As early as elementary school, we are taught the water cycle. The simple cycle of evaporation that causes the clouds, the clouds rain on the land, the water is soaked up into the soil, lakes, and rivers only to travel back to the ocean and eventually become rain and snow again. It sounds like a simple process. However, much of California has been in drought for a while and everyone is suffering. Many cities ban the use of water outside, except on a specific day of the week. Neighbors turn each other in for water use. The rolling hills of agriculture that were once green, are now brown and bare. The cattle roam on dry land, while the orchards, vineyards, and produce crops have drip irrigation systems that draw water from the aqueducts to ensure the crops get water and the economy does not die. What little water there is, seems to be rationed to agriculture and residential areas. Recently, NASA reported that the San Joaquin Valley is sinking because the groundwater is drying up. The water that is available has a difficult journey from the source to the tap. (NASA 2015)
The journey of water from raindrop to tap is a fascinating story of ecology, environmental geology, and meteorology. The combination of many earth sciences add up to one giant story of how water gets from the clouds to the tap. The groundwater that many people in Clovis actually use is from a well in their yard, deep in the ground. Wells tap into the same groundwater that is pumped into aqueducts and processed at the hundreds of county owned water purification plants. (San Joaquin River Group Authority. 2016)
The San Joaquin Valley is especially challenged for water since the drought began. However, the journey of the drop of water in a glass that sits on the kitchen counter began its journey as a snowflake over the Sierra Nevada mountains. The tiny snowflake joined a bunch of other snowflakes to become snowpack that sits at the top of the mountains waiting to melt and become part of the watershed that services the San Joaquin Valley (San Joaquin River Group Authority. 206)
The San Joaquin watershed begins its journey from the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. As the snow melts, it drains into tiny creeks that are positioned just right to merge into the San Joaquin river. The river is about 300 miles long. The river flows down the western part of the mountains in a northwestern direction and joins the Sacramento River at the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. This 1,000 square mile labyrinth of channels and islands holds about 40 percent of California’s surface water. (sierrafoothill, n.d.)
Most of the surface water that comes from the San Joaquin River is contained and distributed from Millerton Lakes’ Friant Dam, by Fresno. From there, water is diverted through a series of Canals to irrigation districts and other water distributers. Those distributers deliver water directly to customers at the southern end of the valley. However, in the northern and central parts of the watershed, several customers get their water from irrigation districts, like Modesto, Merced, and Oakdale. That water is a result of diversions from rivers which are tributaries from the San Joaquin River. The rest of the water supply cones from northern California’s Central Valley Project and through pumping groundwater from the basin. (sierrafoothill, n.d,)
The city of Fresno primarily uses surface water, through aqueducts, and groundwater from the aquafer basin, and underground series of channels and creeks that constantly have water flowing through the cracks in bedrock. There are about 125 million gallons of water pumped out of about 260 county owned wells per day. That is a huge displacement and explains why the valley floor is sinking. This is the same water that this author uses at home. Although this author does not use fancy filters, the water for municipal distribution is filtered through a series of mandated water treatment stages that prepare the water for public use. (Fresno County, 2016)
At the moment, the water supply chain seems to be stable, bit not renewable, especially with a drought, the wells have not dried up. However, a looming issue at hand is the possibility of an earthquake disrupting water flow into the aquifers and surface water supplies. The San Andres fault may be the largest and most popular fault that people think about, however, there are over 100 active faults in California, several of which could cause problems for the water supply, should they become over-active and produce larger earthquakes. The earthquake issue is further exasperated by the drought. An article in Mother News, talks about a recent study into the human element that may push an earthquake due to the rapid use of groundwater in the valley. This could present several problems, as that water is proposed for emergency use in case an earthquake disrupts the current water pipes, levees, and aqueduct systems. (Mother Jones, n.d.)
The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta which has man-made levees that were built around 1850 and newer, are at risk for earthquake damage. If the San Andres Fault delivers anything higher than a 7.8 tremor, the waterlines, levees, and dams will all suffer damage that can result in loss of life and property. The most likely places to have major damage would be the aqueducts from Northern California and the Colorado River. If that occurs, there wil be no water available from these sources. The water districts do have emergency plans in places to take care of the water issue in case of earthquake, such as a dike just outside of Clovis, in case the dam breaks uphill. In case of earthquake damage to surface water, the plan is to use ground water to supply the valley. However, because the ground supply is slowly being used faster than it can replenish itself, there is a possibility of water being brought in by truck, for humans to drink. (Fresno County, 2016)
There is no plan to increase water storage for the San Joaquin Valley, only a community hope that a steady source of rain or snow to refill current sources will occur soon. Meanwhile, it is important to maintain clean drinking water at the municipal level from many sources. The main source is through surface water. However, a problem that occurs with the surface water is contamination from several sources, such as agriculture, pollution, and waste water leaking into aqueducts. The most likely contaminate to the drinking water is nitrate from agriculture. Although the nitrate is essential for plant growth, it is a toxin to humans and must be filtered out of the drinking water system. Thankfully, there are filters in place to ensure the best possible water quality for all of the citizens throughout the San Joaquin Valley. (Fresno County, 2016)
Works Cited
"1B Historic Conditions." 1B Historic Conditions. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2016. <http://www.sierrafoothill.org/watershed/historic_conditions.htm>.
"About the San Joaquin River and Watershed." San Joaquin River Group Authority. N.p., 2006. Web. 19 Mar. 2016. <http://www.sjwatershed.org/about_river.html>.
"The California Drought May Mean More Earthquakes." Mother Jones. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2016. <http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/05/groundwater-depletion-destabilizing-san-andreas-fault-earthquake-risk>.
"Figure 1: System Overview." (n.d.): n. pag. Fresno County. Fresno County, 19 Mar. 2013. Web. 19 Mar. 2016. <http://www2.co.fresno.ca.us/0110a/Questys_Agenda/MG201439/AS201440/AS201457/AI201544/DO201731/DO_201731.PDF>.
"NASA: California Drought Causing Valley Land to Sink." NASA/JPL. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2016. <http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4693>.
"Where Does Your Water Come From?" Place-Based Science Teaching and Learning: 40 Activities for K–8 Classrooms (n.d.): 184-87. The Nature Conservancy of California. The Nature Conservancy of California, Oct. 2012. Web. 19 Mar. 2016. <http://www.nature.org/media/california/california_drinking-water-sources-2012.pdf>.
