Not everything begins anew in 2008.
After 2007’s dry year, Bakersfield is predisposed to a dry 2008 and effects residents and agriculture.
“We are in a drought,” said geology professor John Menzies, “and have been for some time.”
According to an article on the Office of the Governor web site, “Since January (2007), the U.S. Agriculture Department has declared drought disasters in 17 California counties.”
In June 2007, Kern County was effected when the San Joaquin Delta pump shutdown. Kern County was in a state of emergency.
San Diego, Kings, Tulare, Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Tuolumne, Santa Cruz and San Francisco were also affected.
According to the site, 25 million people in California, 60 percent of Southern California, get their water from the San Joaquin Delta. The Colorado River Basin also supplies a lot of water to California, but it remains in its eighth year of a drought.
“The impacts of drought are great because people use water for all kinds of things,” said Menzies. “The most obvious impact for agriculture is that plants and crops need water to survive and grow. Without it, they wilt, reducing productivity.”
The last major drought in California (1987-1992) cost farmers $800 million, $460 million lost in the landscape and gardening industry and 5,600 jobs lost, claimed the site.
According to the Department of Water Resources web site, California depends on storms that drift from the Pacific Ocean to receive precipitation.
However, the high pressure system, which usually hangs above the valley, determines the trail of the storms.
“There is typically high pressure in this area,” said Menzies, “which keeps air from rising and clouds from forming.”
Another reason for Bakersfield’s dry seasons, according to Menzies, is the coastal range of mountains that block storms from lingering over the valley.
Though Bakersfield recently received much precipitation, it was not enough to have an impact.
The rains were only “the recent state of the atmosphere and not the norm,” said Menzies.
There are different types of drought mitigation techniques being studied such as seawater desalting and weather modification, but neither technique is viable right now.
According to the Department, desalting has high energy costs that most water agencies cannot afford and weather modification requires more cloud masses to seed, which California lacks.
However, Gov. Schwarzenegger is planning to create more surface and groundwater storage areas to catch more water from storms, delta sustainability to protect the ecosystem and restoration and conservation that will support restoration of rivers and provide water grants to communities.