I, bigsurkate, decided to edit out the entire article from the CA OES … it is too depressing, and just bring you the links so that those of you who want to track this 500 year drought can do so. I was going to forgo a garden this year, but I am thinking that the availability of produce may be curtailed, and the prices astronomical, so I might want and need to plant a garden. I want to make an accurate spring 24-hour delivery determination, first.
Snow Surveyors Find Sparse Snowpack, Drought Retains Grip on California
by Brad Alexander on January 30, 2014
If I was an alarmist, or a Prepper, this last sentence of this report would be cause for concern “… In May 2013, Governor Brown issued an Executive Order to direct state water officials to expedite the review and processing of voluntary transfers of water and water rights.”
Electronic snowpack readings are available on the Internet at:
http://cdec.water.ca.gov/snow/current/snow/index.html
Reservoir conditions are found here:
http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/reservoirs/RES
For a broader snapshot of current and historical weather conditions, see DWR’s “Water Conditions” and “Drought” pages: Water Conditions Page
http://www.water.ca.gov/waterconditions/
Drought Page
” D D ” Depressing Drought ! CPOA did a water resource investigation for Big Sur way back in the 80’s . One significant fact was the water use in California , was 85 % agriculture , 10 % commercial / industrial , and only 5 % residential .
Drought Resistant plants , anyone ?
125 additional firefighters will barely make a dent but is is a start. This may sound drastic as I am very much pro agriculture, particularly California Ag but Ag uses 80 percent of the water in California.
Halt some cultivation, pay the farmers to go fallow and subsidize Chilean and Mexican produce conglomerates for a season to help us get through this emergency.
Good points, Mike. AG is definitely the main culprit in water usage. Every homeowner in CA can take out their lawns and put in drought-tolerant native grasses and Wildflowers and we would only save PERHAPS one percent.m
bigsurkate, on a mountain top in Big Sur
Today driving to the Valley the drought got much more real for me. Hillsides normally full of cattle are empty or nearly empty. Overgrazing comes to mind and this is no good. The coastal and live oaks are stressed and this hurts me. We will surely lose some of these majestic mammoths.
If we don’t get a few inches before April there is a good chance we repeat the 2008 fire season. No matter at this point it will be a wild season. The die is cast.