US government planning dramatic Colorado River water cuts due to drought, overuse

[The Duke]

I didn't say there weren't any---hence virtual. When compared with the total acreage that is planted in grapes in CA, SoCal is not a major player. BTW, where in the Mojave desert are you talking about?

Rancho Las Palmas Drive

 

[Concerned American]

Rancho Las Palmas Drive

Town? Saying Rancho Las Palmas in CA is like using the surname Smith in the US.

 

[The Duke]

Town? Saying Rancho Las Palmas in CA is like using the surname Smith in the US.

No, I doubt there's more than one. It's south of L.A.
Ontario, too. It's the main drag and there's acres and acres of grapes on it.
It's a little east of L.A..

 

[Concerned American]

No, I doubt there's more than one. It's south of L.A.
Ontario, too.

That really can't be considered part of the Mojave desert.

 

[The Duke]

That really can't be considered part of the Mojave desert.
View attachment 1257346

Valid point. It's a different desert, huh?
Palm desert, maybe?

 

[Concerned American]

Valid point. It's a different desert, huh?
Palm desert, maybe?

Palm desert is on the southern edge---and there are some vineyards there but very minor players. Were you a Marine at Twenty-nine Stumps?

 

[The Duke]

Palm desert is on the southern edge---and there are some vineyards there but very minor players. Were you a Marine at Twenty-nine Stumps?

You mean 29 Palms? No. I can't say, cuz I gotta remain anonymous, sorry.
That's in the neighborhood.
It's definitely the middle-east-south of your pic of The Mojave.

 

[Concerned American]

You mean 29 Palms? No. I can't say, cuz I gotta remain anonymous, sorry.
That's in the neighborhood.
It's definitely the middle-east-south of your pic of The Mojave.

I spent time at Barstow and I'm familiar with the area. Sorry, I wasn't trying to pry--just curious.

 

[The Duke]

I spent time at Barstow and I'm familiar with the area. Sorry, I wasn't trying to pry--just curious.

It's cool.

 

[Mushroom]

"Los Angeles Aquaduct" runs fresh water straight into the sea, when that water could be captured and treated for people to drink.

Are you aware of how it even works? Most of it is run concurrent with already existing rivers.

What, you want to totally capture the river so no water reaches the sea?

 

[The Duke]

Are you aware of how it even works? Most of it is run concurrent with already existing rivers.

What, you want to totally capture the river so no water reaches the sea?

Well if you need fresh water, wouldn't that be a viable idea?

 

[Mushroom]

I've seen acres and acres of grapes in the Mojave when it was 115 degrees out, which is about 83 FL temp.
You tellin' me to disbelieve my eyes?
That was on..uhhh...Rancho Las Palmas Drive.

Oh, there absolutely are wineries in the Mojave. Been to more than a few of them myself, and not just in the Mojave Desert but in other California deserts.

But in one small area you have Antelope Valley Winery in Lancaster, the Hemmery Winery in Lancaster, and the Coruce Winery in Palmdale. That is three of them just in my old home of Palmdale-Lancaster. There must be over a dozen of them in and around Tehachapi. And there are well over a dozen that are mostly centered around Lompoc just outside of Palm Springs.

There are indeed a lot of wineries out in the desert, because hot dry weather makes for sweet wines. And that is one of the things that California is famous for.

 

[Mushroom]

Well if you need fresh water, wouldn't that be a viable idea?

Only if some moron wants to destroy the ecology of the area more than it has been.

 

[Concerned American]

But in one small area you have Antelope Valley Winery in Lancaster, the Hemmery Winery in Lancaster, and the Coruce Winery in Palmdale.

And between all of those wineries combined the annual production would be less than 20K cases. I'm talking about an industry that has ONE CA winery that produces 200K cases a DAY. Those three wineries are considered 'boutique' wineries and are not major players.

And there are well over a dozen that are mostly centered around Lompoc just outside of Palm Springs.

You didn't learn much geography when you were in the Lancaster/Palmdale area. Lompoc IS NOT anywhere near Palm Springs. Lompoc is near the coast in Santa Barbara county.

Are you aware of how it even works? Most of it is run concurrent with already existing rivers.

The LA aquaduct doesn't empty into the ocean and it doesn't deliver water from the LA watershed. That water is sent from the Owens Valley to LA across the Sierra Nevada to provide drinking water for LA.

The Los Angeles Aqueduct system, comprising the Los Angeles Aqueduct and the Second Los Angeles Aqueduct, is a water conveyance system, built and operated by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. The Owens Valley aqueduct was designed and built by the city's water department, at the time named The Bureau of Los Angeles Aqueduct, under the supervision of the department's Chief Engineer William Mulholland. The system delivers water from the Owens River in the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains to Los Angeles. The aqueduct's construction was controversial from the start, as water diversions to Los Angeles eliminated the Owens Valley as a viable farming community.

 

[Concerned American]

Only if some moron wants to destroy the ecology of the area more than it has been.

LOL, like Mulholland and the city of LA did to the Owens Valley in 1913? Angelenos DGAF about the environment.

 

[excalibur]

The lower basin doesn't get 10"/yr. The upper basin gets much more than that a while it is definitely a dry yr. up there--if there weren't so many people drawing on that finite source, the storage of Powell and Mead would carry it through. The shortage downstream is due to the increasing over-population in that watershed and others that are not in that watershed taking the water.

There is a drought. Period. You are conflating drought with usage.

 

[Concerned American]

There is a drought. Period. You are conflating drought with usage.

View attachment 1257388

Droughts come and go--I conceded that Colorado is currently in a drought which has exacerbated an existing problem. If there wasn't an overpopulation problem, Lakes Powell and Mead wouldn't be drained as low as they are and that water would alleviate the problems caused by this drought. As I said in an earlier post, Inland SoCal and AZ are in perpetual drought conditions and have been since before I lived there over 50 years ago. Since then the population has tripled and quadrupled or more in some cases. If you can't see that over-population is the root of the problem, you are not looking.

 

[Sunsettommy]

This was covered in detail in August 2022 showing that the inflow of the Colorado into Lake Mead has been steady for many years.

The problem is increasing water outflow.

==========

Archive for August, 2022​

Lake Mead Low Water Levels, Part 2: Colorado River Inflow Variations and Trend​

Friday, August 26th, 2022

Excerpt:

Key Points​

• Contrary to claims that drought is causing Lake Mead water levels to fall, the Colorado River natural flows into Lake Mead show no long-term trend since 1930.
• 
  
• Decadal time scale variations in river flow do occur, though, related to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO).
• 
  
• Since about 2000, use of Lake Mead water has exceeded river inflow, causing water levels to drop. The negative phase of the PDO since that time has exacerbated the problem.

 

[Sunsettommy]

After I post this devastating debunking of the drought effects of the primary river supply of the reservoirs, the thread goes silent.

 

[SaxonJackson]

US government planning dramatic Colorado River water cuts due to drought, overuse​

Let's fix this headline: The Trump Administration Plans To Reroute Water From The Colorado River Towards A Massive Data Center.

Not saying this is a fact but it certainly wouldn't surprise me.