by Patrick Ruckert
www.californiadroughtupdate.org/20211021-California-Water-and-Infrastructure-Report.pdf?_t=1635005339
A Note to Readers
I have added a “Weather Report” to the report this week, as for the first time in more than six months we are receiving and will receive over the next few days a lot of rain delivered by perhaps a Level 5 Atmospheric River. No one should delude themselves that this will impact the ongoing drought in any significant manner. The worst drought in 1200 years will not be so easily tamed. The entire coming winter would require about 140% of the average annual precipitation for more than one rainy season to undue this drought.
So we begin the report with the U.S. Drought Monitor maps for the West and California, which should give people an idea of just how deep and destructive this drought, or megadrought continues to be.
The Weather Report comes next. In addition to the generous rainfall coming our way, the forecast La Nina will most likely make the winter a dry one for California. This atmospheric phenomenon shifts the Jet Stream north and makes winters drier in California, while making the northwest states wetter.
Under the general title of, “The Drought and What Next,” you will find, first, one of the better summaries of the drought in California and the prospects for it to continue next year. Then comes a series of articles on the affects and problems related to the drought: “Source Water, Revenues Drying Up In California,” “Megadrought Forcing Farmers To Abandon Fields,” and one on how San Jose is the first big city in the state now imposing mandatory rationing of water.
Governor Newsom has finally declared the entire state to be in a drought emergency, while announcing nothing of significance that he will do about it.
A new state initiative is now gathering signatures for the November, 2022 ballot. This is the “The Water Infrastructure Funding Act of 2022.” It will amend the state Constitution to allocate 2% of the state expenditures each year for building water infrastructure until five million additional acre feet of water is permanently added to California’s available water for cities and farms.
I include in the introduction to this section the reasons I hesitate to endorse the initiative.
Next, more bad news from the Colorado River, as “A new federal system for projecting Colorado River water flows in the next two years confirms dire news about drought draining the West’s key reservoirs, and increases pressure on Colorado to conserve water immediately to avoid future demands from down-river states, conservation groups say.”
Next, “California Scrambles to Find Electricity to Offset Plant Closures.” That, of course, will mean, “Shortages, Black Outs and Sky High Electricity Rates Are Coming Soon to You.” That is offset by another article, “Transition to Nowhere,” which tears to pieces the idea that it is possible for an industrial nation, or any nation, to ever rely on so-called renewables for electricity grid. For that article I just include the first few paragraphs and the link to the entire article.
The Feature this week is a series of videos from LaRouche PAC on the North American Water and Power Alliance (NAWAPA). This was the project proposed and fought for in the Congress during the 1960’s, especially by U.S. Senator from Utah, Frank Moss. I have often posted articles on this project, for today it is more urgent than it was 50 or 60 years ago.
