Student Post: Ermias reports on the current California drought.
Here in California we have a drought. This drought has sparked some panic to the point that the state government has passed laws limiting the amount of water that we can use. These laws aren’t hard to abide or follow but it puts pressure on some families to watch the amount of water that they are using or they might have to pay a major fee.
First, yes, the government has created laws that limit the amount of water we have to use. [i.e. There are only certain days of the week people can water their lawns.) Their reasoning behind this is very justified because if the government allows certain families to waste water then there will be little water left for those that need water to do things such as shower, wash their hands, wash dishes, etc. Some ways that a household can exceed the water limit include showering for too long, watering their plants with too much water, or using water fountains (in some cases).
A dried-up creek bed in Elk Grove. Photo by A. Groves
A neighborhood view of a dry creek bed. Photo by A. Groves
Second, these new laws are putting pressure on households to be very careful about how much water they are using. Before the drought, we were able to use water freely because there was enough to go around. Now there is only a limited supply. The result of being careless with water is a large fine that can take up to one-third of some people’s monthly pay checks and a weakening agricultural economy due to the fact that farmers don’t get enough rainfall or water to carry on their duties. California we are having a record-breaking drought that everyone is hoping will end soon, on the bright side the drought has not changed the way that we live as much as you think it might, and we have hope that it will not last long. No problem! Follow this link to see the report on the current water level in California reservoirs.
Are there any droughts in the area that you live in?
Recent rains have helped a little bit, but experts are saying that it will take a great deal more rain to make any kind of impact on the current drought.
wow…. we never hear of ‘drought’.
Miss Tania just show us this and tell us what it means.
We do not have drought in Brunei. Brunei is on the equator so we always get rain.
We only have 2 seasons here. We have wet season from September to February.
We have a dry season from March until August.
But in the dry season still have rain.
I hope you get water soon.
The drought is terrible here. How does a drought end.? This is affecting us because we will have to conserve more water.
It was interesting to see the water levels in the lakes in California. Also, I didn’t know that you could only water the lawn on certain days. I would like to know more about this now. Thank you for sharing this interesting information.
Knowing how the drought has become a very serious issue makes us realize the importance of saving water. I was surprised to know the circumstances the government insured to save water. Looking at the photos of once filled creeks to now dried up ones makes us wonder if this will continue for the years to come.
I didn’t know that the drought was so serious, that there are laws against watering your lawn on certain days. I also, didn’t know how easy [it is to] exceed the water limit. Thank you so much for posting this. I wonder when the next time we will get rain is? Thank you so much for sharing this information with me!
Thanks to the author, this article was very interesting. I can’t believe that careless use of water can take up to a third of somebody’s paycheck! I also found out that it may not last much longer. How does a drought cause so much panic?
Thank you for sharing some information about the California drought. I found out that the drought sparked panic in California’s government. Also, I learned that carelessly using water can lead to a huge fine. What can we do to help stop the drought?
Thank you, Ermius, for your information. I appreciate that you will tell us this information. What can i do to help? I learned (from your article) that California is in a drought along with the fact that this drought is RECORD BREAKING!!! Thank you again
To report back to our global friends, we wanted to let you know that we have had some helpful rains recently. Experts, though, tell us that it is not enough to officially declare our California drought at an end. We have noted that other areas of our world are working to overcome the challenge of drought as well. See this story about how some farmers in Thailand are considering a move to crops like flowers and fruit instead of rice, since they require less water. http://www.scmp.com/video/asia/1933156/parched-fields-force-thailand-look-beyond-rice
Thank you for sharing this information for which now is the past. While I was reading this, I saw how much global warming has affected life on Earth and the Earth itself. Could we help prevent this in any way?
Karanvir, I agree. It’s interesting to see how climate is affecting our environment. I think if we search for articles about how to prevent the negative effects of the warming climate, we may get some ideas.
Thank you for sharing this post I really enjoyed the pictures that were added to really show how the outside looked in California at the time and taught me what a lot of other people had to deal with. Also, now I am wondering how much water you had to use to be fined a major fee.
I don’t remember exactly how much water use meant a large fine, Alex, but I do remember getting a ticket from the county when the water from my sprinklers ran down the gutter. It didn’t cost me anything. It was just a warning.
I really liked this article and how it laid out what the drought has done to ecosystems and how it affects humans. I had no idea that because of the careless usage of water and the drought limiting the water supply, humans are actually paying one third of the paycheck they receive to cover those costs. What are some solutions that helped solve this?
Ermias did reveal some interesting facts in this blog post, as you have said. Some solutions that we are in control of are things like not letting the water faucet run when it’s not needed. When I traveled to Senegal, we used a bucket that sat next to the faucet to rinse our hands. Water is very precious there. I’m glad you enjoyed this post, Olivia.
What I have learned from reading this is that this drought at the time, was a very serious problem causing the government to get involved. A question I have is if you think it is cruel to the plants that need to be watered frequently for the owners to stop.
Samara, It sort of feels funny letting lawns and plants die to save water, right? I was returning from a study abroad trip and was amazed to see that all of the lawns in my neighborhood had turned brown. I guess it’s just a hard decision that we had to make to save water.