Tag: drought

Uh oh: Yosemite. 8,100 feet. February. No snow

The Los Angeles station of the weather service tweeted that the hamlet of Sandberg, in the Tehachapi Mountains of LA County on the old Ridge Route, is sixteen degrees above normal for February. While Los Angeles receives its water from the Eastern Sierra, San Francisco receives its water from the Hetch Hetchy system that has its source in Yosemite National Park.

Yosemite at 8,000 feet

The National Weather Service station up in Hanford, CA posted this photo on February 19.

The Los Angles DWP has not put the city on water rationing but perhaps they should start that now.

Snow Pack

The Drought of 2014

Drought MonitorMost Californians already knew that there is a drought covering most of the state. California Governor Jerry Brown has named this rainless winter an official drought. The real purpose of the declaration is to obtain federal aid, reduce enforcement of some environmental regulations, and most importantly convince voters to approve an $11.1 Billion water bond proposal.

More than $13 Billion has been spent on California water projects since the year 2000. The newest bond proposal is not new. It has been bandied around for at least four years. The only reason there has not been a proposal on the ballot has been the serious economic conditions of this state.

This ballot measure, if it does appear, will not add one additional drop of water to the state’s water supply. There will be no more water for urban areas and no additional water for farming or live stock. This proposal will provide profits for construction companies.

Sacramento Bee reporter and columnist Dan Walters says this bond issue doesn’t address the issues. Traci Sheehan on the California Progress Report web site has identified all the newspapers that oppose this waste of money.

Fear of water rationing will be the tool of choice to convince passage of this boondoggle.