CA farmers idle crops, drought worsens

[Pauls' Revere]

All this and yet sitting here in the "Golden State" I have heard nothing in the way of conservation. I'm willing to bet golf courses in L.A. are being watered and people are hosing off thier driveways.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/090125/california_drought.html

"The consequences are expected to be pretty horrible in terms of farmers' revenue, but what's really disconcerting are the possible job losses," said Wendy Martin, who leads the agency's drought division. "Those communities that can least weather an economic downturn are going to be some of the places that are hit the hardest."

Richard Howitt, a professor of agriculture economics at the University of California, Davis, estimates that $1.6 billion in agriculture-related wages, and as many as 60,000 jobs across the valley will be lost in the coming months due to dwindling water.

To boot, California is broke and has a $47 Billion Dollar shortfall and is likely to issue IOU's as tax refunds, possibly as payroll, and welfare, come Feb 01, 2009.

The prices of all your veggies IS going to go up!

My suggestion: start your own garden and grow some food if you can.

[danberkeley]

All this and yet sitting here in the "Golden State" I have heard nothing in the way of conservation. I'm willing to bet golf courses in L.A. are being watered and people are hosing off thier driveways.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/090125/california_drought.html

"The consequences are expected to be pretty horrible in terms of farmers' revenue, but what's really disconcerting are the possible job losses," said Wendy Martin, who leads the agency's drought division. "Those communities that can least weather an economic downturn are going to be some of the places that are hit the hardest."

Richard Howitt, a professor of agriculture economics at the University of California, Davis, estimates that $1.6 billion in agriculture-related wages, and as many as 60,000 jobs across the valley will be lost in the coming months due to dwindling water.

To boot, California is broke and has a $47 Billion Dollar shortfall and is likely to issue IOU's as tax refunds, possibly as payroll, and welfare, come Feb 01, 2009.

The prices of all your veggies IS going to go up!

My suggestion: start your own garden and grow some food if you can.

Quick! Invest in California water companies. ... Nevermind, California has too many regulations. CA = fail.

[Zippyjuan]

There have been water use restrictions but nothing too dramatic yet. But that could come. Southern California could lose 25% of their water allocation later this year -we get water from the Sierra Nevada snow melt which is very low this year and also some from the Colorado River- all imported using vaiducts. Some areas have imposed watering restrictions. Car washes are required to recycle and re-use their water. All toilets and showers must be low water usage. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/cal/la-me-drought5-2008jun05,0,558946.story

The snowpack in the Sierra Nevada, which accounts for a large share of the state's water supply, was at 97% of normal in March. By May it was down to 67% of normal. Warm weather throughout the spring caused the snow to melt quickly, Snow said, with much of the water evaporating instead of running downstream into reservoirs.

"The snowpack has been disappearing, and it has not manifest itself as runoff," Snow said.

Most of the state's residential customers are unlikely to face severe water rationing this year. But they are being asked to cut back their use. Major conservation campaigns have been underway in many parts of the state.

Water districts in several cities, including Long Beach and Oakland, are imposing restrictions on outdoor water use and are asking residential consumers to cut their overall use by 10% to 20%.

Washing cars and driveways is banned in some places, as is serving drinking water in restaurants unless the customer asks for it.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power on Wednesday voted to put such restrictions in place, subject to City Council approval. DWP officials said they expect to have up to 18 "drought busters" patrolling neighborhoods and ticketing offenders.
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which serves 18 million people, will consider asking other member cities and counties to adopt such measures June 13. The proposed resolution would also encourage local governments to consider tiered rate structures that encourage conservation, mandatory installation of low-flow toilets when properties are resold, and rebates for consumers who install water-saving devices.

Timothy F. Brick, chairman of the district board, warned the state is "entering a new and worrisome water era."

Farmers could be particularly hard hit. In the San Joaquin Valley, water shortages this year could force some to abandon tomato crops during the summer.

Schwarzenegger warns that conservation will help the state address such mounting water problems in the short term only.

[Pauls' Revere]

So Cal is in for a rude awakening this summer. This is probably the issue which I think may be a dividing wedge which separates Northern Cal from Southern Cal once and for all. Arnold wanted restrictions up North but not in the political heavyweight Southern portion of the state. Looks like we have front row seats to all of this.

18 people to patrol LA? 18 million? does not sound very effective.