State drought is still top climate issue

The donning of umbrellas this weekend might seem incongruous with reports that California is in a crippling and historic drought. But make no mistake, despite recent rainfall, the state is enduring dangerously dry conditions that some geologists believe have not been reached in almost 500 years. As the mega-drought persists through its fourth year, the lack of water is having deleterious effects not only on endemic ecosystems that rely on yearly rainfall but also on the state’s economy.

Agriculture in particular — a major engine of California’s prosperity, producing nearly 25 percent of the nation’s crops — has taken a major blow. A report out of University of California, Davis estimates a loss of 17,100 jobs, $810 million in crop revenue, and more than $2 billion in total economic costs. Despite California Gov. Jerry Brown’s declaration of a state of emergency last January, government efforts to diminish state water use have been futile. Individual Californians must assume personal responsibility and adapt their habits to accommodate the current water situation. It is also imperative that the state and local governments work to rethink aging, inefficient infrastructures in places like Los Angeles and Riverside in order to safeguard California against future or continued drought.

One need not look much further than downtown Los Angeles to realize that daily behaviors and practices do not yet reflect the reality of the state’s worst drought on record. Green lawns are abundant, fountains run unfettered and residents fill their pools and wash their cars in their driveways. Over the summer, despite Brown’s call for a 20 percent reduction in water use, state officials found that use actually increased statewide.

New rules implemented by the state Water Resources Control Board in August impose a $500 fine on water wasters. Implementation, however, has been difficult. In Los Angeles, for example, the Department of Water and Power employs just four water-wasting inspectors to monitor the water-use activities of more than 4 million people. And their jurisdiction is limited to what can be visibly observed taking place outside of peoples homes, such as the over-watering of lawns. Few fines have been issued.

The policing of water use will not be the end of the water problem. Residents must assume personal responsibility in the form of self-restraint: briefer showers, less frequent use of dishwashers and washing machines, and the installation of drought-resistant landscapes.

To match individual efforts, city planners must streamline urban water systems, allowing for the collection of roof and street runoff for use in irrigation. Currently, most rainfall — what little we’ve had — runs off of paved surfaces, channeled through concrete aqueducts, and sent spilling out into the ocean. Prominent figures in engineering and urban design are now calling on developers to “build cities like sponges.” Such cities would be equipped with permeable driveways that allow for the replenishment of the aquifer. Roofs would be shaped like bowls, catching and diverting as much rain as possible, and plumbing would be streamlined in such a way that only non-potable water flowed through toilets, conserving the oh-so-valuable water we rely on for drinking.

Such modifications in behavior and technology must come to fruition if California is going to weather the harsh drought. According to a study from the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences, despite the current El Niño warm ocean period, the drought is expected to continue through 2015, endangering major economic sectors and the communities that rely on them.

Our necessary response ultimately comes down to basic arithmetic. By NASA’s estimates, it will take around 11 trillion gallons of rainwater, or 17 million Olympic-sized swimming pools, before recovery can take place. We can’t control rainfall, and today’s reservoir levels are worrisomely low. But we can control how we use the water that is currently available to us.

Austin Reagan is a junior majoring in environmental studies and political science. His column, “The Scientific Method,” runs Mondays.