Welcome back to Agri Step!

How to secure water sources, which is the most important aspect of agriculture.

In this article, I will focus on the water issues in Southern California.

Since the United States is a large country (of course everyone knows that), the climate and natural environment differs considerably depending on the region.

Some areas are dry, some are rainy, some are frequently hit by hurricanes, etc., and each state and region has its own unique climate.

In Japan, rain and typhoons often come from the south and move toward the north, while in Southern California there is no rain at all, but in Washington and Oregon, which are located at higher latitudes, there is a lot of rain.

So, let’s move on to the main contents of this article.

Water Problems in the U.S. (Southern California) and Japan

Water Issues in Southern California

As I mentioned earlier, Southern California is dry with almost no rainfall.

Every time I take a step forward, there is a cloud of dust.

Even so, when I turn on the faucet every day, water comes out.

Why is there water in such a dry climate?

The reason is California’s abundant water resources.

It may sound contradictory, but that’s how big California is.

As many of you know, California is one of the largest agricultural producing states in the United States.

Water is the key to agriculture, as I mentioned earlier. This means that a lot of water is consumed in California.

Trivia -The Dust Bowl
In the 1930s, a major drought called the Dust Bowl occurred in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, and other areas. The Dust Bowl was not a natural phenomenon, but a human-caused phenomenon that has left its mark on American history. At that time, immigrants from drought areas came in large numbers to towns like Los Angeles and areas like the San Joaquin Valley. So as you can tell, there was water in California.
There is also a website with the history and I will post the URL.
It is very interesting, so if you are interested, please read it.

Where does California’s water come from?

Much of the water used in California comes from the Sierra Nevada mountains, and groundwater is used especially in agriculture and other industries (of course, groundwater is used for domestic purposes).

Where I live now, both city water and groundwater are connected throughout many pipes.

So this is an example of actually using groundwater for living.

Let’s take a look at Sierra Nevada.

Sierra Nevada

The name “Sierra Nevada” comes from Spanish, where “Sierra” means “saw” or “mountain chain” and “Nevada” means “snow-covered” or “frozen.

As the word suggests, snow accumulates on the top of the mountain range, and melt water flows into the rivers.

The climate differs greatly between the western and eastern sides of the mountain range, with abundant rainfall on the western side, while the eastern side is one of the driest regions in the United States, and is famous for the large number of reservoirs that extend from east to west.

The reason for this is that winds blowing from the Pacific Ocean hit the mountains, causing condensation that results in large amounts of rainfall in the west.

Some of the rivers flowing from the Sierra Nevada extend approximately 800 km downstream from northern to southern California.

Canals are connected to such rivers for domestic and agricultural use.

This abundant water resource based on the Sierra Nevada probably led to an increase in immigration from the east during the drought that occurred in the 1930s.

Incidentally, the river that brings much of the water to the south is the Colorado River, which have many dams.

However, in recent years, the amount of water stored in these dams has been declining every year due to lack of rainfall.

Groundwater

Let’s take a look at groundwater.

According to research by the Public Policy Institute of California, on average, 40% of the water used in California each year comes from groundwater, especially in years when there is a lack of rainfall. 85% of California residents use groundwater in some way. most notably for agriculture.

Refers to Public Policy Institute of California “Groundwater in California”

Refers to Public Policy Institute of California “Groundwater in California”.

The link I posted above has a visual graph showing how much groundwater has been depleted so far, so you can see the overuse.

And the Tulare Basin, which is the groundwater limit that has decreased the most, is the closest water source to the area where I live.

Drought Issues

Scholars seem to be warning that the drought they are predicting has the potential to affect the region over a long period of time, not just a few years.

In this video uploaded to YouTube at the end of last year (2021), researchers discuss how the current water shortage will affect our lives.

(Unfortunately I think only people who live in the U.S. can watch this video…)

The video is over 40 minutes long, so if you are interested, you can look up the one of History channel episodes “Mega Disasters: massive drought ravage the globe”.

The video shows not only that groundwater is declining, but also that snowfall in Sierra Nevada is declining.

With temperatures getting hotter and hotter, what used to accumulate on the mountains as snow is now becoming rain, and not only is the precipitation increasing, but the rain is helping to melt the snow from the icebergs, and the melt water is now running down to the bottom.

Therefore, what is now required is advanced water management to prevent flooding during the rainy season and water depletion during the dry season due to massive water consumption.

Since this article is about water, it is mainly about climate and geography, and about the big issues that directly affect not only agriculture but also our daily lives.

In the following article, I will focus more on the water-related aspects of agriculture as I see it and as I have seen it in Japan.

Thank you for your continued support!