Water Shortage in California

Hannah Topliff, John Yu, Rachel Sawyer

Background

California is in its fourth year of a drought.What is a drought?

It is a period of drier than normal conditions that results in water related problems.

In April, the Governor issued that Californians must reduce water usage by 25%

What Causes this drought?lack of rain & rising temperatures

41% state - exceptional droughtCalifornians: use 50% more water than Eastern USN. California provides 75% state’s water while S. California uses 75%

of California’s water resources

Visual Newshttp://www.visualnews.com/2015/04/13/californias-worst-drought-in-history-the-breakdown/

Residential Water Use

Energy-intensive

Studies focus on quantifying water-related energy consumption for household appliances

Model is the sum of eight end-uses

Greenhouse gas emission factors as a function of the type of water heater and the utility that provides the energy

Water saving retro appliances, increased prices for water

3. Escriva-Bou, A., J. R. Lund, and M. Pulido-Velazquez (2015), Optimal residential water conservation strategies considering related energy in California

Optimal residential water conservation strategies considering related energy in California

Water Resources ResearchVolume 51, Issue 6, pages 4482-4498, 21 JUN 2015 DOI: 10.1002/2014WR016821http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2014WR016821/full#wrcr21525-fig-0001

[3]

“Virtual Water” Trade

Water resources under increasing pressure

Outsourcing results in direct resource impact

Water use is embedded in electricity generated at a power plant

Generated electricity produced and electricity used - opposite sides of physical or political boundaries

Over-estimated resources

Impacts future decisions

8. Ruddell, B. L., E. A. Adams, R. Rushforth, and V. C. Tidwell (2014), Embedded resource accounting for coupled natural-human systems: An application to water resource

impacts of the western U.S. electrical energy trade,

Embedded Water

Embedded in grain crops, impacts the population, natural economy, and water cycle

Crops are transported across international borders - California to Mexico

Fosters growth in underdeveloped areas

Overexploitation of underground finite water resources

Declining quality of water

Inequalities along class lines; Political protests; Social tensions

Backed by The World Bank and The International Development Bank

Threatens UN goal - Clean water as a universal human right

10. ZLOLNISKI, C. (2011), WATER FLOWING NORTH OF THE BORDER: Export Agriculture and Water Politics in a Rural Community in Baja California. Cultural Anthropology

7. "Publications." Waterfootprint.org: Water Footprint and Virtual Water. Water Footprint Network

How Do We Solve These Problems?

Getty Imageshttp://i.imgur.com/MO7iuWD.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/m1pB5Xm.jpg

Desalination [4]

Although Southern California lacks potable fresh water, it has an advantageous proximity to the ocean.

The method of desalination can be bottled down to: The method of reverse osmosis

A big problem that arises from this method is the waste left behind: salty brine water.

The complex technologies involved in the desalination process very expensive, to the point where the US would

potentially need to invest one billion dollars a year even before being able to provide water to a majority of the

citizens.

4. Gray, Hannah. "Illumin - California's Water Crisis." Illumin - California's Water Crisis. N.p., 01 Oct. 2009. Web. 27 Sept. 2015.

Graywater [2]

Overview:

Graywater is untreated wastewater that has not been contaminated by any toilet discharge, by unhealthy bodily wastes,

and does not present a threat from contamination.

There are two kinds of Graywater: Light graywater and Heavy graywater

Treatment:

Both heavy graywater and blackwater must be conveyed to and treated by centralized wastewater treatment plants.

Water Savings:

The potential water savings depends on the participation of the household and the filtration stations. The range of water savings is from 16% - 40%.

2. Cohen, Yohram. "Graywater - A Potential Source of Water, UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability." Graywater - A Potential Source of Water, UCLA Institute

of the Environment and Sustainability. N.p., 2009. Web. 27 Sept. 2015.

Agriculture Conservation[4]

About %80 water used by agriculture

How to Conserve

seal leaks and cover storages of water

evaporation = millions acre-feet water loss

underwater aqueducts

rainwater gathering on roofs

safe over 50,000 liters of water

less water-dependent crops

Residential Water Use Conservation [3]

Residential water use does not use as nearly much, but every cutback can help.

How to Conserve

Using the toilet more than once before flushing saves over 15 gallons a day

Turning off the shower while shampooing or shaving can save over 20 gallons per shower

Laundering only full loads of clothes can save anywhere from 30 to 60 gallons each load

Sweeping a driveway instead of hosing it

Going to a car wash - water is recycled

Mandatory regulations [6]RecycleTVhttp://www.recycletx.com/

Sources1. Brown, Casey, Jay Lund, Ximing Cai, and Patrick Reed. “The Future of Water Resources Systems Analysis: Toward a

Scientific Framework for Sustainable Water Management.” AGU Publications. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 6 Aug. 2015. Web. 29 Sept.

2015.

2. Cohen, Yohram. "Graywater - A Potential Source of Water, UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability." Graywater - A

Potential Source of Water, UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. N.p., 2009. Web. 27 Sept. 2015.

3. Escriva-Bou, A., J. R. Lund, and M. Pulido-Velazquez (2015), Optimal residential water

conservation strategies considering related energy in California, Water Resour. Res., 51,

4482–4498, doi:10.1002/2014WR016821.

4. Gray, Hannah. "Illumin - California's Water Crisis." Illumin - California's Water Crisis. N.p., 01 Oct. 2009. Web. 27 Sept. 2015.

5. Howell, Terry A. "Enhancing Water Use Efficiency in Irrigated Agriculture." American Society of Agronomy 93.2 (2001): 281-89.

Web. 27 Sept. 2015.

Sources

6. Mini, C. "The Effectiveness of Water Conservation Measures on Summer Residential Water Use in Los Angeles, California."

Science Direct. Elsevier B.V, Jan. 2015. Web. 29 Sept. 2015.

7. "Publications." Waterfootprint.org: Water Footprint and Virtual Water. Water Footprint Network, n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.

<http://temp.waterfootprint.org/?page=files%2FVirtualWaterFlows>.

8. Ruddell, B. L., E. A. Adams, R. Rushforth, and V. C. Tidwell (2014), Embedded resource accounting for coupled natural-human

systems: An application to water resource impacts of the western U.S. electrical energy trade, Water Resour. Res., 50, 7957–7972, doi:

10.1002/2013WR014531.

9. T. Arrandale. "Western Water." Editorial Research Reports. Internet:

http://library.cqpre ss.com/cqresearcher/ cqresrre1987013000, 1987.

10. ZLOLNISKI, C. (2011), WATER FLOWING NORTH OF THE BORDER: Export Agriculture and Water Politics in a Rural Community

in Baja California. Cultural Anthropology, 26: 565–588. doi:10.1111/j.1548-1360.2011.01112.x

Sourceshttp://ca.water.usgs.gov/data/drought/