WATER CRISIS IN CALIFORNIA

Water Crisis in California

Water Crisis in California

Introduction

Water crisis is a term used to refer to the world's water resources relative to human demand. The term has been applied to the worldwide water situation by the United Nations and other world organizations. Others, for example the Food and Agriculture Organization, claim there is no water crisis. The major aspects of the water crisis are allegedly overall scarcity of usable water and water pollution.

California's interconnected water system serves over 30 million people and irrigates over 5,680,000 acres (2,300,000 ha) of farmland. As the world's largest, most productive, and most controversial water system, it manages over 40,000,000 acre feet (4.9×1010 m3) of water per year.

California's water supply comes from two sources: surface water, or water that travels or gathers on the ground, like rivers, streams, and lakes; and groundwater, which is water that is pumped out from the ground.

Discussion

Around 75% of California's water supply comes from north of Sacramento, while 80% of the water demand occurs in the southern two-thirds of the state. The majority of California water is used by the agricultural industry. About 80-85% of all California water is used for agricultural purposes. This water irrigates almost 29 million acres (120,000 km2), on which grow 350 different crops. Urban users consume 10% of the water, or around 8,700,000 acre feet (1.073×1010 m3). Industry receives the remnant of the water supply.( Hundley, 2001)

The California State Water Project is the largest multipurpose, state-built water project in the United States. The SWP transports water from the Feather River watershed to agriculture, and some of the water goes to industrial and urban users. More than two-thirds of Californians receive some water from the SWP. In an average year the SWP delivers 2,300,000 acre feet (2.84×109 m3), but the system has over committed and contracted to deliver 4,200,000 acre feet (5.18×109 m3). Twenty-nine agencies hold contracts for SWP water. The contractors pay for SWP's major operating costs and have gradually reduced the $1.75 billion bond debt that supplied funds for initial construction. In the years since 1960, SWP has built 29 dams, 18 pumping plants, five hydroelectric power plants, and around 600 miles (970 km) of canals and pipelines. The SWP system begins with reservoirs on upper tributaries of the Feather River. Oroville Dam creates the largest SWP reservoir. At 770 feet (230 m) above the riverbed, the dam is the tallest in the United States. The reservoir covers 15,000 acres (61 km2) and holds 3,500,000 acre feet (4.32×109 m3). Water travels from Lake Oroville to the Sacramento River. At Harvey O. Banks Delta Pumping Plant, which pulls SWP water into the Bethany Reservoir, around 2,200,000 acre feet (2.71×109 m3) are extracted from the Delta each year. Water that flows to the south end of the San Joaquin Valley must be pumped over the Tehachapi Mountains. Because of this, the SWP is California's largest energy consumer, and even though the hydroelectric plants of the SWP generate ...