5 dramatic ways california is tackling drought - laser leveling system

In terms of total precipitation, California's current drought is not the driest weather in the state's history.
If the state thinks the drought is particularly severe, the responsibility may fall partly on humanity, says Peter Gleick.
President Glick of Oakland, California said: "The severity of the drought has become more complicated by poor planning, poor management and population growth, which puts pressure on resources that have been overinvested
Headquartered at the Pacific Research Institute, it is a non-profit organization that conducts multi-disciplinary research on water issues.
"This is the third year of the drought, and we did not take any action in the first two years, as if there were any abnormalities.
"It seems to be changing.
This spring, despite the small amount of water, water supply agencies across the state are taking dramatic action to meet demand for water.
Some of the efforts, large and small, are particularly creative.
Here, National Geographic magazine looks at five efforts from the Sacramento area in the north to the Santa Barbara area in the South.
Lompico: In a typical year, the Santa Cruz Hills community of Lompico relies on local creeks and three wells for water supply.
But this year, the water level has fallen sharply: "One of the wells we produce the most water is producing half the usual amount of water," said Lois Henry, chairman of the lomico water committee.
In January, the state officially designated Lompico as an area in danger of water shortage.
This brings about $160,000 in state funding to pay intertie, an emergency pipeline connecting the lomico and the adjacent San Lorenzo water area.
In view of the desperate situation, the state has also abandoned the environmental impact assessment required for the project.
Mei's first week was interconnected.
In order to avoid such close-up calls in the future, some of the Lompico residents want to permanently merge the water supply system with their larger neighbors.
This will be expensive: in order to pay for the infrastructure improvements required for the consolidation, including bringing the interlinkages to the code, the Lompico has to go through $2.
75 million bonds, assessed on a 30-year tax basis.
But Henry says it's not cheap to maintain the status quo.
At present, only 500 customers pay, she said, and each customer "has to spend more money ".
"We have the highest water fee in Santa Cruz County.
Gleick, a water expert, believes that the merger will benefit lomico.
"The combination of small water supply institutions will help to enhance resilience," he said . "
On January 28, 2014, a small pool was left at the bottom of the Almaden Reservoir in San Jose, California.
Justin ykern county Justin Sullivan's photo: the Kern County Water Authority for the reversal of the water flow of the water pipes San Joaquin Valley supplies most of its water to agricultural customers for Becker sfield, tehazappi and Taft.
But three of its key surfaces this year
National Water Supply Project, Friant-
The Kern Canal and Kern River have much less water supply than usual.
Jim Baker, general manager of Kern County Water Authority, said Kern County farmers are already quite efficient water users.
"Because our water costs in Kern County are high compared to other regions, we have the leading technology in the country," he said . ".
Farmers are already using micro
Sprinkler and drip irrigation, and laser leveling of farmland to reduce runoff.
In wet years, farmers store additional water and store it in groundwater in dry years.
"We withdraw money from these bank accounts this year," Baker said . "
To provide bank water to farmers in northern counties, the water authority is considering an extreme measure: Invest in diesel pumps and run the California water pipes in reverse for about 47 miles.
The water Guide usually goes south, just like the water that goes down.
The water authority has groundwater reserves in the south of some northern customers.
Historically, in order to serve these customers, the agency relies on external entities to inject water into the pipeline north of upstream customers.
In exchange, the agency puts the same amount of water into the farther south to serve other downstream customers (not its own).
This year, outside water added upstream may not be enough for a typical exchange.
Therefore, the solution of the agency may be to reverse the extraction of its own groundwater to serve customers in the north.
The water authority will create a dayby-
Depending on the newly emerged water supply schedule, decide whether to run the water pipes backwards or not.
Estimated capital costs of $5 million to $10 million plus operating costs will be borne by regional water users.
"We think this is an important tool in our toolbox, if we need it," Baker said . ".
"We will continue to move forward at full speed to get this license and start the installation," hoping to get it online by mid-termJune.
Grasslands east of viefield, California, during the peak of the 2014 rainy season, remained dry in February.
David mcnews' Getty sarmando: water rights to the rivers of Sacramento and the United States are so high that the capital city of the state
At present, only 51% of local customers have installed water meters.
Without meters that charge them based on water consumption, customers have no incentive to save, and the city has earned the reputation of squandering water consumers.
Things are changing now.
River traffic is expected to be so low this year that the water level may be lower than the water pump in the city.
In January 14, for the first time in history, the Sacramento City Council issued a water shortage emergency plan aimed at reducing consumption by 20%.
In the hot Valley City, 60% of residential water goes to watering grounds, says Terrance Davis, manager of drought and sustainability in the city's utilities.
Therefore, since the announcement of the plan in January, the department has spent $200,000 on public outreach activities to educate water users on new restrictions and limit yard watering to two per week
"This allows us to target our law enforcement," Davis said . ".
Residents of Sacramento appear to be under protection.
They have called more than 4,000 this year to report water.
Waste neighbors, 233 in the same period last year.
The first warning was given to the water wave;
Those who receive the fourth notice will face a fine of $1,000.
After the City Council set a 20% reduction target in the medium term
Davis said that total water consumption decreased by 12% in January and February, a decrease of 16%.
A new pilot project passed in March 4 will pay people up to $1,000 to replace their front lawn with drought
Resistant or native plants.
Davis said the department had set aside $200,000 for the project, with 700 people on the waiting list by July 2015.
"It will be very significant to save water," he said . "
"We sell these products because it looks really good," he said . ".
Gleick supports this project
"A long time ago, Sacramento and other Western cities began to seriously consider eliminating the lawn," he said . ".
Fair Oak: take care of the River Fair Oak, a town about 30,000 kilometers northeast of Sacramento, benefiting from the rich American Rivers, so its water supply is not directly affected by the drought.
But the town has received a lot of travel money and local pride in the lower reaches of the United States, attracting raf sons, kayaks and motorcyclists.
This may be weakened by the dry environment.
To protect this resource, Fair Oaks has reached an agreement with local business groups, environmental organizations and other waters to protect American Rivers.
The town has invested millions of drilling to develop spare groundwater supplies.
In the years of the surface
The water supply in the adjacent water area is tight, and the Fair Oaks provide some or all of the water that the city needs.
In this way, it leaves the surface of the city
The distribution of water in rivers benefits neighbors and river ecosystems.
Tom Gray, managing director of Fair Oak Water, said: "Being a utility does not exclude being a manager of the environment . ".
In February, during the 2014 rainy season in Southern Vieques, California, cattle graze on dry and brittle grasslands.
David mcnews' shoot, Getty Monte Chito: buying water from a farm, an idyllic seaside village near Santa Barbara, one of Oprah Winfrey's residences, it is trying to make it clear to water users that saving is a virtue.
Like many cities in Southern California, montesito has a long time
According to the water situation, long-term policies to encourage protection through water supply pricing do not limit total consumption.
The situation has changed with the drought.
The water authority declared an emergency on February 11 and began water rationing on February 21.
Rationing means suspension of new water supply permits, prohibition of drainage and replenishment of swimming pools, and strict restrictions on outdoor watering, penalties for violations.
Tom Mosby, managing director of montesito Water District, said several residential clients were punished by between $1,500 and $2,000 for exceeding the grant.
"We found that the fine soon caught their attention.
"But to a large extent, the community's response is far beyond our expectations," he said . ".
Compared with the previous year, montesito Water's customers reduced their usage by 48% in the third year, and when the final figures in April were counted, officials expected to reduce similar usage.
Nevertheless, efforts are still being made to find other sources in the region.
One possibility is to buy water from rice farmers in the northern part of the Sacramento Delta, who will rest their fields and make a profit from selling water instead of crops.
These creative measures may allow these areas to pass the current year of drought.
But with the projected population growth and the projected loss of the Sierra snow pack caused by climate change, water managers need to consider longer-term issues, Glick said.
"If we continue to pretend that the climate of the future will be like the past, we will not be able to implement the policies needed to bring our water system to any sustainable balance," he said.
What must be considered is not just the human impact on climate change and water supply: the climate record in California shows that extreme drought has plagued the state for the past two thousand years, including the large drought
Drought in 100
More time planned across the state
Curtis Krell, assistant general manager of the Kern County Water Authority, said the term "drought" has not yet occurred.
"For many water managers in California, this is a new area and a problem that we are really trying to solve," he said . ".