Which do you prefer, rationing or recharge?
The democrats use water shortages as a justification for water rationing. Water is a vital necessity, and water security is fundamental to economic security. Without sufficient water, food and jobs will be scarce.
Since California’s primary water source is rainfall, it is common sense to store rainfall from wet seasons for use in dry seasons. The annual rainfall in our part of California averages 18 inches.
Confusingly, many Democrat law and policy makers take an anti-water storage posture, consistently opposing major reservoir storage efforts, such as the proposed 2.3 million acre-feet capacity Auburn Dam.
Further, they have supported tearing down existing water storage facilities on northern California rivers, and have proposed costly, elaborate, and environmentally dangerous water transfer schemes. For example, the Twin Tunnels, a risky scheme that could increase salinity, exacerbate shortages, and worsen pollution in our Delta.
They have ignored and sidelined the proposed and cost-effective West Delta Intake Concept that would protect fish and water quality from saline intrusion, as well as ensure availability vast quantities of surplus winter water for storage in reservoirs and in our increasingly depleted underground aquifer.
Instead of implementing water storage, California State water agencies focus on measuring and monitoring schemes. Recently, they imposed reporting requirements for how much water landowners use and do not use, which discourage “stock-water ponds.” These ponds hold back natural rainfall runoff and could more accurately be called “aquifer recharge or resupply ponds” due to their benefit to the underground aquifer. This benefit could be further enhanced by installing 5 to 25 feet in diameter “dry wells” 200 to 300 feet underground, to facilitate rapid percolation of overflow water into the underground aquifer.
Regulators incorrectly and dishonestly characterize water-pond holding as a “diversion.” These regulators prefer that runoff be diverted into the Pacific Ocean for storage! They even require annual reports from owners of how much water is not being diverted (a.k.a. thrown away) to the Pacific. This is a “storm-drain” mentality, NOT a water conservation plan.
Water wisdom should focus on using our tax dollars to create additional water supplies. Without revisions in thinking and policy, the State Water Resources Control Board will continue to limit usage (ration water), amounting to a program of dividing up what little water we have.
Instead of schemes to deliberately increase shortages, we need to store water for use during dry years. Water watchers know natural cycles of low-rainfall dry years occur every twelve to fifteen years.
> California must avoid a future, where the State Water Resources Control Board changes its name to the State Water Resources Rationing Board!
>Water Storage Saves Lives
