6 ms·

Farming has always been the cause behind the water usage but last time they had a shortage they made it seem like washing your car or watering the lawn was the

Farming has always been the cause behind the water usage but last time they had a shortage they made it seem like washing your car or watering the lawn was the problem.

Spivak 5y ago
Of course but that doesn’t seem all that unreasonable if you consider farming water use essential (and I think I agree). You wouldn’t risk sacrificing a whole season’s yield when you could cut discretionary water usage.
- VortexDream 5y ago
  Farming is essential, yes. But farming isn't the issue. It's wasteful farming methods and wasteful crops based on a lack of pricing signal for water. Telling residential users to use less water will not fix any of the real issues leading to the water shortages, so it will continue to be a serious problem.
tablespoon 5y ago
> Farming has always been the cause behind the water usage but last time they had a shortage they made it seem like washing your car or watering the lawn was the problem. I don't know...farming seems more...important?...than those other things...
- lumost 5y ago
  Depends on what you’re farming. In many cases California not growing a high water crop using free water means that someone else will grow the crop at a higher price point. The California land is rich, and could easily grow other less water hungry crops.
- throaway46546 5y ago
  Farming is important. Growing Almonds in the desert isn't.
  - eigenket 5y ago
    Growing cows you mean. Half of California's water usage is growing alfalfa to feed to cattle. Not half of agricultural usage, half of total usage. The almond thing is basically a meme in comparison. Not that the almond farms shouldn't also be made to deal with this. Someone else in this thread mentioned Israeli almond farms that use 1/20 of the water the Californian ones do because they have smarter methods of irrigation.
    - acdha 5y ago
      > Half of California's water usage is growing alfalfa to feed to cattle. Not half of agricultural usage, half of total usage. Do you have a cite for that? The figures I’ve put half of the total usage at environmental, with agricultural use at 40% total. https://cwc.ca.gov/-/media/CWC-Website/Files/Documents/2019/06_June/June2019_Item_12_Attach_2_PPICFactSheets.pdf?la=en&hash=E233EA870DFB826F235B258177849300179E1B64 https://cwc.ca.gov/-/media/CWC-Website/Files/Documents/2019/... These figures appear to be recent and show alfalfa to be the third most water-intensive crop, with nuts getting a lot of attention because that usage has been going up dramatically over the last couple of decades as farmers planted new trees at a rapid pace. https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/specialsections/these-are-the-california-crops-that-use-the-most-water/ https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/specialsections/these-...
  - chrisseaton 5y ago
    Why is it always almonds people go on about? https://californiaglobe.com/section-2/blaming-almonds-for-californias-water-shortage-is-just-nuts/ https://californiaglobe.com/section-2/blaming-almonds-for-ca...
    - imtringued 5y ago
      Because people don't eat cattle feed. The fundamental problem is a self centered world view.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
hellbannedguy 5y ago
In certain counties. In my county of Marin, we are fed with a few lakes, and bit of water from the Russian river. I have looked at our dwindling lakes, and very concerned. What get's me is MMWD has had since the 70's to do something. Yes--what to do? I would have cut down on management salaries, and nepotism, 30 years ago. That savings could have funded a desalination plant? I still don't understand why lakes can't be dug deeper.
- s0rce 5y ago
  Marin is probably an outlier (no Sierra snowmelt water) and the issue does seem quite dire there. I'm not sure most of the reservoirs were ever dug, they were just dammed. You'd have to move the water to dredge them at this point. Seems like further conservation is needed, I think Sonoma has imposed further restrictions as well. Desalination could meet the human demands but likely at extreme cost the small county couldn't really afford, it would need to be shared with the rest of the urban area but with continued (although diminishing) cheap water from rivers/mountains that seems unlikely.
- nullc 5y ago
  Internet figures suggest that industrial scale seawater desal costs $3-$4 per thousand gallons. Tier 2 water rates in Marin are $9.70/1000gal. Sure seems that that that the rates could support it.
MomoXenosaga 5y ago
The government guilt trips consumers because they are the ones who can change their behaviour immediately. You can stop watering your lawn but a farmer can't stop watering his crops. But the reality is that consumers barely make a dent in water use. Hell you can even recycle/reuse the water used in a carwash for instance.
- TazeTSchnitzel 5y ago
  Why can't “a farmer stop watering his crops”? For example, choosing to grow less crops, or water them less?
  - amanaplanacanal 5y ago
    That farmer then goes out of business.
    - username90 5y ago
      And gets a new job, like everyone else. If your work doesn't benefit society then why even do it?
      - TigeriusKirk 5y ago
        Their work does benefit society, though.
        username90 5y ago
        Depleting the aquifers doesn't benefit society. The minor value gained from exports doesn't weigh up that. Of course we need farmers, but we don't need farmers who do that.

Farming has always been the cause behind the water usage but last time they had a shortage they made it seem like washing your car or watering the lawn was the problem.

Spivak 5y ago

Of course but that doesn’t seem all that unreasonable if you consider farming water use essential (and I think I agree). You wouldn’t risk sacrificing a whole season’s yield when you could cut discretionary water usage.

VortexDream 5y ago
Farming is essential, yes. But farming isn't the issue. It's wasteful farming methods and wasteful crops based on a lack of pricing signal for water. Telling residential users to use less water will not fix any of the real issues leading to the water shortages, so it will continue to be a serious problem.

tablespoon 5y ago

> Farming has always been the cause behind the water usage but last time they had a shortage they made it seem like washing your car or watering the lawn was the problem. I don't know...farming seems more...important?...than those other things...

lumost 5y ago
Depends on what you’re farming. In many cases California not growing a high water crop using free water means that someone else will grow the crop at a higher price point. The California land is rich, and could easily grow other less water hungry crops.
throaway46546 5y ago
Farming is important. Growing Almonds in the desert isn't.
- eigenket 5y ago
  Growing cows you mean. Half of California's water usage is growing alfalfa to feed to cattle. Not half of agricultural usage, half of total usage. The almond thing is basically a meme in comparison. Not that the almond farms shouldn't also be made to deal with this. Someone else in this thread mentioned Israeli almond farms that use 1/20 of the water the Californian ones do because they have smarter methods of irrigation.
  - acdha 5y ago
    > Half of California's water usage is growing alfalfa to feed to cattle. Not half of agricultural usage, half of total usage. Do you have a cite for that? The figures I’ve put half of the total usage at environmental, with agricultural use at 40% total. https://cwc.ca.gov/-/media/CWC-Website/Files/Documents/2019/06_June/June2019_Item_12_Attach_2_PPICFactSheets.pdf?la=en&hash=E233EA870DFB826F235B258177849300179E1B64 https://cwc.ca.gov/-/media/CWC-Website/Files/Documents/2019/... These figures appear to be recent and show alfalfa to be the third most water-intensive crop, with nuts getting a lot of attention because that usage has been going up dramatically over the last couple of decades as farmers planted new trees at a rapid pace. https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/specialsections/these-are-the-california-crops-that-use-the-most-water/ https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/specialsections/these-...
- chrisseaton 5y ago
  Why is it always almonds people go on about? https://californiaglobe.com/section-2/blaming-almonds-for-californias-water-shortage-is-just-nuts/ https://californiaglobe.com/section-2/blaming-almonds-for-ca...
  - imtringued 5y ago
    Because people don't eat cattle feed. The fundamental problem is a self centered world view.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]

hellbannedguy 5y ago

In certain counties. In my county of Marin, we are fed with a few lakes, and bit of water from the Russian river. I have looked at our dwindling lakes, and very concerned. What get's me is MMWD has had since the 70's to do something. Yes--what to do? I would have cut down on management salaries, and nepotism, 30 years ago. That savings could have funded a desalination plant? I still don't understand why lakes can't be dug deeper.

s0rce 5y ago
Marin is probably an outlier (no Sierra snowmelt water) and the issue does seem quite dire there. I'm not sure most of the reservoirs were ever dug, they were just dammed. You'd have to move the water to dredge them at this point. Seems like further conservation is needed, I think Sonoma has imposed further restrictions as well. Desalination could meet the human demands but likely at extreme cost the small county couldn't really afford, it would need to be shared with the rest of the urban area but with continued (although diminishing) cheap water from rivers/mountains that seems unlikely.
nullc 5y ago
Internet figures suggest that industrial scale seawater desal costs $3-$4 per thousand gallons. Tier 2 water rates in Marin are $9.70/1000gal. Sure seems that that that the rates could support it.

MomoXenosaga 5y ago

The government guilt trips consumers because they are the ones who can change their behaviour immediately. You can stop watering your lawn but a farmer can't stop watering his crops. But the reality is that consumers barely make a dent in water use. Hell you can even recycle/reuse the water used in a carwash for instance.

TazeTSchnitzel 5y ago
Why can't “a farmer stop watering his crops”? For example, choosing to grow less crops, or water them less?
- amanaplanacanal 5y ago
  That farmer then goes out of business.
  - username90 5y ago
    And gets a new job, like everyone else. If your work doesn't benefit society then why even do it?
    - TigeriusKirk 5y ago
      Their work does benefit society, though.
      - username90 5y ago
        Depleting the aquifers doesn't benefit society. The minor value gained from exports doesn't weigh up that. Of course we need farmers, but we don't need farmers who do that.