Water Everywhere but...

Water everywhere in California.... but.... when will the drought be over??  The experts say "NEVER"!1 So beyond global warming yes or no, you have soon to be 50 million people in California who need to have water.

It Will Never Be Over Article after article asks, “is the drought over,” and the experts respond saying “no.” The experts are correct, but I am afraid our short attention span, immediate gratification driven population will never quit asking the question. Here are just a few of many articles updating the picture. As the snowpack piles up, is California drought over? No, say experts New measurements of the Sierra Nevada snowpack show California's snowiest winter in 20 years. But it may be too soon for sweeping policy changes. By Ellen Powell http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2017/0204/As-the-snowpack-piles-up-is-California-s-droughtover-No-say-experts February 4, 2017 —Though heightened snowpack in California’s Sierra Nevada is cause for optimism, reducing water use remains as important as ever, scientists say. On Thursday, the state’s snowpack in the mountain region reached 173 percent of average for that date. That’s the highest it’s been since 1995, thanks to a series of storms that bombarded California in January. Come spring, the snowpack will melt into 5.7 trillion gallons of water, enough for as much of a third of the state. “It gives everything a much brighter outlook,” said Frank Gehrke, California’s snow survey chief, the Associated Press reported. Does the heavy rain- and snowfall signal a change in the way that California will approach its years-long drought? As California Gov. Jerry Brown weighs ending the drought-related state of emergency this spring, farmers and city governments are calling for more water. But scientists caution that the drought is a long-term problem that won't be fixed by one season of heavy precipitation, and they advise officials to stay the course. “Any aquifer recharge that occurs as a result of this winter's storms is just a small uptick in a centurylong decline of groundwater storage, at least with respect to the once-vast reserves in the Central Valley," said James Famiglietti, a senior water scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, according to the LA Times. ‘Astounding’ Snowpack Bodes Well for Summer Water Supply By Craig Miller February 2, 2017 https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2017/02/02/astounding-snowpack-bodes-well-for-summer-water-supply/ Statewide, the Sierra snowpack, source of about a third of California’s water, stands at 173 percent of the long-term average for early February. In fact, it’s already more than 100 percent of the average for Apr. 1, when the snowpack usually tops out for the year. In other words, there’s essentially an entire winter’s worth of snow already on the ground. ‘It’s unbelievable how much water fell out of the sky during that period.’Tom Painter, snow hydrologist Even more impressive, though, is how much of it fell during just two prolonged “atmospheric river” storms in January. Yet, it is very wet out there: California’s Wettest Drought? –2017 Posted on February 5, 2017 by jaylund https://californiawaterblog.com/2017/02/05/californias-wettest-drought-2017/ State Water Board Continues Water Conservation Regulations, Prohibitions Against Wasting Water February 8, 2017 https://mavensnotebook.com/2017/02/08/this-just-in-state-water-board-continues-water-conservationregulations-prohibitions-against-wasting-water/ From the State Water Resources Control Board: Today the State Water Resources Control Board extended its existing water conservation regulations, which prohibit wasteful practices such as watering lawns right after rain and set a conservation mandate only for water suppliers that do not have enough water reserves to withstand three more dry years. “Pineapple Express” storm heading to Bay Area with heavy rain, strong winds By Mark Gomez February 8, 2017 San Jose Mercury News http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/02/08/pineapple-express-storm-heading-to-bay-area-with-heavyrain-strong-winds/ “It’s simply a type of atmospheric river, with large plumes of moisture that bring heavy rain to the West Coast,” said Matt Mehle, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “It has a connection to near Hawaii. On satellite, the moisture source, there is a large plume of moisture extending from the West Coast to Hawaii.” On the heels of an atmospheric river that soaked the Bay Area on Tuesday, the Pineapple Express storm could once again cause widespread flooding, mudslides and traffic nightmares. Subsidence Report The excerpted report below from NASA illustrates the serious damage from land subsidence caused by the draining of the aquifers, a problem that will continue drought or no drought. NASA Report: San Joaquin Valley Land Continues to Sink February 8, 2017 New NASA radar satellite maps prepared for the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) in the report, Subsidence in California, March 2015-September 2016, show that land continues to sink at in certain areas of the San Joaquin Valley, putting state and federal aqueducts and flood control structures at risk of damage. “The rates of San Joaquin Valley subsidence documented since 2014 by NASA are troubling and unsustainable,” said DWR Director William Croyle. “Subsidence has long plagued certain regions of California. But the current rates jeopardize infrastructure serving millions of people. Groundwater pumping now puts at risk the very system that brings water to the San Joaquin Valley. The situation is untenable.” Aqueduct before and after subsidence Estimated subsidence in the San Joaquin Valley between 1949-2005 Desalination of Brackish Water This thorough article on the topic of desalination of brackish groundwater covers a topic not often mentioned. But, as the above article on groundwater depletion makes clear, simply adding another drain on the aquifers will only exacerbate the problem. Desalination of aquifers offers drought-weary California new hope By Devika G. Bansal February 5, 2017 http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/02/05/desalination-of-salty-aquifers-offers-drought-wearycalifornia-new-hope/ California’s historic drought may be winding down. But water officials across the Golden State are increasingly exploring a hidden but promising way to add to the state’s water supply: removing salt from the billions of gallons of brackish — or distastefully salty —