. Even
though these projects can pose to be costly, they can provide great supply systems and
gives the chance to respond quickly to emergencies.
 Unregulated Groundwater
Groundwater is generally considered to be a private good, contrary to surface water
which is considered a public good. Therefore, two different regulating systems exists
among them. This kind of management can result in “groundwater overdraft” which is
when the event of water being released faster than it is being replaced. Groundwater
overdraft has a higher chance of happening in drought like conditions and this is also due
to the fact that not enough surface water would be available. Overdraft can also cause land
to sink and can also lead to seawater intrusion. Areas have already began to sink at an
alarming rate. Groundwater storage also makes a more suitable water source during the
droughts, because they refill and empty slower than surface groundwater. However, the
government still needs to administer a state system that permits groundwater usage.
 Environmental measures that affect water supply
As a direct result of drought conditions, the state court demanded that restrictions be
placed on Delta water pumping, in order to protect fish species from extinction. This court
order further reduces the supply of water. Therefore, people would turn to more valuable
underground resources, which can then lead to groundwater overdraft. Water agencies
then proposed a plan that involves constructions of tunnels and pumping plants that
would allow water to move into water channels that mainly support the states supply.
This plan can help stabilize the water supply, however there are strict government rules
and financial policies that would need to be overcomed.
Funding Challenges
Local agencies have the main responsibility of the delivery of water services and
maintaining infrastructure. Agencies fund their operations and programs through
the monthly water bills. Therefore, as a result state and federal funding is relatively
low compared to local water agencies. Obligation bonds have also become a reliable
source for funding for water agencies main projects. To completely try and get rid of
the long lasting effects that the previous drought has had on us, the state must
develop a wide variety of funding choices to be able to sustain water supply
management.
Water efficiency and conservation

Public institutions regulate California’s water supply by making the market price
way below its true value, since in present day, it would still be considered a scarce
resource. Overall, the water prices do not adjust right away when there are times of
shortage and excess. However, research has proved that increasing or higher water
prices doesn’t really affect the demand of water in California. Therefore, it isn’t very
effective in reducing municipal water use. Raising water prices has overall negative
effects, and this approach should not be taken.
Major current day issues that persist from
the recent drought
Water storage remains to be a big issue among California. However, significant plan
advancements have been made. For example, Tim Quinn the executive director of
the Association of California water agencies (ACWA) states that there will be “four or
six storage projects, and we will build underground projects as well”.

There was a great waste of water following the drought, and the water releases were
not at all sustainable. However, the Water Resources Control Board is searching for
another adaption.
Major current day issues that persist from
the recent drought
There has been a great construction plan that involves improving both water storage
above and below ground. Executive directors of the Fresno County Farm Bureau
think that the Temperance Flat Dam will help. The Temperance Flat Dam is said to
efficiently help with both storage above and below ground, and is becoming a
popular aspect.
Conclusion

In conclusion, there are various problems that are present from the long lasting
effects of the most previous, devastating drought. Some of these issues include the
water supply being handled irresponsibly, the economy being affected, the surface
water storage, the unregulated groundwater, environmental issues, conservation,
and funding problems. Once all these problems are overcome, the state may be able
to develop a secure, reliable water system. There are many solutions as discussed
earlier, and many plans that are striving towards, and well on their way, to success
at achieving a stable water system.
Works cited

http://uscommonsense.org/research/unsustainable-california-the-top-10-issues-facing-the-golden-state-wat
er-supply/

https://californiaagtoday.com/water-storage-big-issue/

https://californiaagtoday.com/state-needs-more-sustainable-water/

https://californiaagtoday.com/temperance-flat-help-ground-storage/