Earlier this year, The New York Times published an article arguing that, “In California, a wet era may be ending.” The article pointed out that California has a long history of drought conditions, and that the wetter-than average conditions that the Golden State generally witnessed over the last 100 years may not be “normal” at all. In fact, looking at tree ring data, scientists have determined that over the last two millennia, California has experienced many periods of drought that lasted a decade or more. In two instances, “mega drought” conditions lasted more than 100 years straight. When Governor Jerry Brown announced mandatory water restrictions in April, he echoed similar sentiments saying that drought conditions across the state are “the new normal.” Continue reading
Category Archives: Economic Impact
Stormwater Infrastructure and its Potential Role to Change Water Supplies in California
As California slogs through the fourth year of unprecedented drought, all options are on the table to provide new water supplies to the drought-parched state. Last week, I wrote about recycled water and its potentially increased role in the Western United States’ water supply. In the post, however, I cautioned that the high costs associated with this water as compared to surface water supplies during “normal” rainfall years may make the implementation of widespread recycled water programs economically infeasible. Also, I alluded to the fact that the public sometimes has an aversion to recycled water programs due to phrases such as “toilet to tap” to describe the process of turning raw sewage into drinkable water. (Even some popular shows have discussed the theme. The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon had Bill Gates on as a guest, and he and Jimmy Fallon drank water from the Janicki Omniprocessor, a machine that can create clean water from sewage in minutes. Gates hopes to send these machines to areas across the globe to cut down on diseases due to inadequate sanitation systems.) Continue reading
Green Lawns, Fines, and Water Pricing: How do the Pieces fit Together for Water Prices in California?
What do Jennifer Lopez, Kim Kardashian and Jessica Simpson have in common besides their omnipresence on television and in the tabloids? A recent CBS Los Angeles report found that, despite the Governor’s mandatory water restrictions in early May, these celebrities still have beautifully green manicured lawns at their LA-area homes. The article points out that while the new water reductions are mandatory, the $500 penalty for not complying with the usage reductions is “pocket change” for celebrities such as Kardashian. (Indeed, Kardashian apparently spent an estimated $12 million at her 2014 wedding to rapper Kanye West. She could pay the $500 fine for 80 months just to equal the $40,000 her high heels at the wedding cost.) Elsewhere in Los Angeles, the landmark Mormon Temple in West LA stopped watering the vast lawn on the 13 acre site about a month ago when Governor Brown began discussing water restrictions. Continue reading
Some (Sort of) Good News and Some Bad News: The SWP and CVP Allocations and the Continued Drought in California
This winter continues to be the tale of extreme weather patterns. In Boston, the City experienced its snowiest February ever, (Boston has weather records dating back to around the Civil War) and the grand total of snow this winter is less than 2 inches off of the all-time cumulative record set in the winter of 1995-1996. The subways and commuter trains in the City have run on modified schedules for weeks. Some above-ground tracks may not get fully cleared until the end of March. Economists estimate that the series of winter storms caused $2 billion in economic damages to the City of Boston alone. Continue reading