Our vanishing water

June 20, 2008

I did not need Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to tell me that we have a big water problem that will negatively affect all citizens and businesses throughout the state. However, to make sure everyone understands the message, the Governor declared, "California is in a drought." This is the first official drought declaration in 17 years — the last in 1991.

Let''s see, I first came to California in 1977 and that year also brought us drought conditions. So in 31 years, do you think there were only two years when we had serious water availability problems? Of course not. The reality is there have been serious water problems percolating under and above the surface for most of the 31 years because we have not as a state, or as a region accepted the need for a strategic game plan to solve our water problems.

First, California does not get enough rain water along the Pacific Coast for people to even live here. Virtually all water is transferred from the mountains on the eastern borders of the state or from the over used Colorado River. A generation of millions with the mindset of "California Dreaming" or "It Never Rains in Sunny California" has been continually attracted to the state since the 1950s.

This year that weather translated into the driest spring in 88 years. So what started out as positive hopes for a lot of mountain winter snows melting into a lot of runoff in the rivers and creeks, fizzled out. Once again we came up short when the final water storage amount turned into only 41 percent of average levels.

We need more.

The Governor has also emphasized his continued commitment to protect one of America''s key farming breadbasket producers, the $32 billion dollar agriculture industry with its unending thirst for the yin and the yang (abundance of sunshine and plenty of transferred water that is used for irrigation). What does this mean for the ever demanding and expanding housing developers? The developers are between a rock and a hard place. After all, California is still growing and is expecting to have 35 million residents in 20 years. How are they going to provide for their families? Where are they going to live? What are they going to live in?

Don''t get me wrong. I believe strongly in improving our water conservation capabilities and water-use efficiency. However there is another side to this coin. We clearly need more water capacity to meet all of the needs that our great state can offer. We all need to change our habits of home water use to save over 25 gallons a day. Keep in mind; the water districts will apply an increase in our water bill because we adhere to the call to save water.

That is upsetting and does not register as wise. Let''s see. Use more water to pay less utility taxes or use less water to pay more utility taxes. It sounds like a trick question with a correct answer tied into an incorrect logic. That is also my problem with my columns about California and its water issues. I am an Aquarian and love every thing about water. It just seems that I never am able to present the entire picture because of a deliberately confusing scenario.

For now, I will continue to keep up to date on what is new with this pressing situation. I have also been an unofficial ambassador of water transfer representing San Diego. Remember when I lived in Northern California, I was in favor of the Auburn Dam to be built on the American River in the 1970s. I also wanted the Peripheral Canal to create another concrete river to bring additional water from the California Delta to the south for use in cities and the Imperial Valley. Neither project was built and it seems that increasing capacity is still not on the agenda. So, I felt qualified last week while largemouth bass fishing in Northern California in the Delta and on Clear Lake to give the Southern California point of view to the anglers up north. I hope that it helped. The trip was successful because we caught a lot of bass and had a great time.

The irony of this topic is we are now on a family trip to Wisconsin. They have been hit with numerous thunder storms that have set records for the amount of rainfall. The enormous amount of rain accumulation is damaging property, farmland and its crops, and transportation schedules. The numerous big rivers are flooding and the dams cannot hold the record high levels of water. Mother Nature is always going to do her thing. One region of our country wants rain but cannot get it and another region wants sunshine and is getting mostly rain. Let''s see. Do most people want sunshine or rain? Just what you need, another trick question.