The Arid West—Where Water Is Scarce - Drought Management: Too Little,too Late

Hydro-Illogical Cycle

The National Drought Mitigation Center has characterized drought management in the United States as the hydro-illogical cycle. The public in the West and elsewhere tends to assume that abundant water supplies are normal, when in fact occasional droughts of moderate duration and intensity are unavoidable. When rainfall is plentiful, the public is apathetic about the need to conserve water and to plan for severe drought conditions. Once drought begins, and signs such as failing crops and restrictions on water use begin to penetrate the public awareness, the public becomes uneasy.

The longer the drought continues, the more concern, until panic sets in, particularly as socioeconomic effects such as a decline in crops, loss of water-related FIGURE 8.3
EQIP (Environmental Quality Incentive Program) allocations to states, FY 2005
SOURCE: "FY-2005 EQIP Allocations to States," in FY-2005 Conservation Program Allocations to States by Program, United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Services, March 2005, http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/2005_allocations/index.html (accessed April 13, 2005) recreational opportunities and the income they generate, and stringent water rationing become evident. Calls go out for the federal, state, and local governments to "do something," resulting in crisis management. Response to immediate needs, conflicting government activities and initiatives (almost always at higher costs than under non-crisis circumstances), and the need to balance competing interests in an emotionally charged atmosphere is neither good public policy nor good resource management.

Some federal government efforts are underway toward assisting farmers and rangers to implement technologies and practices to conserve water and to mitigate the long-term effects of drought. The USDA's Environmental Quality Incentive Program is one such effort. (See Figure 8.3 and Table 8.1.)

California and the Drought Years

Drought plagued California from 1986 until 1993, the longest dry period in nearly one hundred years of record keeping. California was not alone in experiencing the drought. In many ways, the water conflicts and issues it experienced were similar to, although more severe than, those found in many western states. In recent years, however, the rising population and the increased demand for water for wildlife, recreation, and scenic enjoyment taxed water supplies. The seven-year drought illustrated to California and the nation its vulnerability to financial and ecological ruin and inconvenience and prompted residents to consider new technologies.

California's elaborate system of dams, reservoirs, aqueducts, and canals permits residents to ignore the fact TABLE 8.1
EQIP funding by state, FY 2005
SOURCE: "Environmental Quality Incentives Program: FY-2005 Financial and Technical Assistance Dollars to States," in FY-2005 Conservation Program Allocations to States by Program, United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Services, March 2005, http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/2005_allocations/index.html (accessed April 13, 2005)

that they live in a naturally semiarid climate. California is located in a climatic high-pressure zone that hovers off its coast, causing rainfall to be diverted northward. The state normally receives less than half (44%) as much precipitation as does the southeastern portion of the United States, the nation's wettest region. The rain that does fall in California is not evenly distributed; two-thirds of the state receives fewer than twenty inches of rain a year, and significant swings in annual rainfall occur regularly. Although Northern California provides two-thirds of the state's water supply, two-thirds of the state's population lives in Southern California, which has little water of its own.

California's early settlers knew about the state's lack of natural water supplies and warned about it. Nonetheless, the rugged individualists who migrated to California developed a powerful myth about their state—that in this potential Eden, everything was possible. California's development of its most precious resource, water, has been a major factor in making the myth a reality.

Throughout the preceding century, Californians had worked to develop a state of unparalleled abundance. More than 350 canals were dug to convert the arid soil into lush fields and orchards, and 1,200 dams and reservoirs helped to alter the state's natural cycles from drought to flood and back again. The attitude that has typified the history of modern California is a confidence in the human ability to conquer the forces of nature and a contempt for the dry environment from which their state, despite the odds, has flourished. For a century, Californians have managed to fulfill their water-dependent images of what their state should be: an agricultural empire, an industrial giant, and a green paradise for the thirty-six million people who lived there as of 2004.

California's agricultural survival, and that of the other Western states, has been possible only because of extensive irrigation. Although only approximately 15% of the country's harvested acres are irrigated, most of the irrigation takes place in those states that are west of the Mississippi (except Florida), particularly in the Southwest. In California, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico, 75% to 100% of the acreage is irrigated. As a result, much of that acreage is affected by the pollutants and salinity that accompany irrigation. For example, approximately 94% of California's estuaries have been affected by agricultural practices, including irrigation.

THE PENDULUM SWINGS.

Public attitude is changing about what constitutes the best use of water. State, local, and federal officials say the tug-of-war is a reminder of the political complexity of water, an issue that historically pitted farmers and cities against conservationists, but in which farmers now stand largely alone. And farmers concede their power is eroding. Although some crops still thrive, watered by sprinklers with snowmelt from the mountains, thousands of acres that once produced crops have reverted to sagebrush and tumbleweed. As Californians have concentrated in cities, they have come to care more about urban issues. While urban interests once joined with farmers to build more dams, urban dwellers now usually align with conservationists.

Attitudes are also changing about the "right" to water-extravagant lifestyles in an arid climate. Northern Californians are increasingly resentful of what they see as water waste in Southern California, a land of swimming pools, golf courses, and car washes. Southern Californians answer that they live in an area of perpetual drought and have invested hundreds of millions of dollars over the years to ensure their water supplies; they deserve to use them as they see fit.

Reality of Drought

A drought occurs when the water supply is reduced to a level that cannot support existing demands. A recent California drought lasted more than seven years, the fiercest drought since the Dust Bowl in the 1930s, when California had only seven million people. Beginning in 1986, water supplies dwindled to a point where reservoir storage was only 54% of normal. Thirty-nine of the state's fifty-eight counties rationed water, and many asked the governor to proclaim a state of emergency. In 1990 the State Water Project was forced to reduce water deliveries to agricultural customers by 50%. The severity of the continuing drought was worsened by the steadily increasing demands created by industrial growth and a population increase of nearly 750,000 additional people per year.

In the San Joaquin Valley, an area the size of Connecticut, the earth dropped more than a foot, damaging roads and buildings. Water resource authorities suspended the agricultural deliveries of water. More than 2.1 million acres of crops such as grapevines and fruit trees failed due to insufficient water. Farmers who planted thirsty crops such as cotton, alfalfa, and rice were the hardest hit. Grocery shoppers in every part of the country paid higher prices for some fruits and vegetables since California is the nation's largest agricultural producer, growing more than 50% of the nation's fresh produce.

Throughout the drought, many cities and towns in California instituted severe penalties for excessive water use. Rationing, cutbacks, and conservation were required. The average mandatory reduction was 50%. The first steps by urban residents to save water were to buy low-flow showerheads, install ultralow-volume toilets, avoid washing cars, stop filling swimming pools (every fifteenth home in California has a swimming pool) and hot tubs, use dishwashers less frequently, and let lawns become brown. City dwellers were then forced to adopt more severe measures to save their meager allotments of water.

Water was categorized either as "clear" (direct from the tap), "gray" (recycled water from showers, bathtubs, sinks, and washing machines), or "black" (toilet waste-water). The "gray" water was reused to water vegetable gardens or plants. Some Californians switched to paper plates to avoid using dishwashers. Others never allowed the tap water to run while brushing their teeth or did not wait for hot water when taking showers. As water rationing became increasingly serious, code enforcers watched for violators and issued citations with fines.

The area's wildlife may require years to recover from the effects of the drought. The drought years also had a significant impact on trees. Insects, which can survive adverse conditions more easily than many other forms of life, killed enough trees to equal twelve billion board feet of lumber. Because of the dryness, fire officials continually battled forest fires. In 1990 wildfires forced the closing of Yosemite National Park for the first time in history. Many expensive homes burned to the ground as wildfires roared down the canyons. With water from rivers and reservoirs severely limited, helicopters were fitted with large buckets to allow them to scoop water from swimming pools, if necessary. These events could be repeated during any extended period without rainfall.