The Reality of the Drought Part I of a VI part series

From: Lance-Delta Reserch Report
Date: 28 May 2002
Time: 09:29:43
Remote Name: 66.82.48.1

Comments

Regarding the drought and the developments and challenges ahead. Santa Fe NM as we previously stated is in a world of hurt and they are seriously figuring they will actually run out of water this year sometime. I doubt it, we are in El Nino coming up and the rainy season next year will fill it all up again. Over course we are talking Level three water restrictions and four by Sept. Oct. In other words Car Wash Guys maybe delivering water instead of washing cars. We had previously talked to a scientist from Los Alamos earlier this year a few months ago, who had pre warned us exactly how bad it is there. I wonder if that is why the Canyon DeShea Indians left the area? No water, could this be cyclical over 1000 years ago? --------------- Residents and businesses in Las Vegas, NM also, were asked last month to tighten their water taps even further. City officials declared Stage 2 restrictions -- comparable, Las Vegas NM water utility director said, to Santa Fe's Stage 3 drought restrictions -- to keep Las Vegas' water storage supply healthy during the coming, even more dry months. The city's water storage is at 85 percent of capacity. Evaporation could cut into that amount without more rainfall. They already saw the best of the spring runoff and some of the numbers are the same or lower than the drought of 2000, which sucked. Although they have been able to capitalize a little bit on our storage, I guess no one told them to put a giant pool cover over the water supply like they do on Strawberry fields in CA to prevent moisture from escaping. You know the scientists should know this about agriculture methods. The Stage 2 restrictions clamp down on outside water use, including a limit for residents and businesses to water only once a week before between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. or between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. Those with even-numbered addresses may water on Monday; those with odd-numbered addresses may water on Tuesdays. This means do not wash your car either or get a fine from the water police and don’t think they will not do it either. There will be no car washing at home, and commercial car washes have been restricted to operating only on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Yes there are other restrictions such as; No private pools, spas or hot tubs can be filled with city-provided water; the indoor pools operated by the city and New Mexico Highlands University are exempt for now until level three. Water can be served only at the request of the customer at restaurants, big deal more awareness than anything. Ornamental fountains without re-circulating systems must be turned off; re-circulating fountains must be turned off during windy days., good idea I guess, there are quite a few water features in the town of Santa Fe for tourists. One car wash owner we talked to in Las Vegas, NM, said his self-serve car wash business is likely to suffer a loss of 50 percent in business because of the water use restrictions. The water flow is down, and there's nothing in the Gallinas River, it is basically nearly totally dry now. We looked at the river and you could not navagate any more that an inner tube down it, possibly a row boat if you did not mind getting stuck and getting out in knee deep water to push it over the sand bars and rocks once ever 200 yards or so. We see where the needs are for more than washing cars, however we can import the water and wash cars with it and not be restricted, we may do this and you can have anything washed by us http://www.ewashguy.com The commercial car wash in Las Vegas, NM called Water Works, which also has a location in Colorado Springs Downtown will also suffer even though it claims it reclaims about 90 percent of the water it uses. These restrictions implemented thus far under level two drought restrictions hope to conserve 500,000 to 800,000 gallons a day from the city's average daily use of 2.3 million gallons. Which is nearly equal to the total flow of the Gallinas River, which had a flow of 2.7 million gallons. The city next door is also battling for their share, and the water wars have begun with the Acequia Water Association. restrictions seriously. Neighbors call in reports about other neighbors, who get wash their cars in the drive way or run the lawn sprinklers. Comparing Las Vegas' Stage 2 restrictions with Santa Fe's Stage 3 level Las Vegas has it bad but Santa Fe is up Shit’s creek with no need for a paddle. Las Vegas' restrictions are tougher with fines, eventhough Santa Fe’s are more serious. Las Vegas city warns violators once, then fine them $125 for the second violation. Wah your car can cost you $125.00 if you do it yourself or $10.00 if the WashGuys do it. If you get a third violation the city turns off the user's taps. Ouch. http://www.water.com Http://www.conservewater.com Santa Fe fines begin at $20 for the first violation and could escalate to $200 beyond the fourth violation. Santa Fe's restrictions merely state: "Water service may be suspended for repeat violators." Las Vegas, NM' year-round rules of water conservation also have helped the population there brace for the worst and the worst is coming before it gets any better. Today an interesting article on MSN.com http://weather.nmsu.edu/drought/MUNGP2.htm ----- http://www.seo.state.nm.us/water-info/conservation/calendar.html -------- http://www.seo.state.nm.us/water-info/conservation/h2o-hottop15.html ------ Well I can tell you that we are challenged more than you think. Droughts are serious in many regions of the United States: Statewide water use restrictions went into effect last month in Georgia. Wheat farmers in Nebraska are predicting drastically reduced yields, and wildfires have scorched thousands of dry acres in Florida, California, Colorado and New Mexico. Farmers are currently suffering the worst drought conditions in GA’s states history, they will probably ask for damage assessment reports by county to get federal disaster aid. Is it that bad? Yes it is and it will get worse, unless they get a few hurricane type, tropical depressions moving through the state. The state has already imposed restrictions in the 15-county Atlanta metropolitan area that limit the days and hours when residents can water lawns or wash cars. Similar measures go into effect across the state next week. Again we are The Car Wash Guys and we are fully fucking into this and we will be on top of this issue and we will win it. South Shore in northeastern Kentucky have also been asked to cut back on lawn sprinklers and car washes. In Kentucky, 34 water Districts and Municipal water companies have water conservation measures already in place. Last month Kentucky's bluegrass region slipped into the severe drought category on the Palmer Drought Index, which is released weekly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. http://www.noaa.gov/ ----------- They are watching this closely http://www.strategic.noaa.gov/ ------- The central and eastern regions of Kentucky are not far behind. They will soon also be on the list. I predict a lot of systems are going to have to go on water conservation. A lot of people are going to have to stop washing cars and watering their lawns and that kind of thing in Kentucky. -------------------------- Farmers fear for crops, here is why we have given the aid we did. The water restrictions in Georgia are causing concern among peanut farmers that state officials will also limit their use of irrigation systems, just as their crops reach a stage where having adequate water is critical. Of course Jimmy Carter a peanut farmer has some clout too you know. Peanuts which are very important need moisture desperately, especially those (crops) that were planted early----------- In Nebraska, temperatures topping 100 degrees combined with gusty winds and little or no rain have taken a heavy toll on the wheat crop. And if you look a todays weather they are getting pummeled by thunderstorms. As a result, some farmers started two weeks early on their winter wheat harvests, which are predicted to yield only about half what they did last year. The summer wheat if not planet in time will be washed away in some areas. This might be the worst yield in 50 years. Iowa, average precipitation so far this year is only about half what it was this time last year, corn in southern and western Iowa is going to be an issue in plastics, food, and ethanol, in Texas, not even recent heavy rains that caused flooding in some parts of the state were enough to end its drought. The rain will help establish crops during the planting season, but there's not enough moisture to sustain them for long, if it were not for this weeks weather they would have had a near disaster on their hands. We have to thank the rain makers and scientists for their due diligence and techonolgy. Too bad about the Arkansas barge that could not see in the bad weather collapsing the bridge, we are really going to have to work on this cloud making experiment a little. Many Rivers and reservoirs run shallow, for instance in mountain states such as Montana are also feeling the pinch, we have a former employee there who is the premiere fly fishing instructor of the Yellow Stone Park area. The river are slow due to the light snowfall over the winter. Montana's snow pack is now all but gone from the mountains and the state needs above-normal rainfall to avoid drought. The forecast holds little promise of improvement. Southwest and central Montana face severe drought while south-central, north-central and southeast areas can expect moderate drought. The northwest is the only area of Montana not in a drought. The biggest fear is going to be summer fires. Streamflows measured by the U.S. Geological Survey http://water.usgs.gov/waterwatch/ ---- http://mn.water.usgs.gov/wrd/stream.html ------ at eight key locations indicate the rivers carried only 79 percent of the normal water in May. Nine federal reservoirs in Montana hold only about 90 percent of the normal water for this time of year and only one is expected to fill this year. State-owned reservoirs on June 1 held only 88 percent of the water typical for that date. This is not as bad as it sounds however this is two month old data and levels which get no rain only go down as the melting snow was so light that most just soaked into the ground with little runoff. Not good. The state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation said the dry conditions are a bad sign for wildfires. http://water.montana.edu/default.asp ----- http://www.dnrc.state.mt.us/ --------------------- http://www.stateforesters.org/SFlinks.html ------- Right now, they are all forecasting a real active fire season, Many other states -- including Florida, Colorado and New Mexico -- have already experienced active fire seasons this year because of the dry conditions. Colorado last week battled two wildfires that have burned thousands of acres and forced the evacuation of about 1,000 people from their homes. http://www.cnn.com/2000/US/06/13/wildfires.01/index.html -------- http://www.cnn.com/2000/US/06/12/wildfires.01/ ----- Florida worst droughts in that state's history has lasted for four years, the region has seen below-normal rainfall levels, and 2000 ranked as Florida's driest year on record. The conditions have continued into 2001, and state emergency officials are worried about Florida's diminishing water supply. The rainy season does not begin for another still has not done enough. The population of Florida has more than tripled in the last 40 years. The record-high number of people is straining the record-low water supply, prompting widespread water restrictions over the last several months. Lawn watering and car washing are limited to one or two days a week in many counties, and even on those days, residents are permitted to water only during certain hours — generally nearly all of the state is affected by the drought, with central Florida experiencing the driest conditions. Storms that passed through the state last month have provided some short-term relief, but experts say that much more rainfall is needed. Part of the problem, ironically, is that flood-protection systems are designed to funnel rainwater into the Atlantic Ocean during a storm. This effective network of canals diverted about 2.6 billion gallons of rain into the ocean after a massive rainstorm hit the state on March 19, instead of allowing it to seep into the parched earth. Too many people living on a sand bar, it is just stupid and what will Janet Reno do to fix it? Nothing, maybe here abortion views may mean less people, but liberal programs cause more babies, oh hell it is a toos up, it doesn’t matter anyway. Florida is in deep do do and they know and now you know it. God help Mickey Mouse at Disney World. In a typical year, Florida's worst natural disasters are hurricanes, and most of the permanent disaster-preparedness tools in place are geared toward dealing with excess water not no water. State and federal emergency management officials are trying to revamp the agency that handles this; http://www.disasterrelief.org/Disasters/010323floridadrought/ , Florida. Gov. Jeb Bush, met in Tallahassee on March 23 to work on a plan of action — response to the drought and set up the "Florida Drought Emergency Partnership" and guess what? They are already talking about worse case scenarios and whether or not they will need help from the federal government. And if so how much help. But before you bad mouth Florida, if this were a Hurricane type situation they definitely have their shit together, this is the opposite and very unexpected. Officials are considering a plan to bring in water desalination plants to supply drinking water. These portable systems, purchased through outside vendors, would be capable of turning the salt water that surrounds the state into drinkable water. And what about water to fight fires? There were over 1700 fires as of March 1, 2002 already in the year and the biggies have not hit yet, evry year they get their share. Farmers in FL are also hampered by the 4 yr. drought. The Florida Agricultural Statistics Service, http://www.nass.usda.gov/fl/ has more date for you if your are interested. the drought has cost the state's farmers and ranchers some $574 million in losses over the last four years including the raches owned by the Mormon Church in central FL, and they are highly politically connected. Last year, the federal government declared 23 counties to be agricultural disaster areas, can Fl get into the mix this year? Well they seem to have been able to get a bit of help with subsidies, but that ain’t going to be nearly enough. The lack of rain has been hardest on field crops, including corn, cotton, peanuts, soybeans and hay. Timber growers report that 20 percent of newly planted pine trees are failing to take root because of the drought. Cattle farmers are dealing with poor pasture conditions, and the condition of cattle statewide is "poor to fair," the Agricultural Statistics Service web site says. Water levels in the Everglades are two feet below normal, hurting the many wildlife species that typically flourish in the swampy area. With fish and minnows dying, adult alligators will soon be forced to eat baby gators.. Apple snails, a primary food source for the endangered snail kite, are also dying off. You basic eco nightmare and food chain depletion. More info, Lance does not know what the hell he is talking about , sure here is the data for you; http://www.nps.gov/ever/eco/ever101.htm --------------- http://www.responsibletravel.com/Copy/Copy100447.htm --------- http://www.co.palm-beach.fl.us/coopext/FLlifestyle.htm ------- http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/travel/1338537 -------- Officials are considering a plan to bring in water desalination plants to supply drinking water. These portable systems, purchased through outside vendors, would be capable of turning the salt water that surrounds the state into drinkable water. The best possible worlds would be each county with their own RSD Plant, however Tampa has completed their project even after nearly bankrupting the NJ Based entrepreneur who won the contract due to Sierra Club Law Suits, such BS, read the Business Side of Government by Smoot. http://www.tampabaywater.org/WEB/Htm/News/news-item28.htm ------ http://www.nrm.qld.gov.au/water/water-recycling/archives/msg05163.html ------ http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/about/guide/desal.html ------------ http://216.239.39.100/search?q=cache:NkuysotnfdQC:www.lib.berkeley.edu/WRCA/news82.pdf+desalination+plant+project+Tampa+FL+Business+Journal&hl=en&ie=UTF8 --------------------------------- So you think the drought is a minor problem? Not so, check out Maryland, they are in a bad situation too; www.gov.state.md.us Here is what they had to say: Copied from the web site and article in the Maryland Newspaper:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GOVERNOR GLENDENING ENACTS MANDATORY STATEWIDE WATER USAGE RESTRICTIONS TO ADDRESS DROUGHT ------ Measures to Take Effect Immediately and Include Ban on Open Burning------ ANNAPOLIS, MD (August 4, 1999) Seeking to conserve dwindling water supplies resulting from Maryland's worst drought since the 1930s, Governor Parris N. Glendening today placed mandatory restrictions on water usage throughout the State. After studying the recommendations of his Drought Emergency Coordinating Committee, Governor Glendening released an Executive Order which requires all Marylanders to limit their water use. The mandatory restrictions replace voluntary measures which the Governor had implemented last week, and take effect on a statewide basis immediately. "This drought has devastated Maryland's water supply, drying up rivers, streams, and reservoirs," said Governor Glendening. "We must act responsibly now to contain this problem before it gets out of hand. These restrictions are simple, common sense, mandatory steps that everyone must take to help us conserve water. If each person does his or her part, we can work through this problem." The full set of water restrictions, as well as restrictions on outside burning, are attached to this release. "The more responsible we are today, the easier it will be for everyone in the coming weeks," said Lt. Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend. "We are calling upon Maryland's great tradition of shared sacrifice in times of trouble and asking our citizens to go beyond the restrictions to conserve water any way they can." -------- Last week, the Governor declared the first statewide drought emergency in Maryland's history. At the time, the Governor enacted voluntary restrictions, and appointed a Drought Emergency Coordinating Committee, chaired by Environmental Secretary Jane Nishida, to study the drought and make recommendations to him about implementing mandatory water conservation measures. ---- The Committee released its report on Tuesday, concluding that drought conditions were so dire that the Governor ought to enact mandatory measures immediately. After studying the report, the Governor released his Executive Order, which implemented the Committee's recommendations. --- "Moving from voluntary to mandatory restrictions was not an arbitrary decision," Governor Glendening said. "After reviewing the Committee's report, I have determined that this drought is so severe that we cannot solve this problem by voluntary restrictions alone." ----- The Governor's Executive Order requires that every Marylander conserve water by eliminating nearly all outdoor water use. The measures apply to all individuals, businesses, and governments in every jurisdiction. In addition, the measures apply to all citizens regardless of whether they use public water systems or wells. ------- The Executive Order authorizes local law enforcement authorities to penalize people who violate the restrictions. Penalties can range from a warning for the first offense to a maximum of a $1,000 fine. ------- "These are tough restrictions, but we will be reasonable and fair," the Governor said. "The Executive Order gives local authorities the discretion to grant exceptions for extreme hardship cases. And, we have set aside $250,000 in grants to help seniors and those with lower-incomes save water by buying water-conserving shower heads and repairing leaky faucets." ------ The Governor also announced that the State will provide comprehensive information on what people may or may not do to conserve water. For information regarding the drought, Marylanders can call the Department of Environment's toll-free hotline at 1-877-4- DROUGHT (1-877-437-6844), or check the Governor's web page at www.gov.state.md.us and click on drought information. --------- This concludes my research for today Part I, 458 pages left to review and will have time tonight.

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