What a difference a year makes. In Texas and Oklahoma, a year can almost put an end to the drought that has ravaged those states for years. One year ago, 90% of Texas was experiencing some level of drought, and exceptional drought covered approximately 25% of the state according to the US Drought Monitor. Oklahoma also experienced a similar turnaround. One year ago, some level of drought covered 94% of Oklahoma and exceptional drought covered 26.47% of the Sooner State. However, the rain deluge and the devastating floods that accompanied the rain have almost completely alleviated the drought conditions in both states. Continue reading
Big Coastal Cities, Not Wealthy Cities and Farms, Have Drained Northern California Reservoirs
“Laws are like spider webs through which the big flies pass and the little ones get caught” — French novelist Hornore de Balzac, author of “Bureaucracy”.
Small, wealthy cities and large corporate agriculture have been blamed as the main culprits of California’s four-year long drought. But focusing on the size of cities, not gallons of water used per person per day, tells a different story. Continue reading
Australia’s Water Rights System – A Look of Things to come in the State of California post-Drought?
As the drought in California drags on, things that have not happened for decades or ever in some instances are starting to happen. For the first time since the Department of Water Resources (DWR) started conducting the spring snow surveys, the survey found no snow in April. Despite Governor Brown’s presence and a media frenzy surrounding the April survey, DWR cancelled the May survey because “Lack of snow at Phillips Station [the survey site in the Sierra Nevada Mountains] renders survey moot.” In early May, the State Water Resources Control Board warned that senior water rights are “likely to be curtailed later this year due to extreme dry conditions.” On May 20th, State Water Resources Control Board Engineer Kathy Mrowka confirmed at a hearing that the Board will send curtailment notices to senior water rights holders in the San Joaquin River Watershed by the end of the week. The State has not curtailed senior water rights since the 1970s. 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