“California Coast Hit by Fourth Storm Since Clean-Up.”
– New York Times – 1/27/1983
“California Storms – Wettest Weather Years so far in 122 years of record.”
– Mercury News – 3/8/2017
“California Rain Breaks All-Time Records.”
– Los Angeles Times 10/25/21
Rain in California isn’t new. We know it’s coming. We know it comes after a drought, so why aren’t we doing anything about it?
We knew 40 years ago, and if you look back at California’s cycle of drought and rain, we knew even as far back as the 1860s. But all we do now is play the blame game on who gets the water when it rains.
Enough is enough.
We must stop the blame game, the fight over dividing water, and work to find solutions. We would be in a much better position if our state did something to preserve the water when we get it.
It sounds like a broken record when California Government Administrators blame the outdated water system built 60 years ago when our state population was only half our current population. Or even when Governor Newsom says that he has invested $8.6 billion to build water resilience in the last two budgets when in reality, only $700 million goes towards water storage, and $500 million of that isn’t available until 2026.
In July 2022, CalMatters wrote that ‘1 million Californians lack safe drinking water. These Californians face an increased risk of cancer and liver and kidney problems. One hundred fifty systems in California have failed to meet water quality standards for at least five years. More than two-thirds of the failing water systems are located in low-income, disadvantaged communities – forcing residents who can least afford it to purchase more expensive bottled water for drinking and cooking purposes.’
California’s water problems shouldn’t be a fight between the environment, people, fish, and farmers. They are all victims of the lack of leadership in the Governor’s Office and Administration.
But that needs to be water under the bridge. What will we do today to help the 1 million Californians and plan for the next drought?
