ERICOPOLY Posted December 12, 2014 Posted December 12, 2014 I read that a lot of drilling rigs from the Bakken were brought to California in this drought -- demand from farmers needing deeper wells after the groundwater levels dropped. Whoever owns these rigs doesn't want this rain, what with the oil bust and all. Should this pattern hold, reservoirs might be topped up by May.
berkshire101 Posted December 12, 2014 Posted December 12, 2014 It is pouring rain here at the moment!
sys Posted December 12, 2014 Posted December 12, 2014 I read that a lot of drilling rigs from the Bakken were brought to California in this drought -- demand from farmers needing deeper wells after the groundwater levels dropped. Whoever owns these rigs doesn't want this rain, what with the oil bust and all. Should this pattern hold, reservoirs might be topped up by May. gotta have snow for the ag water. rain washes out too fast.
netnet Posted December 12, 2014 Posted December 12, 2014 gotta have snow for the ag water. rain washes out too fast. Almost all of California's water systems, natural and man made need snow! (The overdrawn ground water areas excepted.)
fareastwarriors Posted December 12, 2014 Posted December 12, 2014 The rain near the coast doesn't help us much. We need the heavy snow in the mountains... And we still need many more storms.
ERICOPOLY Posted December 12, 2014 Posted December 12, 2014 My local water supply (Lake Cachuma) made the list at #2 most likely to dry up: http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/world-lakes-drying-up/30646819
ERICOPOLY Posted December 12, 2014 Posted December 12, 2014 I know the snow is needed to keep from overfilling the reservoirs (and having the excess flow to the ocean). But they are so low that it's all going into the reservoirs (not over a spillway and out to sea). After these storms, those reservoirs will still be under their average levels for this time of year. And as mentioned in this article, these reservoirs are important for irrigating farmland. The past year farmers were hitting the groundwater harder because the surface water wasn't available to them: http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_27120528/california-drought-winter-storms-finally-starting-boost-storage The state's two largest reservoirs, Shasta Lake near Redding, and Lake Oroville in Butte County, are projected to take in 510,000 acre-feet of water in storm runoff by Tuesday, with 370,000 going to Shasta and 140,000 flowing into Oroville, according to the state Department of Water Resources. That's a staggering amount of water -- 166 billion gallons from a single storm, enough water for 2.5 million Californians for a year. It would fill half a million football fields one-foot deep -- all captured by the reservoirs that form the linchpin of the federal and state water systems that serve millions of California residents from San Jose to San Diego and irrigate vast expanses of Central Valley farmland.
netnet Posted December 15, 2014 Posted December 15, 2014 Another storm is on the way! By the way, I'm going to plan a mid January get together at an East Bay location. Look for details in the Events section of the website.
jrunner Posted December 15, 2014 Posted December 15, 2014 Hi netnet, I'm in the North Bay. I'd love to attend a meetup.
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