(With expanded coverage of all the Western States)
by Patrick Ruckert
www.californiadroughtupdate.org/20231109-California-Water-and-Infrastructure-Report.pdf
A Note to Readers
Accompanying the U.S. Drought Monitor map for California this week is one of many articles celebrating that for the first time in three years the state is now drought-free. Of course, that pretty much occurred in 2017 after five years of drought. Not really something to wear party hats for, but does give us some breathing room to hopefully and actually build some water infrastructure.
The most important article included in this week’s report is by Edward Ring, whom, in my opinion is the best expert and advocate for non-rationing solutions to the state’s never ending water crisis. His article is titled, “California Bureaucrats Embrace Water Rationing.” I include just a few paragraphs from the article, but the link to the original is provided.
At least Governor Newsom has gotten the message about the building of water infrastructure. and has put the building of the Sites Reservoir on an expedited schedule, by-passing many of the usual regulations and environmental reports that delay projects for decades. See the article on page 4.
Meanwhile, California Forever, the group of Silicon Valley billionaires attempting to take over Solano County and turn the mostly farmland area into a “environmental paradise” are attempting to bribe the governments of the country with a land-swap deal, and demanding that the huge proposal be approved by the county, the cities and the water agencies of the area in two months, or the deal is off, they threaten. Three articles on the topic are included, some of which provide more links to background.
The next item is a report related to our cover photo this week. Its title tells the whole story, but the link is provided for the reader who would like more of the details: “’Offshore Wind in U.S. Is Fundamentally Broken,’ Says Top Industry Leader.”
On the Colorado River, this week’s report continues the discussion of short and long-term solutions to that ongoing crisis. A reminder to those who need it: Forty million people in the southwest states depend on the water from the river for drinking, agriculture and electricity production.
While the short-term policy of the states of California, Nevada and Arizona to cut about three million acre-feet from what they withdraw from the river over the next three years, it was only the abundant rain and snow of last winter that prevented entire areas of the river’s service area from drastic mandatory rationing. But, as we have often reported here, the Colorado River Basin has been in a mega-drought for most of this century, and there is no guarantee that the coming winter will bring forth the rain and snow necessary to prevent a quick return to a crisis.
I am skipping the usual feature this week and will resume it next week.
Cover photo: The “scenic beauty” of Biden’s Green Energy Policy (See page 8 for article) Wind turbines in the California desert are seen from Highway 58 in 2021. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
