INSTRUCTIONS:
1. In your opinion, which are the two most significant eras/events/projects in the history of California's use and management of it's inland water resources? Why is this your position? Please be sure to choose eras/events/projects that you can easily provide your analysis of why it was significant (and ideally what the long-term impact has been) for 1 1/2 pages each (this is a 3-page assignment).
*Please note that Module 4 is a10-daymodule and the response paper is a minimum3 pages. This is due to the larger volume of material and the fact that your score on Module 4 will also be counted as your score for the module on the California state government which we will skip at this stage and include in a later Assignment/Module.
REQUIREMENTS
*Typed, double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 point font, 1" margins
*Only your nameat the top of page 1
*Minimum length: 3 pages
*DUE: Sunday, November 1 (by midnight)
*Assignments must be submitted via Brightspace
*Excellence in grammar, sentence structure, etc. is expected as always
Hydrology of California California Water Resources A brief history of water use and inland waterways 1 80% goes to Agriculture Water Use in California 2 Pound of food Gallons of water used Tomatoes100 gallons Bread100 gallons Milk900 gallons Beef 2,500 gallons Average use of water: 1,000 gallons per 1 lb. of food 3 California Water Budget An average of 200 million acre-feet falls each year as precipitation 1 acre-foot is 326,000 gallons 4 Precipitation does not fall everywhere equally in SPACE or in TIME 5 2/3 of all precipitation falls in the just 1/3 of CA 75 rain days on North Coast 40 rain days on South Coast 6 7 80% of precipitation falls between November and March 8 Year-to-Year variations as well 9 Where does most California precipitation come from? Pacific Ocean 10 What can happen to precipitation once it falls? 11 Evaporation Infiltration Storage as Snowpack Accumulation behind Barriers 12 Water input = storage + output 3/4 is lost each year to Evapo-transpiration 13 Water Input = Storage + Output 3/4 is lost to evapotranspiration 1/4 left 1/3 of that 1/4 is used by humans 1/2 of that 1/3 is lost to evaporation: Transport Irrigation The other 1/2 flows out unobstructed 14 Bottom Line: Californians capture 20% of water sources BUT…. About 1/2 of that is later lost to evaporation 15 “Run-off”: saturated ground or impermeable surface 16 Spring snowmelt adds to run-off 17 By late winter, ground is already saturated, cannot absorb more 18 WATER DEFICIT When total evaporation exceeds precipitation 19 Comparative River Run-off North Coast rivers40% Sacramento River system31% San Joaquin River system 9% Various other sources 20% San Joaquin & Sacramento Rivers meet in Delta floodplains 700 miles of interconnected waterways History of Water Use in California 1. Native American 22 CA Indians lived near water sources 23 Water was essential for drinking, fishing, food preparation 24 Hupa Fish Weir, Trinity River 25 Native population was proportional to food and water resources This is called Carrying Capacity 26 Population was around 300,000 at time of Spanish contact Probably more, earlier 27 Clustered villages along water courses 28 CA Indians Manipulated but did not “develop” water resources 29 More intensive water diversion was practiced in Owens River Valley 30 Paiutes dammed Bishop Creek, built irrigation ditches 31 Irrigated production of local plants 32 Colorado River Quechon tribe were agriculturalists, grew maize 33 California Water History 2. Spanish Era 34 Different Philosophical Values Nature as Divine gift Land and animals to be subdued Water for human benefit 35 Spanish settlements were located near water sources and native populations 36 The Spanish sought out water, good soil, Indian labor 37 San Diego, first Mission, near San Diego River 38 Riparian environments 39 With Indian labor, the Spanish built a dam and 6-mile aqueduct 40 41 First pueblo of San Jose, along Guadalupe River 42 Guadalupe River in San Jose today Channelized for flood control by the time it reaches downtown San Jose Los Angeles pueblo, on a low terrace of the Los Angeles River 46 Construction of water retention and delivery systems 47 21 Missions, all near reliable water sources 48 All the water in California was owned by the King of Spain 49 Power delegation from the King in Spain as follows: New World Viceroy Governor of CA (here, Felipe de Neve) Presidio Commander Town Council 50 The Town Council elected a Zanjero to supervise water rights Zanjero: Overseer of the mother ditch 51 A modern-day zanjero uses a metal jack to open a gate that controls the release of water into ditches for crops in the Imperial Valley. California Water History 3. Mexican Era 53 Continuation of basic Spanish values Expansion of irrigation projects 54 New sources of water competition 800 Ranchos Former Mission lands 55 56 The Ranchos raised cattle and grew some crops – both needed water 57 California Water History 4. Anglo Settlers 58 New Values Affecting Water Use Replacement of “common good” with individual rights, minimal government “FIRST COME – FIRST SERVED” 59 Individualistic Economic Values Shunned central authority Pushed for individual freedom Opposed controls on private enterprise Diverse groups fought over distribution: farmers, ranchers, miners, developers 61 GOLD RUSH impact on California Water 62 Water was necessary for panning, sluicing, and then hydraulic mining 63 High-pressure hoses blasted water 1/4 mile into slopes 64 69,000 gallons of water for $1 of gold 65 Scarred Hillside, Malakoff Diggings 66 No outside supervision – just men banding together 67 Hillsides were washed into a series of tunnels 68 Yuba Gold Field, Hydraulic Mining Result 69 Downstream disaster: public outcry over sediment-debris dams 70 71 Increasing pressure from agricultural-commercial sector 72 1884 – U.S. Federal Circuit rules: “No more” End of the Hydraulic Mining Era, but recovery took decades Dredging ongoing in some places 73 Beginnings of Centralized Water Control 1900 to the present 74 Types of Water Projects LOCAL Organized by cities (SF & LA) FEDERAL United States Government STATE Controlled by the State of California 75 Local Projects 76 Water for San Francisco No water: it had to be shipped in by barge High rates, private companies 6 fires in mid-1850s, insufficient water Urban needs: 350,000 people by 1900 $100 million for Hetch Hetchy project 77 1776 San Francisco, located for strategic position on the Golden Gate 78 Poor soils and lack of water (unlike other Spanish settlements) 79 The Gold Rush made SF a world famous city 80 But water still had to be shipped in by barge 81 Water was sold by the bucket (1880 here) 82 1902 population of 350,000 needed a reliable water supply 83 30 years of debate $100 million to dam the Tuolumne River 84 Dams on the Tuolumne River and its tributaries (still debated) 85 Opposition led by John Muir in a popular nationwide campaign 86 Controversial dam flooded Hetch Hetchy Valley 87 88 Congress and President Wilson approved the project by 1913 89 Construction of O’Shaugnessy Dam, day and night until completion 90 Hetch Hetchy Valley today 91 Sierra waters for San Francisco 92 Protestors draw a fake crack 93 Hydroelectric power system was added to help pay for the project 94 Hydroelectric power: energy of water falling from one level to another, either naturally or by release from a dam 95 This turns on the lights 96 Complex plumbing and power system: Pipelines, dams, reservoirs, power stations 97 20-mile tunnel through the Coast Ranges, longest ever built 98 Water storage in a crack along the San Andreas fault Crystal Springs Reservoir 99 ← 100 Crystal Springs Reservoir, with typical Bay Area advection fog 101 San Francisco ended up with enough water to sell to other cities 102 Water as an economic resource San Francisco sells more than half its water supplies to others By 1980, $14 million/year in water sales Generates $20 million/year in electricity 103 Tuolumne River for San Francisco Mokelumne River for the East Bay 104 East Bay diverts just as much Sierra water from the Mokelumne River 105 ALL of California’s natural rivers have been harnessed for: Irrigation Hydroelectric Water storage Flood control 106 From Owens River & Mono Lake Water for Los Angeles 107 Early Los Angeles followed Spanish and Mexican water traditions 108 Community water systems, permits issued, taxes and fees to support system 109 4,500 irrigated acres by 1870s, LA River, San Gabriel River and springs 110 Upstream San Gabriel R., Angeles Nat’l Forest Two centuries ago, L.A. was a wetter place. Rivers flowed across the landscape, with ponds and marshes Today the rivers are Channelized San Gabriel River in Long Beach San Gabriel River meets the Ocean at Seal Beach By 1880s, commerce began to overshadow agriculture in Los Angeles 117 Los Angeles River canals were inadequate for growing L.A. 118 Water Problems for Los Angeles Population grew 5x from 1900-1920 Farmlands became residential suburbs L.A. began a geographic expansion to gain control of more water 119 1904: “Los Angeles will soon run out of water” 120 1905, $1.5 million bond Survey and planning to bring water from Owens Valley 121 Right-of-way approved by U.S. Congress “Needs of L.A. are greater than Owens Valley” 122 123 124 1907, $23 million bond to build the aqueduct 125 Hauling pipes by mule team 126 1913 aqueduct opened, sent water 233 miles by gravity flow 128 Opening of Aqueduct, San Fernando Valley: “There it is. Take it.” (Mulholland) 129 Los Angeles Aqueduct L.A. gets 2/3 of its water from this source 130 Aqueduct through the Mohave Desert L.A. compared to S.F. water project L.A. project was 6x larger L.A. took 1/5 the time, 1/4 the cost L.A. quickly outgrew its source S.F. still has a surplus 132 By 1920s, L.A. began buying more land to control upstream water 133 11-mile tunnel added Lee Vining Creek, depriving Mono Lake of its water source 134 135 Mono Lake Tufas Formed underwater and were exposed when lake level fell 136 Mono Lake is 700,000 years old 1994 law to protect it Will take decades for the water to rise again 137 Los Angeles remains the main land owner in Inyo County 138 Combination of State, Federal, and Local Projects Federal Central Valley Project Built 1937-1944 Ongoing adjustments WHY was it built? 140 Late 1800s, dry wheat farming techniques used far less water 141 Likewise, cattle grazing was not water-intensive 142 After series of drought years, many wheat ranches subdivided and sold for $25/acre 143 Subdivision of large wheat farms into smaller agricultural parcels 144 Water-intensive crops and orchards replaced grazing and dry wheat farming 145 146 Fresno Canal and Irrigation Company planned and built towns as the land was divided into smaller plots 147 Groundwater levels plummeted due to overdrafting 148 Aquifer depletion resulted in subsidence 149 Groundwater Supplies 40% of CA’s water Cost: cheaper in short-term Requires cooperation in use Problems: Overdrafting Pollution Subsidence Saltwater intrusion 150 BAY-DELTA farmers also needed help Severe tides and floods, farmers often waited months for it to drain 151 Delta Island Agriculture (former wetlands) subsided below sea level 152 Salt water intrusion from SF Bay was a constant threat 153 450,000 acres of unconnected, unorganized levees 154 There was no central control 155 Central Valley farmers needed reliable water supply and control Small farms could not afford wells and pumps Large farms worried about overdrafting of groundwater U.S. Government stepped in Central Valley Project began in 1937 156 157 Based on Federal Reclamation Act (from 1902) To build new water projects To help homesteaders bring 160 acres or less under irrigation 158 Federal Central Valley Project Irrigation Flood Control Land Reclamation Drainage Navigation Power Generation 159 Begins with the Shasta Dam On the Sacramento River 160 Hydroelectric Power 161 162 Tehama-Colusa Canal irrigates west side of Sacramento Valley 163 164 Water then flows south through the Delta-Mendota Canal to the San Joaquin Valley 165 Delta-Mendota Canal 166 Canal Regulation On its way south to join the Friant-Kern Canal (Hwy 5