The War on Groundwater
Imagine if you could not buy fresh produce from your grocery store. Unfortunately, for some farmers, they are not able to grow as much produce because of the drought. For the drought in California, farmers don’t want regulations on water so they can continue to grow crops while earning money. On the other hand, citizens want regulations on groundwater so they can use it for daily chores also so it cannot be wasted by farmers. I believe the government should not control aquifers. "I have to look at buying less pickups, employing less people, buying less tractors..” (source 1). If the government cuts water access to farmers, crops will start to die making farmers plus other businesses suffer, such as companies that sell farm equipment. In addition, much of California is used for farm land and farms require farmhands so consequently, it will put a great number of people out of a job.
…show more content…
If crops become harder to farm due to less water access, they will start to become more expensive. Then people will start to not buy as much fresh produce. Consequently, stores will not buy as much produce from farmers if people are not purchasing enough. People not buying as much fresh produce will make farmers lose money faster as a result, farmers will raise prices. “The worst part has been going without a shower for five months.” (source2), “There are also the endless treks to the Laundromat for the family wash and the supermarket for drinking water, not to mention the horror of the nightly dishes.” (source 2). But, the citizens do have an excellent point. Everybody should have the right to take daily showers, flush the toilet, as well as do the dishes. Just imagine if you could not shower for several nights, or flush the toilet after using the bathroom, it would be awful. This is not what people should be compelled to do in order to preserve
The California water drought has been declared a crisis by the governor of California. 2013 was the driest year on record, and California could be running out of water. Californians should be water wise, and their use, or no use, of water will have an enormous impact on this drought. They can use the techniques published in a recent Time article called, 5 Ways to Bust California’s Drought, to reduce their water use. Landscape techniques, alternate water sources, and the personal conservation of water can reduce the use of water, and can have a positive change on this water crisis.
The Flint water crisis would be one of the most critical things today in michigan. It’s critical for young children not to get lead exposure they should be screened from the lead and lead levels in children's bodies as well. (National Center for Healthy Housing) The water needs to be treated with which it will increase the corrosiveness and potentially further erode any lead piping. (Duke) The People in Flint are a facing with not be able to drink water, and shower. All of these things that happened are critical factors of what is happening in the Flint water crisis today. (Reveal)
Farmers and ranchers who own water rights should have their water amount filled earlier in order to facilitate themselves with the proper amount of water. They should not be restricted to a smaller prearranged amount of water each year. Water us...
On the heart (center) of California is a flat area with miles and miles of farms and up to 230 different crops. The central valley agriculture is essential to the United States; it not only delivers almost half of the produce but also helps the economy by also giving more job opportunities (California Department of food and agriculture, 2014). Many families depend on the central valley agriculture to survive economically in the United States. It is a well-known fact that rain and snows in the Sierra Nevada Mountains are a very important element in the central valley. No rain in the central valley can cause many devastating issues to occur quickly. Recently in the year of 2013 California received less rainfall than years before. The small amount of water the central valley is receiving is harming not only to the land but humans and animals as well. It’s destroying the habitats of animals with forest fires caused from the dry spells occurring. The central valley is going through a drought, so much that around this time of year the central valley usually accumulates enough rain for the necessities in the valley, agriculture for example. This year, however, has been different, the central valley hasn’t received enough water and this has caused a drought in the valley. Water is an important element in this world for not only human life, but for the environment in general, a shortage of water supply can bring issues to the environment and those living in it. The central valley holds the largest percent of class one soil, not only that, the valley grows a third of all the produce being grown in the United States, that’s more than 230 crops that are being grown in the central valley. However, this drought isn’t only affecting the resident...
...es the Yosemite Falls and the sequoia trees. One of the state’s problems is the appetite for water. The once fertile Owens valley is now dry and its waters tapped by Los Angeles. In the Imperial Valley, the eradication of water is controlled by the All-American Canal which gets its water from the Colorado River. In Central Valley the poor distribution is the water problem that is an imbalance lessened by the vast Central Valley project. California had cutbacks in federally funded water in the 1970sand 80s which led to California cities buying water from areas that had a surplus of water. But California failed to make a long-term to plan and the federal government stopped the funding of water to the state in 2003. But with all this being said and done, California remains to be a unique state with a lot of entertainment, history, agriculture and a productive economy.
California is going through a water crisis. Some of the main problems that led to the water crisis
"This war was brought upon us by the children of the Great Father who came to take our land from us without price.". This is a quote said by Lakota Tribal chief, Spotted Tail. Regarding the treaty that agreed a promise between the White men and the Native Americans, stating that they would have the right to their land. Although, overtime this treaty was broken by the government. As of today, history repeats itself as the Native Americans fight for their land and water. Dakota Access Pipeline plans to build a new pipeline that will ship over 470,000 barrels of crude oil a day. Moreover, pipelines and the oil itself, are known to be dangerous to the environment are factors to Global Warming. Be that as it may, the US Army Corps approved this
For about five years California has experienced above average temperatures and a lack of rain. This lack of rain and snowfall has caused California to become increasingly dry, starting arguments over whose right to water is more important and who needs to be more mindful with their use of water. Farming in California truly began during the gold rush when water was redirected to land where food was grown for those looking for gold (Siegler, 2015). The farmers that have stayed on that land now have senior water rights (“Water wars”, 2015). Farmers that settled their land before 1914 are those with senior water rights (Terrell, 2015). Governor Jerry Brown has called for a cut in water use by one-quarter percent to people living
This would handicap low income residents and independent farmers when trying to pay their water bills. Larger farming monopolies such as Monsanto would be able to afford the higher price, and buy out other farming competition. In addition, larger monopolies do not have the incentive to switch over to water conserving irrigation techniques, leading them to rely on independent less regulated wells in addition to the water the state designates for them. Excessive groundwater pumping could further decrease the water table level, cause more ground level subsidence, saltwater intrusion, increase drought in neighboring areas, increases risk for sinkholes, and cause a deficiency of groundwater available to surrounding farms and communities. If it reached an extreme enough level, they could be investigated for an environmental justice infringement for damages to the environment as well as abusing the shared natural
When surface water levels are low, farmers have long turned to groundwater as an important, and seemingly limitless, resource to sustain their crops. However, the growing human population and the improvements in technology, which make groundwater pumping easier and more widespread, are raising major concerns for groundwater depletion. The ongoing drought has exacerbated the current situation to a critical level. Groundwater levels have dropped hundreds of feet over the past few years, and it may take hundreds of years for an aquifer to replenish. The groundwater crisis is a prime example of what Garrett Hardin talks about in his essay, The Tragedy of the Commons, which explains how overuse of a shared resource can have detrimental effects for
Every home today іѕ fitted wіth a lot оf underground pipes tо take clean water inside thе home аnd tо get thе sewage оut аnd mоѕt оf thе time people take good care оf thе pipes carrying clean water whіlе thе sewage pipes аrе mostly ignored. Ignoring thе sewage pipelines usually leads tо a lot оf problems since a clogged sewage pipes саn lead tо many undesirable consequences thаt саn lead tо many health issues. Thеѕе саn easily bе avoided іf thеу аrе properly inspected оn a timely basis аnd аll thе necessary precautions tо ensure thаt thе flow оf sewage оut оf thе homes ѕhоuld bе carried оut. Thе steps may nоt seem simple fоr a commoner since іt іѕ thе job fоr thе professionals whо аrе well experienced wіth handling аnу ѕuсh problems. Homes
The state’s common pool resource was and still continues to be water. This delicate resource in the American west is in danger of disappearing, and for the millions of people living in large cities are desperate to continue to use it. But the issue of common pool resources is not one that is recent but is one that has been plaguing California since its founding. When California’s population started to grow around the turn of the twentieth century, the town official within the state started to run into some common pool resource issues, water. Cities, such as San Francisco and Los Angeles, used whatever power they had to own and control what little water the California environment produced. The cities are large and successful municipalities today because of what they had to do to control the water all those years ago. The city used tactics, such as buying out the land, petitioning the government, and, sometimes, illegal actions, to win the waters of California and their success back then highly shows in their success
Water shortage affects the agricultural sector, so as a consequence the price of production increases. The water crisis affects the economy and health of the population, so people need to understand that water is a priority to life.
Wastewater is the combination of water-carried or liquid wastes starting in the sanitary conveniences of dwellings, industrial or commercial facilities. In addition to this, surface water, groundwater and storm water may also be present. It is any water that has been badly affected in quality by anthropogenic influence. It contains waste from residential, industrial and commercial processes. Municipal water contains industrial wastewater, sewage and gray water. Gray water is the water from sinks and showers. Large industries also produce wastewater.
Less than 1% of the water supply on earth can be used as drinking water.