Od Growers Diverting Water? Get Ready For This

[CelticEBE]

Ag is also not being restricted here, and that's a problem, as is big industry.. basically anyone with a political voice. Which means not residents. Let's not forget that we idiot Californians voted in Prop 1, which means we've guaranteed all those entities MORE water rights and sequestration, but on OUR collective dime instead of theirs. That's what we get for not reading the fucking ballot. This is gonna hurt.

Do you know how many gallons of water it takes to make ONE almond? 6 GALLONS....for one freaking almond. No more almond milk for me.

 

[Seamaiden]

Do you know how many gallons of water it takes to make ONE almond? 6 GALLONS....for one freaking almond. No more almond milk for me.

I've read anywhere from 1 to 3 gallons per nut. When I was a kid we had an almond tree in the backyard (I think it's still there) and never watered it, but then we never tried to harvest the nuts, either. No more almond milk for me, either. And no more bottled water (though I've never been a fan in the first place) and no more a whole buncha things.

How many Californians actually correspond with their state representatives?

 

[Bulldog11]

Just to WASH almonds, it takes 1 gallon of water PER NUT.

Just remember the next time somebody is telling you that California is out of water, that we need to regulate ground water, rain water, tax extra usage, 500$ fines for too long of showers, just remember that 70% of all rain fall in California goes back to the ocean!!! We are not allowed to build new reservoirs, can't collect our own rain water, can't dig trenches for rain collection. This is a man made problem. Yes I know California is a desert state, and without man we would have way less water. However, the answer is simple. New reservoirs, new rain collection and filtration.

Anybody notice that $660,000,000 "would move along flood protection projects from a nearly decade-old bond set to expire next year." So we are in the worst drought in 1000 years (even though they have only recorded weather for 150 years) and we are spending over half a billion dollars on flood protection? California's leaders are so corrupt is ridiculous.

Are people really this blind? All I hear is people should cut back on water usage. Well, when no significant reservoirs have been built in the last 30 years, and the population has gone from 23.67 million people to 38.8 million people, I don't think cutting back on watering your lawn will help. Unless your goal is to charge Californian's more and more for the same amounts of water, then Gov. Brown is right on track.

If all this isn't insane enough, Gov Brown is talking about fining people for too long of showers. He did state the fine will be 500$, but didn't state what too long of a shower is. Funny, when I was talking about how smart meters are a violation of your privacy, people said I was crazy. Now Gov Brown announced that hundreds of municipalities are going to be monitoring water usage through these meters and handing out fines. Does it make you feel good that the government knows how long of a shower you take? Crazy stuff in America these days, and the sheeple watch the news and spread the lies. Sad really.

 

[Seamaiden]

We are not allowed to build new reservoirs, can't collect our own rain water, can't dig trenches for rain collection. Yes I know California is a desert state, and without man we would have way less water. However, the answer is simple. New reservoirs, new rain collection and filtration.

Actually... California is not a desert, it is a Mediterranean climate, technically speaking our rainfall pushes us out of desert territory (outside of the truly desertified areas). But, it's a paradigm people love to repeat.

Also, did you forget about Proposition 1 that we just voted in last November? We the People are guaranteeing industry and ag water storage on our dime. Now, that is some ignant and lazy-ass voting.

And! You've also forgotten about the Rainwater Reclamation Act of 2012! :p

I hope you collected some of that snow and rain from yesterday. I know we did. I emptied the cans several times into our new pond.

 

[Bulldog11]

LOL, I know cali isn't desert, but I already dropped a bunch of controversial stuff in my post. Thanks for the correction however, because your right, not quite a desert.

As for Prop 1, right now it's just a dream in the sky with money put aside. Time will tell how much of that money goes to anything productive. As a Californian, I am very skeptical that our government can accomplish anything of value. As of right now, no reservoirs have been built.

Rain Reclamation Act of 2012 - Californians may now legally capture and use rainwater harvested from rooftops. Departing from Western states' long-standing tradition of making it illegal to capture and use precipitation based on the prior appropriation doctrine, the California Legislature enacted and Governor Brown signed the "Rainwater Capture Act of 2012" [2012 Cal. Stats. ch. 537, Sec. 2.] (the Act). The Act exempts the capture and use of rainwater from rooftops from the State Water Resources Control Board's (SWRCB) permitting authority over appropriations of water. This development affords residential users and private and public entities with a new source of on-site water supply, which should reduce reliance on potable water for landscaping needs and provide a recharge benefit to underlying groundwater aquifers.

In other words, you can't dig a ditch to catch water. You can't collect water from water run off on anything except the roof of your house. Not your greenhouse, not your barn, ext. Then you may apply for a permit to collect the water off your rooftop on your property, at a cost, and you will most likely be denied. Hurrah for freedom! Don't believe me? Look up in the state records how many people have applied for a permit to collect rain water, and how many have been approved.

Nice work on that new pond! I haven't been commenting too much lately (you know why) and glad I got a chance to say how cool it is. Good job @ dave also.

I didn't get a chance to collect any rain yesterday, my systems are in limbo at the moment. However, if I did, I would have been breaking the law (or local code enforcement at the least?) because I didn't have a permit, lol.

It just blows my mind we will write these laws but wont increase our water storage as a state. 70% of all rain water goes back to the ocean, what a joke. Check out the billion dollar storm drains system build in LA.......that just exits the water back into the ocean........

 

[Bulldog11]

Just wanted to throw out another fact.

California has a 17% residential usage of total state water with agriculture using 83%. Seems like if we want to make a dent in this water issue, agriculture should be a good place to start. I love listening to the news and hearing people talk about how they fill a bucket when the shower is warming and use that to water their tree.........Well first thing, that tree didn't "need" the water, it would be fine without that extra half gallon. Second, how much of a percentage of water is saved as a whole from the state? Even if every person in the state did this, how much water would it save? The answer is less than .001% of the states water. Why do people pretend this is cutting back?

I think a very effective thing California could do is switch it's almond and walnut farmers to other less water demanding crops. That would be a great start right there, if we had to cut anything back. Otherwise, water storage and water filtration is the answer.

 

[Wisher619]

I live in an Aggie town...what gets me is they still use sprinkler systems.....r u effing serious.....what they should start with is mandate that all Aggie need to switch over to drip line...and go from there...and they run the sprinklers about every 3 hours...all day long....

 

[Joe Fresh]

ha, your guys water situation just made it to my LOCAL news, thats right, not the national news, but the local news of my small town lol...must be bad if it gets to my local news

 

[CelticEBE]

Actually... California is not a desert, it is a Mediterranean climate, technically speaking our rainfall pushes us out of desert territory (outside of the truly desertified areas). But, it's a paradigm people love to repeat.

Also, did you forget about Proposition 1 that we just voted in last November? We the People are guaranteeing industry and ag water storage on our dime. Now, that is some ignant and lazy-ass voting.

And! You've also forgotten about the Rainwater Reclamation Act of 2012! :p

I hope you collected some of that snow and rain from yesterday. I know we did. I emptied the cans several times into our new pond.

We got 2" of rain the other day, not to mention a fair amount of hail. While I don't technically have a pond in my yard......I do from all the rain right now.......and now you have given me a great idea for a project next summer.

 

[below frigid]

Just wanted to throw out another fact.

California has a 17% residential usage of total state water with agriculture using 83%. Seems like if we want to make a dent in this water issue, agriculture should be a good place to start. I love listening to the news and hearing people talk about how they fill a bucket when the shower is warming and use that to water their tree.........Well first thing, that tree didn't "need" the water, it would be fine without that extra half gallon. Second, how much of a percentage of water is saved as a whole from the state? Even if every person in the state did this, how much water would it save? The answer is less than .001% of the states water. Why do people pretend this is cutting back?

I think a very effective thing California could do is switch it's almond and walnut farmers to other less water demanding crops. That would be a great start right there, if we had to cut anything back. Otherwise, water storage and water filtration is the answer.

I live in the Salinas Valley. The farmers waste as much as they use. I see them with major leaks in their irrigation. I am talking about 1000's of gallons leaks where the water is not even getting on the crop. Most still use old tech irrigation. Government would do well to pay for the farmers to up grade their irrigation. I see them with their sprinkler systems on at 2pm as well. Watched my neighbor watering his yard day before the storm was due. Farm worker guy!

 

[Wisher619]

@below frigid I'm from the central coast....that is exactly what I am talking about....they do trench style farming....earth tilling after every rotation....over head sprinklers on at all times of the day....where irrigation attaches to main water is just pouring out .....seemingly all day.....it is Rediculous.......and they wonder why we have a drought.....they really need to start cracking down and regulating....I've seen the sprinklers going during the middle of a storm.....I think it's how they apply there pesticides now....I still see no reason why this practice is still happening

 

[pinegrovedave]

Before any real "change" occurs within the state, we're gonna have to do something about the powerful agriculture lobby. Legislators know how big the agricultural industry is in this state and they know how much revenue the government gets from said industry.

 

[sixstring]

i saw a interview on tv yesterday where the guy said people in cali are using an average of 180 gallons of water per day per person and that was unsustainable.i thought damn i dont use that much with my personal use and my 10 kw garden.but it def made me think of ways to conserve water,even though we dont have a shortage here yet.first thing that came to mind was my shower and toilet use,but they played video of people that just let the hose run full throttle on the ground while the dude was washing his car or a house where the sprinklers were running on dead grass.at some point they will have to find ways to make the water wasters stop either through metering or much higher prices.

 

[Seamaiden]

Whoa... I use a FRACTION of that amount of water daily! I'd say that would be my week's worth of personal water use. Good Lord, humans are assholes.

As for Prop 1, right now it's just a dream in the sky with money put aside. Time will tell how much of that money goes to anything productive. As a Californian, I am very skeptical that our government can accomplish anything of value. As of right now, no reservoirs have been built.

Indeed. But, when they are, guess who gets first dibs on that water and is only "asked" to report their usage. That's right..!

California has a 17% residential usage of total state water with agriculture using 83%. Seems like if we want to make a dent in this water issue, agriculture should be a good place to start. I love listening to the news and hearing people talk about how they fill a bucket when the shower is warming and use that to water their tree.........Well first thing, that tree didn't "need" the water, it would be fine without that extra half gallon. Second, how much of a percentage of water is saved as a whole from the state? Even if every person in the state did this, how much water would it save? The answer is less than .001% of the states water. Why do people pretend this is cutting back?

Because it's what we're left with outside of stopping things like bathing, showering, etc.

I think a very effective thing California could do is switch it's almond and walnut farmers to other less water demanding crops. That would be a great start right there, if we had to cut anything back. Otherwise, water storage and water filtration is the answer.

I did some searching on this issue, I'll have to dig up the pages/websites I found. Wanna know what crop uses the most water in the state? Alfalfa. After that it's pastureland, after that it's orchards, after that it's vineyards. In my opinion, the entire nation has to change how it farms, period. All that shit posted above is how we're losing soil and.. fuck, I'm preaching to the choir, ain't I? You already know all of this stuff and it looks like a lot of others do, too.

That's why it maddens me when I see the farming community's response to less water being fallowing land instead of learning how to sequester water IN the soil.

People resist change, yet nothing is static and we will all be forced to change whether we like it or not.

 

[pinegrovedave]

Dual flush toilets installed here along w/ low flow showerheads that have a "trickle" button. Military taught me how to do a complete 3 minute shower that has become habit. I don't believe @Seamaiden and I use 360 gallons/day or anything close to that...even when considering laundry (new low flow, water efficient washer) and dishwasher.

 

[geologic]

That "per person" usage includes total water consumption--
agriculture/fracking an' ALL...

 

[Seamaiden]

That "per person" usage includes total water consumption--
agriculture/fracking an' ALL...

Wait a minute, that's not fair. :/

 

[pinegrovedave]

That "per person" usage includes total water consumption--
agriculture/fracking an' ALL...

So I guess these "experts" are simply taking the total amount of water used on a daily basis and dividing it by the population, right?

 

[Wisher619]

@pinegrovedave military taught me as well....my Wife gets 5 min showers...my sons and I get 2-3 min.....I check my water bill every month....we don't use a fraction of what they claim........our county estimated that the average household uses 30gal per person per day.....we actually make Fruegal San Fran look like a joke...and lucky for me...the small town I live in has it's own water which was stated by our water board that we have enough water in our town to sustain us for about 300 years....and we are not on the California water board....we somehow are allowed to do our own thing....all our supply comes from underground and is filtered through DE

 

[Seamaiden]

That sounds like La Habra Heights.