The Effects Of Climate Change On California 's Natural Water Supply

As you are fully aware, California has been in a drought for over four years and the declining water level is a growing issue. A water analysis performed by the City of Fresno clearly reveals that in the past 80 years,

At some point of our lives we have been asked or have heard the question, what can we not live without?. Many of us will not hesitate to mention family, friends, food, water, and other living essential we find futile to our survival. If we place these living essentials in order of importance some of us may place family over water. If you then think about it, we can live without our family, but we cannot live without water. Water gives us life its in our fruits, foods, and drinks. Without water we would not be alive and healthy for the most part. The importance of water is substantial and California is currently experiencing one of its worst droughts in history. The planet itself is also undergoing global warming, which only contributes to a more severe drought occurring in California. Droughts in California’s history did not have the contributing factor of Global warming diminishing their severity. California’s drought and Global warming share a common link in the factor that would contribute to the severity of the drought we are currently experiencing in California and

I.) Water and Drought in California: Facts and data show that the weather we are experiencing here in California is that there is a difference between La Niña that brings the ocean temperature down and making them cooler and El Niño brings much warmer ocean temperatures. Currently california is experiencing a weakened La Niña. With a 55% chance of this weather continuing for the next 3 months. La Niña affect patterns of rainfall, atmospheric pressure, and global atmospheric circulation. Even though California is in a severe drought, with coordination, modernization, and compromise, California should be able to provide enough water for a growing population and growing economy.

The future of California is pretty good, for the state is projected to see growth in almost every sector of the economy as well as the population, but there are many concerns that must be addressed first in order to see California’s growth come to fruition. International trade and business is one of California’s largest industries and it’s expected to continue increasing, for many emerging economies are also located off of the Pacific Ocean. Growth in the economy is good, but requires resources that California has a limited supply of. The main resource California always needs is water, since most of the state’s population resides in the southern regions, which are arid and receive minimal precipitation annually. The state is planning on improving efficiency and the aqueduct system to increase the water supply while decrease the environmental effects California’s aqueduct’s have on regions like the San Joaquin River Delta. For many years California has been considered a very liberal and left state, which is due to the fact that the state has the toughest environmental legislation in the country. With such strong legislation ensuring the protection of the environment California has become a model state in the fight against climate change, and must remain vigilant for there are numerous species endemic to the state that are found nowhere else on the planet. Though there are numerous other factors’ affecting California’s future these are some of the most interesting areas to

California has always had a warm climate, yet its supply of water has rarely been affected. In 2014 California’s water shortage issue truly began. Due to low amounts of snow in the winter in recent years, California has tried to equal out these shortages by drilling water from underground aquifers. Yet, underground aquifers recharge much slower than surface water sources. California has already made significant drawbacks to attempt to limit the amount of water they use, so these aquifers can recharge. But still resources continue going down and the Central Valley Aquifer’s water level is rapidly declining. Luckily, on April 7, 2017 the drought stage of emergency in California was ended. Yet the issue isn’t truly resolved. Glen MacDonald

California state and some other west regions face the problem of severe drought and the researchers show several reasons to explain this phenomena. According to research in weather data for the past century, in terms of overall precipitation and spring snowpack, the past three years are not record-breakers and paleoclimate studies show that the current drought is not exceptional given the natural variations in precipitation of the past seven centuries. It cannot thoroughly attribute drought to global warming. California may be faced a future of “perfect drought” because of following reasons. Rising heat increases the evaporation, continuing depletion of ground water, and growing water shortages on the Colorado River [1]. It is predictable

The California Drought is one of the most catastrophic weather and climate related events in recent history. It has singlehandedly altered the geographic landscape of the state and brought down entire industries to a grinding halt. Not since global warming became a prominent fixture in the national spotlight has a climate issue so deeply challenged Californians to reconsider their lifestyles according to their climate conditions. This essay will examine the origins of climate change and the California Drought, how the two are related, the current state of California as a result of the drought, and the future outlook of California.

Water resources in the state of California have deteriorated drastically as a result of the current drought event in the west coast of the United States. This has resulted in insufficient supplies of water to residents of southern California, as well as the devastation of wildlife and aquatic ecosystems that are characteristic of this area. This policy analysis will provide the context of the issue, as well as possible solutions, followed by a proposed policy plan to reach the policy goal of equitable and reliable water allocation in the state of California, drought resilience, as well as restoration of the destroyed ecosystems.

Most of us consider drought as a period of dry and hot weather with too little or no rain, and while any or all of these conditions might be existent during drought, the definition of drought is more complex and subtle. According to the United States Geological Survey, California Water Science Center (as cited in Congressional Digest, 2015, p. 2):

California’s continuous drought not only affects California, but essentially impacts the entire food system. Could you imagine an entire state unable to contribute to the growing demands of a thriving economy? As California enters its fifth year of drought the consequences of an ever depleting natural resource, water, continues to negatively impact landscape plants, agricultural production, wildlife, and the economy. The lack of water in California has the potential to have a devastating effect on an ever thriving economy.

Because most greenhouse gases would remain in the atmosphere for a long period of time, the temperature of the earth will be continuously rising. If global heat-trapping emissions proceed at a medium to high rate, temperatures in California are expected to rise 4.7 to 10.5°F by the end of the century1. With the rise of temperature, the climate of California would also be changed. California has large area of forest and farmland, hundreds of miles of coastline, large amount of snowpack, and other natural wonders. And these special treasures of nature are especially at risk2. So it is very necessary to understand the strategies of California to combat climate change.

“Climate change” and its impact on basic water supply is at their foreground. It is an unfortunate reality that the terms of the Colorado Compact, the document dividing the Colorado’s waters, is an unworkable document. Based on allotments formulated in an “especially wet year,” the average volume now flowing does not meet the amounts specified in the agreement. Under the terms of the document, California receives the largest share, but with Southern California’s exploding population, this will be increasingly inadequate. Absent changes in both urban and agricultural use patterns, the deficit will only grow and further stress the state’s political and economic systems. Man’s mastery will thus prove illusory and short-lived and the original problems of water supply will return in highly magnified

Due to the lack of rain in the past few years, and particularly in the last few months, California faces severe drought. This is the worst drought in more than one hundred years. The impact of California drought affects community, agriculture, organic ranchers, and dairy farmers. Because of these facts, the United States must rethink the way it uses water. Californians alone are asked to reduce their water usage by twenty percent to prevent water waste.

Currently California is facing a water shortage. The issue has been addressed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in February. He called for all state agencies to find the way to help in the statewide water shortage. This is California’s third consecutive year of drought and last spring and summer was the worst of the season because it had the lowest amount of water recorded and California’s reservoirs were at their lowest point as well which did not help in the water shortage. Many agencies have been acquired to find possible solutions to the water shortage, the Department of Water Resources has been directed to find solutions to the problem as well as asking people to conserve water.

Water is essential to life. It is a vital resource that makes up 70% of the earth’s surface. However, only 3% percent of the earth’s water is freshwater and two-thirds of that freshwater are frozen in glaciers and ice caps, leaving an incomparably small portion available for sustaining earth’s life forms (“How Much Water is in the Ocean?”). Rising surface temperatures, caused by greenhouse gasses that are released when burning fossil fuels, are threatening this water supply by accelerates the rate of water evaporation and limiting precipitation, which leads to droughts and water shortages. Furthermore, earth’s growing population is consuming an increasingly larger fraction of freshwater, which is causing the earth’s natural aquifers to dry up. This global water crisis is especially acute in the western United States where California is experiencing critical drought conditions that are endangering the state’s ability to sustain life. The current California water crisis will ultimately make the state uninhabitable because of several severe, long-term consequences.