“These Paris elites are always talking about the end of the world. Our problem is to make it to the end of the month!”
A Yellow Vest protester in France
A Note To Readers
And so it goes. To quote President John Kennedy, speaking on the first anniversary of the Alliance for Progress, 13 March 1962: “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.”
President Macron of France clearly did not learn from President Kennedy, nor did he see the hand-writing on the wall as he began imposing vicious austerity on the French population and then rubbed it in with increased taxes on fuel to “combat climate change.”
Yes, I know, as some readers complain sometimes, what does demonstrations in France have to do with California water and infrastructure? Simply put, the investment decisions and the structure of the financial and economic system of the nation shall determine what does and does not get built.
A more general statement on this question is the last item in this week’s report, under the title: “They’re Telling You Another Crash Is Coming: NOT How To Solve It.”
In This Week’s Report
Two weeks of rain and snow in California has relieved the wildfire danger and filled reservoirs. It has also put the snowpack in the Sierras above the average for this time of the year. But, no one is saying that that really means too much this early in the rainy season, one that was delayed anyway.
The Drought Monitor shows a slight alleviation of drought conditions in the state. And since no forecaster will risk his or her reputation giving a definite forecast more than a few days out, we shall just have to wait for what will come.
The ongoing California water wars saw two developments this week that, in the end, do not really mean all that much. The first is another step forward (or backward, if you are a farmer) in establishing the State Water Resources Control Board policy to require unimpaired flows of up to 40 percent to 50 percent in the Stanislaus, Merced and Tuolumne rivers. The Board approved the policy this week.
The second is a further setback to the Governor’s twin tunnels under the Delta when the California Department of Water Resources withdrew a crucial certificate required to build them.
Both items are detailed in reports below.
The Oroville Dam Update this week features a report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and its findings that deficiencies in the Oroville Dam Safety reviews were extensive.
From Oregon, next, is an interesting and telling report that Oregon’s water infrastructure has not been upgraded for 100 years. The headline which states that, as you will see in the article somewhat overstates the case. But, irregardless of that, whether it is 100 years or 20 years, the water infrastructure of the West badly needs upgrading, and expansion.
A short report on desalination reports that the Carlsbad plant has now purified 40 billion gallons of ocean water since it went into service in December, 2015.
An update on the serious potential of rationing of water from the Colorado River reports on the Colorado River Agreement Nearing Completion.
The last section before the Feature is a couple of items on the financial blow-out right around the corner and a report that the Department of Energy is considering the promotion of subsidies (production tax credits or PTCs) for small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs), in order to bring online this technology which is critical for economic development.
