[GPSCC-chat] The Mercury News eEdition Article

[The Mercury News EE]

wrolley at charter.net sent you this article.
Comment: 
Peter Gleick is mandatory reading for issues about water.  Since we
are in N Cal, it is important that we put the current rainy weather in
the proper perspective, which he does. 

The Mercury News  01/16/2017 - Page A11

 Is the drought over? Sorry, wrong question  By Peter Gleick
 Given the massive storms bringing water to California over the past
month, people are asking,  "Is the drought finally over?"
  The term "drought" means different things to different people,  but
let me suggest this is the wrong question. The end of the drought does
not mean the end to California’s water problems. Here are some more
appropriate questions and answers. Is California having a wet year? So
far, yes. Precipitation, especially in Northern California, is far
above average – indeed, California is swinging from the extreme of
drought to the risk of flood. But the wet season doesn’t end until
April, and we don’t know if storms will continue to blow in from the
Pacific.
  How does the snowpack look? After a weak start, recent storms have
brought large amounts of snow to the Sierra Nevada for the first time
in five years. This is great news, but again, the year is young.
Prolonged warm weather could quickly melt mountain snow, as it has in
recent years because of rising temperatures from climate change. If
temperatures  stay warm, our "snow drought" may continue.
  Are the reservoirs filling up? Yes, so far California’s big
reservoirs  are filling rapidly. Indeed, now managers must carefully
balance  the need to store water for the dry periods while maintaining
space in storage to hold back damaging floods. As with the snowpack,
we don’t yet know how full they’ll be at the end of the wet
season, but so far so good.
  Will this year’s rains refill overdrafted Central Valley
groundwater basins? No. This may be California’s biggest water
problem: Our groundwater use exceeds natural recharge. It’s like a
bank account in perpetual overdraft, and the problem worsened during
the drought.
 This year should see a drop in groundwater pumping, but even a wet
year won’t prevent continued  groundwater overdraft, refill the
aquifers, or help thousands of people in disadvantaged communities 
whose wells have run dry.
  Will this year’s rains reverse the damage to California forests?
No. More than 100 million trees have died from drought, temperature 
stress and insect infestation. It will take decades for Sierra forests
 to regenerate, and dead trees and damaged soils will pose forest fire
and landslide risks for years.
  Will farmers finally get all the water they want? No. Deliveries to
farmers this year will certainly be the highest in several years –
great news for farmers who have fallowed land or cut back on
irrigation because of drought. But agricultural (and urban) water
users will never get all the water they want because formal water
rights claims are many times larger than actual water availability.
 Will a wet year help endangered  salmon? Lots of water in rivers and
reservoirs will help them, but the real problem for the past few years
hasn’t been too little water, it’s been water that is too warm. A
good snowpack and cold river flows in the spring and summer should
help, but if water remains too warm, pressures on salmon will
continue.
  Will the official state drought declaration be canceled? Gov. Jerry
Brown’s executive drought orders remain in place for the moment. The
governor’s office and State Water Board will decide  what actions
should be taken later in the spring when we have a clearer picture.
  Can I stop conserving water at home now and water my lawn, wash my
car and take long showers?  You can, but you shouldn’t. The
efficient use of water should be a way of life, not a temporary
reaction to crisis. Every gallon of water you don’t use saves money,
leaves water in reservoirs and underground, reduces energy use and
protects ecosystems. Californians  conserved water during the drought
without serious hardship.  We should keep up those efforts, even when
it’s wet.
  Ultimately, "Is the drought over" is the wrong question. We should
ask, "Are we managing water in a sustainable manner, for the long
haul"? The answer to that is still "no."
  John Steinbeck wrote in East of Eden: "And it never failed that
during the dry years the people forgot about the rich years, and
during the wet years they lost all memory of the dry years. It was
always that way."
  Let’s prove him wrong. Peter Gleick is a hydroclimatologist and
chief scientist at the Pacific Institute, Oakland. He wrote this for
The Mercury News.


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