New Technologies and Responsible Management Can Solve California's Water Crisis - Fair Observerespite historic rainfalls last winter, California...
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network
espite historic rainfalls last winter, California could be back into drought conditions before we know it. If we are not careful, we could end up like South Africa.
In 2018, Cape Town’s reservoirs were dangerously low. Although authorities severely limited water usage, the city barely avoided “Day Zero.” This would have meant shutting off water to private homes, forcing residents to queue for water rations. Why such a water shortage? South Africa’s water system is crumbling. The system loses 70 million liters of water each day due to leaks.
Like South Africa’s, California’s water infrastructure is outdated and in need of repair. California’s reservoirs are largely full now, but there is only enough water for the state to make it through one dry year. To avoid an outcome like Cape Town’s, California needs to start using new technology and smart public policy to ensure the state has enough water.
Managing California’s watersheds
Watershed management will be key to ensuring water from rainfall and snowmelt finds its way to reservoirs, lakes and rivers. Restoring meadows and forests impacted by pollution, development and wildfires will allow for slower release of rainwater and snowmelt. This increases the environment’s ability to hold water.
California’s Sierra Nevada mountains hold a lot of fresh water in their snowpack. The Sierra Nevada Watershed provides drinking water to two-thirds of the state’s population, but the snowpack is under threat from rising temperatures. The state has was lucky this summer, receiving relatively cool temperatures that left the snow intact. Because California’s watersheds are degraded, they are not able to withstand a great amount of meltwater, so higher temperatures could have caused catastrophic flooding. At the same time, billions of gallons of badly needed fresh water would have been lost.
We may not be so lucky next year, so we need to act quickly. Nonprofits like the Sierra Nevada Conservancy provide grants for watershed management projects including fire mitigation and land conservation. The state should follow their lead and invest in similar restorations now.
In addition, new, strategically-placed reservoirs like the proposed Alder Creek Reservoir could be game-changers. This proposal would see the reservoir located in higher elevation to better catch snowpack melt and upstream so water would not have to ever be released to prevent risks of flooding.
California should also invest more in below-ground water storage. Previous projects have seen substantial results. In 2016, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti broke ground on the largest underground reservoir in the western US, called the Headworks Reservoir. Since completion, it has stored over 110 million gallons of water for LA and helped the city meet state quality levels.
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