Water in the Far Western US: Lessons from California

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Water in the Far Western US Lessons from
California
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Uses of Water

• Residential
• Drinking
• Washing clothes, food, dishes
• Watering plants, washing cars
• Agricultural
• Industrial

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Sources of Water

• Surface waterslakes, rivers, wetlands
• Snowmelt
• Rainfall higher in watershed
• Rain waters
• Ground waters
• Aquifers
• Seawater
• Desalinization first!
• Ice

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Water rights

• Riverfront property owns water outright
• BUT
• 1st in time, 1st in right
• Groundwater NOT regulated !!

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California water, 1850-1900
Gold mining, Logging, Draining wetlands,
Mechanization of agriculture
1850
1860
1870
1880
1890
1900
Major floods from hydraulic mining and debris
Develop levees for agriculture, irrigation ditches
Entire state grazed and in agricultural production
Gold rush!
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Hydraulic Mining
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Logging
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Growth of Agriculture
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Construction of the LA Aqueduct
233 miles long Starts on eastern side of
Sierra Developed to bring more than 4x amount of
water needed to serve LAs 220,000 people
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LA Aqueduct, 1907-1913
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Construction challenges
98 miles of 233 miles were cut and cover (e.g.,
easy)
Other sections were more difficult
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Completion, on time and under budget
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30,000 Los Angelenos await the waters arrival
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Insufficient water by time aqueduct completed
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California Water, 1900-1950
Urban expansion, , Drought, Depression
Agricultural expansion
1900
1910
1920
1930
1940
1950
Central Valley Project Hetch Hetchy Dam Hoover Dam
Owens River Aqueduct LA Aqueduct San Francisquito
Dam
OShaughnessy Dam
Mono Basin drained Friant Dam Shasta Dam
Drought! Depression!
Population Growth!
Drought!
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Urbanization

• Loss of agricultural lands
• Increased paved surfaces
• Loss of ecological habitat and structure
• Culverted or diverted rivers

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Increased irrigation I
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Increased irrigation II
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California Water, 1950-2000
Flood control, Population expansion, Gravel mining
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
Pine Flat dam Oroville dam Don Pedro dam CA
Aqueduct New Melones dam Exchequer dam
Urbanization and Population expanasion! Replacemen
t of smaller farms with agribusiness! Finally
first efforts to focus on stream resources
(fish) Wow dam removal being considered
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Regional water transfers
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Modern river system

• VALUES OF DAMS
• - Hydroelectricity
• Water
• Flood Control
• Control of pathogens, wetlands
• COSTS OF DAMS
• Loss of ecosystem habitats
• Expensive
• Short lifespan (100 yrs)

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California Population Growth

• Year Population
• (millions)
• 1850 0.93
• 1900 1.49
• 1950 10.59
• 2000 33.87
• 2050 (projected) 60.00

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California Agricultural Production

• Year Agriculture
• Farms Acres Irrigated Acres
• 1850 19 k 8.7 m --
• 1900 73 k 29 m 1.5 m
• 1950 137 k 37 m 6.6 m
• 2000 74 k 28 m 8.7 m
• 2050 Fewer Fewer More

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Challenges for water management

• Increased population
• Especially in areas without immediate water
  sources
• Urbanization
• Increasing flooding
• Replacing valuable agricultural lands
• Mechanization and irrigation of agricultural
  lands
• Predictability
• Regular drought floods, climate change
• Unregulated groundwater

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Lessons from California

• Multiple uses and needs in conflict
• Regional water transfers undermines multiple
  systems
• Control of water resources is expensive and
  challenging
• If you build it, they will come

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But that was ancient history!

• Prolonged droughts (death tolls force new
  projects)
• Big dams displace Ks of people
• EXAMPLES
• USGreat Lakes water to other regions of US?
• Growing population, drought conditions
• NM governor makes case in 2007
• China Three Gorges dam (400 mi long, 515 ft deep
  (anticipating 758 ft when reservoir full)
• Displaced gt 1 million
• Prolonged drought reduced Yangtze to 1877 levels
• Increased hydroelectricity, but dozens landslides
• Decreased water quality from increased industrial
  growth

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Building the San Francisquito Dam 1924-26
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Day after dedication
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Hours before dam failure
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Day after dam failure
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7300 downstream
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Impacts of dam failure