California Water Restrictions

[Dash man]

Jimmy is thought to be in the Medowlands, NJ under the football stadium. He liked concrete as a union guy.

The lastest theory I heard is he’s buried in a 50 gallon drum in an auto junk yard in New Jersey.

 

[Irishgirlyc58]

That guy visits more places than I do.

 

[NW-Bound]

... I think Earth has plenty of water. It's the amount of fresh water and getting it to where we need it that's the problem.

Yes, there's plenty of fresh water on Earth. Again, some people live in places that have water up to their nose or higher. Other places are bone dry.

And speaking of getting water to where it's needed, California has a lot of experience in this. As described earlier, Mulholland built the Los Angeles Aqueduct to bring the water south from the Owens River.

Below is a photo of a section of pipe used in the Jawbone syphon section of the Los Angeles Aqueduct I described earlier. This was circa 1900, hence horses or mules were used.

Draining the Owens River dry was still not enough, and Mulholland conceived of the Colorado Aqueduct to bring the water from the Colorado River. His successor finally started it in 1933, and finished in 1939.


Back in the 70s, when I came to the area, on the drive on I-10 from Phoenix to LA, I always wondered about what I saw from the freeway, when nearing Desert Center.

What could that be? If it's water the pipes are transporting, is it going into the mountain, or coming out?

 

[NW-Bound]

The above photo is that of the Julian Hinds Pumping Station. It is one of the 5 pumping stations along the Colorado Aqueduct. The 242-mi aqueduct running from the south end of Lake Havasu to LA area has to cross the Mohave Desert, and the latter is at a higher elevation, so the water has to be lifted with the 5 pumping stations along its route.

Still, pumping over the mountains would be too tough, so they dig tunnels for part of the route, in order to pump through the mountains rather than over them. And that's what the photo above shows. The water is being pumped into the tunnel!

In all, the Colorado Aqueduct has 92 miles of tunnel along its 242-mile length.

 

[NW-Bound]

California is a more populous state and richer than Arizona, so they built a lot of canals and aqueducts early.

The Phoenix area for years relied on the water of the Salt River, which is fed by snow run-off from the northeastern side of the state. Several reservoirs were created quite early with dams along the Salt River.

Finally, in 1973, the Central Arizona Project Aqueduct was started to bring water from the Colorado River to Phoenix, and all the way down south to Tucson. This 336-mile aqueduct took much longer to build than Californian aqueducts. I guess AZ is a poorer state.

The CAP Aqueduct needed 14 lifting pump stations, with a total lift of 2,900 ft. The pumps burn a total of 2.5 million MWh per year.


The CAP was being built while I was attending ASU (Arizona State University) in Tempe. I remember the student body often organized demonstration against the CAP construction. I was too busy with my study and was never that political to bother to find out what aspects of the project that the students were protesting about.

 

[FlaGator]

California is a more populous state and richer than Arizona, so they built a lot of canals and aqueducts early.

The Phoenix area for years relied on the water of the Salt River, which is fed by snow run-off from the northeastern side of the state. Several reservoirs were created quite early with dams along the Salt River.

Finally, in 1973, the Central Arizona Project Aqueduct was started to bring water from the Colorado River to Phoenix, and all the way down south to Tucson. This 336-mile aqueduct took much longer to build than Californian aqueducts. I guess AZ is a poorer state.

The CAP Aqueduct needed 14 lifting pump stations, with a total lift of 2,900 ft. The pumps burn a total of 2.5 million MWh per year.


The CAP was being built while I was attending ASU (Arizona State University) in Tempe. I remember the student body often organized demonstration against the CAP construction. I was too busy with my study and was never that political to bother to find out what aspects of the project that the students were protesting about.

If I recall history correctly, there was dam proposed for Marble Canyon (downstream from Glen Canyon dam/Lake Powell) that would have provided the power for the CAP pumps. That was cancelled due to environmentalists objections. Instead the coal-fired Four Corners Generating Station was built.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Corners_Generating_Station

One of the ironies of the CAP is that the water was intended to replace groundwater usage, and in some areas the water table had dropped to 300-400 feet. At that depth, it's not economical to pump for agriculture. The CAP lift is 2,900 ft. Do the math.....

 

[Koolau]

The real question is with all of these dams/reservoirs being so low on water that they are finding human remains—will we finally find out the location of Jimmy Hoffa? [emoji38]

Okay, while we're off-topic on Jimmy Hoffa, I recall that his disappearance was THE front page story the day DW and I flew to the Islands for the very first time. That kind of sets the event in, um, concrete for me. Returning you now...

 

[aja8888]

Okay, while we're off-topic on Jimmy Hoffa, I recall that his disappearance was THE front page story the day DW and I flew to the Islands for the very first time. That kind of sets the event in, um, concrete for me. Returning you now...

I was living in Livonia, Michigan (outside of Detroit) in the mid 1970's when Jimmy was last seen leaving Topinka's Country House restaurant. We lived about 3 miles from there and I remember the newscasts reporting his disappearance. Strange times back then.

 

[NW-Bound]

If I recall history correctly, there was dam proposed for Marble Canyon (downstream from Glen Canyon dam/Lake Powell) that would have provided the power for the CAP pumps. That was cancelled due to environmentalists objections. Instead the coal-fired Four Corners Generating Station was built.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Corners_Generating_Station

One of the ironies of the CAP is that the water was intended to replace groundwater usage, and in some areas the water table had dropped to 300-400 feet. At that depth, it's not economical to pump for agriculture. The CAP lift is 2,900 ft. Do the math.....

There was a messy dispute about how the water of the Colorado River got divided between the 7 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. Perhaps Arizona wanted to claim its share rather than deplete its aquifer.

I recall that Bruce Babbitt, an Arizona native and AZ governor for 1978-1987, said that even if Arizona was not ready to use all its allotted water, he would claim the water and use it to recharge the aquifer. He said that if Arizona let California "borrow" the unused water, it would be impossible later to claim it back. I guess it's the same as if you allow someone the right-of-way through your land, you will not be able to deny it later.

 

[FlaGator]

There was a messy dispute about how the water of the Colorado River got divided between the 7 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. Perhaps Arizona wanted to claim its share rather than deplete its aquifer.

I recall that Bruce Babbitt, an Arizona native and AZ governor for 1978-1987, said that even if Arizona was not ready to use all its allotted water, he would claim the water and use it to recharge the aquifer. He said that if Arizona let California "borrow" the unused water, it would be impossible later to claim it back. I guess it's the same as if you allow someone the right-of-way through your land, you will not be able to deny it later.

That dispute started over 100 years ago. The Colorado River Compact came together in 1922. It split the basin into Upper and Lower, and allocated water to each state. Although California contributed the least amount to river flows, it got the largest allocation. Apparently politics over hydrology.

This isn't as complete as I would like and gets a little too editorial for me, but appears to be factually correct.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_River_Compact

I lived in the Valley for decades including during Babbit's 2 terms. He was right to assert the claim for the water. AZ was not "using" its full allocation before the CAP was completed, and CA was taking more than its allocation per the Compact instead of letting Arizona's unused allocation flow to Mexico.

I once considered making a career out of the legalities of water in AZ. Was told by smart people that work would last well beyond my lifetime. I took a different path, but they were 100% correct.

 

[NW-Bound]

Part of the CAP aqueduct is open canal, part buried pipe, part tunnel.

Following are photos of open canal, the pipe, and the tunnel to show their size.

 

[NW-Bound]

Back on water usage in California, there is a story I like to tell.

In the 70s and 80s, we did a lot of road trips from Phoenix to San Francisco and further north. There are two highways going from the LA area up to SF, I-5 and SR-99, and I drove both. I-5 ran mostly through desert area, while SR-99 went through Merced and Fresno and mostly green farmland.

We stopped doing road trips through this area until the 2010s when we started doing RV. Driving I-5 again after more than 30 years, I could hardly recognize the area. There were still some dry sections, but up further north, there were now a lot of orchards along the freeway. At a rest stop, I queried and was told they were walnut and almond trees.

And along the freeway, there were many signs angrily protesting the cut-off of water. What was that all about? And what had been the source of water for these orchards?

I found out that these orchards were irrigated with water pumped from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. And the water was running out.

Farmers lost most of their trees that took 30 years to grow. And the reason the orchards were planted was because the soil there was rich and fertile. All it needed was water, which was no more.

I was not party to any of this, but felt bad about the whole thing. What can we do?

PS. The hard-hit area is called the Westlands Water District.

 

[NW-Bound]

A quick search on the Web found this info:

Westlands Water District Statement on Initial CVP Water Allocation:

Today the Bureau of Reclamation announced an initial allocation of 0% for Westlands Water District and other south-of-Delta Central Valley Project (CVP) irrigation contractors. This is the fourth time in the last decade the south-of-Delta irrigation contractors have received a 0% allocation. Despite significant precipitation in the fall and early winter, the 2021-22 water year is likely to be classified as dry. January and February were exceptionally dry. The District is disappointed with the allocation but is aware that hydrologic conditions, including low CVP reservoir storage conditions at the beginning of the water year and record low precipitation in January and February, and Reclamation’s obligation to meet Delta water quality and outflow standards imposed by the State Water Resources Control Board, prevent Reclamation from making water available under the District’s contract.

 

[Sunset]

All this discussion about water transport and related info is simply amazing. I stayed up really late watching the Mulholland story.

We have toyed with the idea of LV as a place to move to, and as having only lived in areas where water is plentiful, things like the dustbowl are just history stories. Never knew there were so many other water issues and huge construction projects all about water.

 

[NW-Bound]

I have not driven the SR-99 again since the 80s. As mentioned, the SR-99 is further inland from I-5, and the surrounding green farms growing vegetable and tomatoes are irrigated with the water coming down from the Sierra Nevada Range (Yosemite). I wonder if this area is affected by the drought.

I still recall taking SR-99 for a change of scenery from the back-then desert of the I-5. I was caught behind slow dumpster trucks carrying tomatoes just harvested. Red ripe tomatoes were spilling from the trucks onto the highway. The trucks had to be headed for a cannery if they did not care about the ripe tomatoes getting bruised.


PS. Found a photo of a tomato truck.

 

[NW-Bound]

I found some more depressing photos.


CA pistachio orchard in the good times:

And almond orchard in bloom in springtime:

And now:

 

[aja8888]

I have not driven the SR-99 again since the 80s. As mentioned, the SR-99 is further inland from I-5, and the surrounding green farms growing vegetable and tomatoes are irrigated with the water coming down from the Sierra Nevada Range (Yosemite). I wonder if this area is affected by the drought.

I still recall taking SR-99 for a change of scenery from the back-then desert of the I-5. I was caught behind slow dumpster trucks carrying tomatoes just harvested. Red ripe tomatoes were spilling from the trucks onto the highway. The trucks had to be headed for a cannery if they did not care about the ripe tomatoes getting bruised.


PS. Found a photo of a tomato truck.

NW, those tomatoes are going to be made into ketchup. The tomato is genetically grown with a thick skin so that the weight of the tomatoes doesn't squash the ones in the lower layers in the truck. I've picked up a few of those loose ones on the road in Camarillo and cut into them finding the skin is 1/4" thick.

 

[Koolau]

Not sure it's related to the current discussion but when I was "w*rking" in the AZ cotton fields in the late 70s, there was massive tearing out of citrus groves in the area. I wasn't sure whether that was to make room for more profitable crops or for housing. In any case, I understand that citrus in the USA is dying as an industry. It's cheaper to import. Might be water related but more likely due to labor costs. That is what all but killed the pineapple and sugar cane industry in the Islands - not water. YMMV

 

[NW-Bound]

Not sure it's related to the current discussion but when I was "w*rking" in the AZ cotton fields in the late 70s, there was massive tearing out of citrus groves in the area. I wasn't sure whether that was to make room for more profitable crops or for housing. In any case, I understand that citrus in the USA is dying as an industry. It's cheaper to import. Might be water related but more likely due to labor costs. That is what all but killed the pineapple and sugar cane industry in the Islands - not water. YMMV

Chandler, Gilbert, and Mesa used to be big citrus groves. Gilbert also had peach and apricot orchards. We used to go "pick our own".

They have all become residential areas. Land was less expensive than in Phoenix, Tempe, Scottsdale, and one used to be able to get acreage lot.

Many builders will leave some standing trees for the home owner if asked. You can have your instant orchard.

 

[Koolau]

Chandler, Gilbert, and Mesa used to be big citrus groves. Gilbert also had peach and apricot orchards. We used to go "pick our own".

They have all become residential areas. Land was less expensive than in Phoenix, Tempe, Scottsdale, and one used to be able to get acreage lot.

Many builders will leave some standing trees for the home owner if asked. You can have your instant orchard.

Loved that about my grandmother's place in FL ca 1957. Walk out in the back yard and pick an orange (ugly looking thing big as a grapefruit) but so juicy (and delicious) I needed a bib. YMMV

 

[ls99]

I found some more depressing photos.


CA pistachio orchard in the good times:

And almond orchard in bloom in springtime:

And now:

Firewood galore.

 

[38Chevy454]

Back on water usage in California, there is a story I like to tell.

In the 70s and 80s, we did a lot of road trips from Phoenix to San Francisco and further north. There are two highways going from the LA area up to SF, I-5 and SR-99, and I drove both. I-5 ran mostly through desert area, while SR-99 went through Merced and Fresno and mostly green farmland.

We stopped doing road trips through this area until the 2010s when we started doing RV. Driving I-5 again after more than 30 years, I could hardly recognize the area. There were still some dry sections, but up further north, there were now a lot of orchards along the freeway. At a rest stop, I queried and was told they were walnut and almond trees.

And along the freeway, there were many signs angrily protesting the cut-off of water. What was that all about? And what had been the source of water for these orchards?

I found out that these orchards were irrigated with water pumped from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. And the water was running out.

Farmers lost most of their trees that took 30 years to grow. And the reason the orchards were planted was because the soil there was rich and fertile. All it needed was water, which was no more.

I was not party to any of this, but felt bad about the whole thing. What can we do?

PS. The hard-hit area is called the Westlands Water District.

That water is/was taken from the Delta, where it is fresh water that ultimately flows into the SF Bay. Ocean (salt) water flows into the bay through and under the Golden Gate Bridge, and fresh water flows in from the Delta, making the Bay a mixed water estuary. The problem is not that the water for the Westlands is running out in the Delta, it is because taking the amount of water out caused too much salt water to flow inland instead of staying in the Bay. This threatened the endangered Delta Smelt, a small fish. So in simple terms the fish is one of the main reasons why the restrictions on the agricultural water allotment. Also the volume of water flowing into the Delta is a factor in dry years. As they say, "it's complicated".

I lived in CA SF Bay Area and the cutoff of the agricultural water was a significant issue. It is sad to drive I-5 and see all the former orchards with the dead trees. Although now there are many grape vineyards replacing some of the lost trees. Those vineyards using drip irrigation as opposed to the flood irrigation used by the orchards.

 

[FlaGator]

If I recall history correctly, there was dam proposed for Marble Canyon (downstream from Glen Canyon dam/Lake Powell) that would have provided the power for the CAP pumps. That was cancelled due to environmentalists objections. Instead the coal-fired Four Corners Generating Station was built.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Corners_Generating_Station

One of the ironies of the CAP is that the water was intended to replace groundwater usage, and in some areas the water table had dropped to 300-400 feet. At that depth, it's not economical to pump for agriculture. The CAP lift is 2,900 ft. Do the math.....

If wikipedia is right, my recollection about Marble Canyon was correct. I'm surprised at how aggressive BuRec was in the post-WWII era. Different time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marble_Canyon_Dam

 

[explanade]

But I thought a lot of these farmer had water rights, something they acquired decades ago in some cases.

So there could be some resentment because the farmers are guaranteed a certain amount of water or they're allowed to overpay the aquifers.

And they use way more than residential and they get to harvest some very lucrative crops.

 

[RobbieB]

Yup, the Delta is hooked to the Pacific which is rising due to polar melt. When it rains, the Delta is more "fresh" than when it doesn't. We already have summertime rock dams set up and then torn down (with boat launch ramps installed both sides because it is illegal to block a navigable waterway) every year. Keep the salinity down.

Can't irrigate crops with salt water.

But for the most part it is tidal and varies accordingly. Before the gold rush it was a swamp. It was diked and drained like the Netherlands and there were many "levy failures" as these were just earth and rock canals, some even man made for irrigation like Grant Line Canal which is straight as an arrow unlike nature.