Re: [GBlist] A note on why to conserve water...

[Sacie Lambertson <dlambert@grasshoppernet.com>]

The article Bion posted regarding the future water problems in the West
prompts me to write about  where we are living temporarily, ie  Claremont
California east of LA,  an area very much the subject of the article.  So.
Cal is really an amazing place, far nicer than our hereto brief visits
indicated.  Aside from #s of people and freeways of bumper to bumper 75
mph traffic, the first thing I noticed is the lushness of the place.  
This is pretty astounding because without water, everything west and south
of the San Gabriel Mt range (which defines the LA basin) is as much desert
as the other side, where the Mojave Desert is. The Central Valley to our
north, where much of our food in the US is grown, without irrigation,
would also look like a desert.  The illusion of verdancy here is pointedly
obvious when you see an empty lot of dry stone on parched earth next to a
bright green yard . I think the average annual rain fall is about 8 inches
and if it comes down hard, much of what falls will simply run to the ocean
via concrete creeks and rivers.  For the first time in ten months it did
rain last week, fortunately a nice gentle rain.  Everyone waters, usually
through an underground irrigation system and sprinklers, often during the
heat of the day; even the precious little xeriscaping one sees requires
some water to keep plants alive.  The water bills are high, but then all
here is costly.   What  is spent to keep grass green here is no different
than any other part of the country where there also is no penalty for
using large amounts of water.  The water that feeds the LA basin  and most
of Southern. Cal. comes from an impressive  system of resevoirs and vast
miles of pipes, sourced primarily in the Sierras and the San Gabriels,
this to my mind being better/more natural than water sucked out of
aquafers, as in Colorado and Kansas   Even after the recent dry winters
with little snowfall, there is no policy limiting water use.  I haven't
talked to any neighbors who consider the potential scarcity of water.  I
rather suspect everyone considers the use of it their god-given right.
This is really an amazing place.  The farmers have another story.











 For the farmers it is another story.



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