Storms inform California to improve its plumbing
In summary
A series of storms have left California with enormous amounts of water, but the state needs new pipelines to capitalize on such events and counteract the effects of drought.
The rain and snow storms that have hit California for weeks have claimed nearly two dozen lives and caused billions of dollars in damage to public and private property.
The downside, however, is that they have dumped huge amounts of water on a state that has been suffering from severe drought for several years. At one point this month, a staggering 160,000 cubic feet — 1.2 million gallons — flowed through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta every second. That's enough water to fill a reservoir the size of Folsom Lake (about 1 million acre-feet) in three days, not counting the water falling on other regions such as Southern California.
But whether the storms have ended the drought depends on California's ability to capture enough water to fill its severely depleted reservoirs and at least begin to replenish underground aquifers that have been terribly overdrawn by desperate farmers.
So far, only a comparatively small part of the huge storm water has been stored. For example, only a small portion of the Delta's powerful water flows have been pumped into state and federal aqueducts for transport to the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California, largely due to regulations limiting diversions to protect endangered species such as the two-inch Delta smelt .
San Joaquin Valley lawmakers have asked President Joe Biden and Gov. Gavin Newsom to relax rules to allow more wastewater to either be delivered to farmers or stored in storage facilities, such as the San Luis Reservoir, which is now less than half full.
“This is not the time to turn back the pumps,” Sen. Melissa Hurtado and Rep. Jasmeet Bains, both Democrats from Bakersfield, said in a letter to Newsom last week. “After several years of drought and low reservoir levels, it only makes sense to capitalize on the wet conditions.”
“We have a moral obligation to provide Californians with every relief we can,” five Republican congressmen told Biden and Newsom. “Government regulations should not and must not deprive our constituents of vital water from these storms.”
But state water officials say their hands are tied by environmental regulations that require the first winter flows to be allowed to wash out the Delta and San Francisco Bay.
.wp-block-group__inner-container{display: grid;grid-template-columns: auto 1fr 130px !important;grid-template-rows: 1fr;column-gap: 20px;row-gap: 0;grid-auto-flow : column;max-width: 780px;align-items: center;}.cm-cta.grid-3-2.cm-cta-inline-long .cm-icon{grid-row-start: span 2;grid- Column start: span 1;min-width: 60px;}.cm-cta.grid-3-2.cm-cta-inline-long > .wp-block-group__inner-container > :last-child{grid-row : span 2;grid-column: span 1;margin-top: 0px;}.cm-cta.grid-3-2.cm-cta-inline-long .cm-icon{max-width: 65px;margin-left : 0px ;}}@media screen and (maximum width: 999px) and (minimum width: 600px){.cm-cta.grid-3-2.cm-cta-inline-long > .wp-block-group__inner -container{grid -template-columns: auto;column-gap: 8px;}.cm-cta.grid-3-2.cm-cta-inline-long .cm-icon{grid-row-start: 1;grid -column-start : 1;grid-row-end: 1;max-width: 45px;min-width: 45px;}}@media screen and (max-width: 600px){.cm-cta.grid-3- 2.cm- cta-inline-long .cm-icon{grid-row-start: 1;grid-column-start: 1;grid-row-end: 1;max-width: 45px;min-width: 45px; }.cm-cta.cm-cta-inline-long .cm-cta-body-group{grid-row-start: 2;}.cm-cta.grid-3-2.cm-cta-inline-long{ padding: 16px;}.cm-cta.grid-3-2.cm-cta-inline-long ol:first-of-type{margin-top: 4px;}}]]>
- Become a CalMatters member today to stay informed, strengthen our nonpartisan messaging, and expand our knowledge across California.
What did or didn't happen during the weeks of flooding suggests that California needs new pipelines to take advantage of the periodic “atmospheric rivers” that bring immense amounts of rainfall.
Meteorologists expect the state to experience more erratic weather due to global climate change – longer periods of drought punctuated by occasional storm events like those experienced by California.
That means we need more storage, such as Sites Reservoir on the west side of the Sacramento Valley, which has been in the planning stages for several decades, and sinks to recharge aquifers. The long-dormant, $4 billion Sites project now enjoys strong support from state and federal officials as well as significant funding.
Meanwhile, the relatively small diversions from the Delta now permitted by law bolster the case for “Delta funding,” which would allow more water to be diverted to state and federal aqueducts and thus to lower reservoirs, without harming the environment to jeopardize restrictions. The project has existed for six decades, first as a “peripheral canal,” later as a double tunnel called “Water Fix,” and now as a single tunnel.
Get the facts before you vote in this year's primary election.
California water managers will have another chance to fill reservoirs in a few months as the Sierra's vast snowpack, twice the historical average and still growing, melts. We can only hope that Mother Nature releases the water from the snowpack slowly enough to avoid destructive flooding.
“The CalMatters Voter Guide helps us tremendously in every election.”
David & Dawn, Glendale
Selected CalMatters members
Members make our mission possible.
div{flex-basis: unset!important;flex-grow: 1 !important;}.single-post .cm-cta h6{text-align: left;}.cm-cta .cm-cta-center-col{align -items: center !important;}.cm-cta .primary-cols.wp-block-columns{gap: 40px;}@media screen and (max-width: 782px){.cm-cta .wp-block-button .btn-light .wp-block-button__link{padding: 7px;font-size: 14px;line-height: 16px;}div.cm-cta{padding: 20px;}.cm-cta h6{text-align: left ;}.cm-cta .primary-cols.wp-block-columns,.cm-cta .cm-cta-center-col.is-not-stacked-on-mobile{gap: 16px;}.cm-cta . btn-col{flex-basis: 92px !important;}.cm-cta .btn-02-detail-05{font-size: 12px;line-height: 16px;}.cm-cta .mob-p-12{ Padding: 12px;}}]]>
