Water in the California desert - Research Paper Example

The of the Discussion of Water in the California Desert As the climate continues to change the appearance of the planet, those who inhabit it, are faced with the various issues that come with such changes occurring in the first place. In times of considerable rain occurring, the concern becomes the potential flooding that would require specific plans in place, in order to aid those most affected. The same would also be said in instances were there would be a lack of water in the given environment that would also lead to problems that would need to be addressed in order to aid the general populous in the surrounding area, as well as any other regions that may be impacted. One such region to consider, in terms of discerning as to whether or not they would have a noticeable issue with water, would be the southern part of California. Different factors would be in place, in terms of assessing the situation in its entirety and determining whether or not the area of Southern California, would in fact have an issue with water availability. In terms of describing the region of Southern California, "California's 25,000 square miles of desert can be divided into two basic zones; the Mojave, or high desert, and the Colorado, or low desert. Each of these areas contains unique fauna and flora, as well as other natural resources that make them an important part of California's present and future. California's deserts are home to two National Parks (Death Valley and Joshua Tree), a National Reserve (East Mojave), and California's largest state park, Anza- Borrego," ("California's", p.1). With the above mentioned importance that this region of California would have, it would remain essential to answer any problems that may arise for the area, which in this case, would be the issue of water shortage. Different organizations would be in place, with the essential purpose of gauging the water levels present within their locale. In the case of Southern California, according to testimony provided by the chairman of the board of directors for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, in his testimony before a Senate committee handling such an issue, the director would outline what he felt were the issues facing the region, in testimony that would go toward the assertion that, in terms of a potential water issue for the region of Southern California, they would in fact be facing such a problem. In terms of describing the group that Timothy F. Brick would represent, "Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is the nation's largest provider of imported water to an urban area. The population in its service area is more than 18 million, and it is projected to rise to 22 million by 2030. Metropolitan is comprised of 26 member public agencies that service an area spanning 5,200 square miles and six southern California counties," (Childs, 2007). As an organization that would represent a wide area and would service multiple counties within the region of Southern California, in terms of making the assertion that there would in fact be an issue with the availability of water in the area, they would be an organization that would know what they were talking about. In the period of time just before the Director would give his testimony, the area of Los Angeles alone, would have received an alarmingly low amount of rain, which in turn, would have translated into an issue for the overall water supply. From a political standpoint, the Governor for California would set forth with a plan to handle the continuing issue of water deficiency that areas within the state, such as California would continue to see. As those involved would allude to, there would be methods possible in the process toward remedying the issue and seeking the best possible outcome. In terms of the political legislation suggested from the state level, "The plan is comprised of four policy bills and an $11.14 billion bond. The package establishes a Delta Stewardship Council, sets ambitious water conservation policy, ensures better groundwater monitoring, and provides funds for the State Water Resources Control Board for increased enforcement of illegal water diversions," ("2009 Comprehensive, p. 1). The issue itself would be facilitated by the changes in the surrounding environment, including the presence of little, if any rainfall that would be necessary, in order to enable the water supply to be vast and stable. Within the last few years, at least, many involved with the region of California, would be aware and in that case, stress the need for conservation measures to be in place in order to handle the lack of water. Speeches would be made, legislation would be signed and from that would come the allocation of available finds by local and state agencies, which would be in charge of administering the resources on hand. While the events of the present would bode for projecting the potential outcomes in the future, in order to truly predict what may occur, it could be possible but most likely, quite time consuming. Even with the best of intentions, the ability to know what may happen in the future is something that many do not possess the skill set for. In terms of a future case scenario, the past is helpful in guiding the process through the present and into the future years. One such potential to look at in terms of possible future issues would be the following, "Further, scientists estimate that global warming will cause sea level to rise by as much as three feet over the next 100 years, placing greater pressure on our Delta levee system and increasing the likelihood and impacts of levee failure," ("Get the", p.1). Most importantly, according to what many have said through research compiled, would be to stress the correlation between the events of global warming and how little water is seen in the area of California. One thing is for sure, as it is something that all human beings rely upon, the issue of a water shortage, would be something to pay close attention to and to actively come together in a way to find the best possible approaches to combat the issue. The benefit of such action taken would be the increased awareness on the part of the general public and would hopefully, encourage their engagement in the process from all levels. Many state wide agencies have encouraged residents through the area, as well as throughout the state, to practice conservation in terms of how much water they consume in their respective households. Environmentalists have long sense said that events occurring within the environment have initiated the process of the shift in events within the atmosphere and lead to the changing weather that many regions see, including Southern California. Such changes that may bring little, if any rain to the area, just as the case was a few years ago in Los Angeles, when just over 3 inches of rain was seen for the season. Every human requires basic things to be able to exist in life. Food, shelter, as well as clothing, remain crucial for human beings to perform even the most basic of tasks. A shortage of water comes into play and hinders many people, as well as industries that rely upon water for their service production. With the high benefit that California would see from its ability to produce agriculture, the lack of water would lead to the shortage of viable crops and impact food production levels. In present terms for 2010, "California may face a fourth year of serious drought in 2010," ("Drought", 2010). With the outlook appearing to have the state as a whole see another year of drought, leading to a water shortage, action would need to be taken and taken soon. References "2009 Comprehensive Water Package". Water Management: Protecting California's Water Supply. Published: November 9, 2009. Retrieved from http://gov.ca.gov /issue/water-supply "California's Deserts". California's Desert Resources. Retrieved courtesy of California State Government website. Copyright: 2009. Source URL: http://ceres.ca.gov/ ceres/calweb/deserts.html Childs, Dana. "Southern California water manager issues warning". Cleantech Group LLC. Published: June 7, 2007. Retrieved from http://www.cleantech.com/news /1286/southern-california-water-manager-issu "Drought Conditions". California Department of Water Resources. Copyright: 2010. Retrieved from http://www.water.ca.gov/drought/ "Get the Facts: California's Looming Water Crisis Issue Impact Paper: Environment". Californians For Clean & Reliable Water. Retrieved from http://cawaterfuture. org/facts_environment.html Outline I. Introduction A. Water shortage and how it would impact a given area (i.e. Southern California. II. Description of the region in question- Southern California. III. Water shortage problem faced by Southern California. A. Group in place that would handle the elements necessary to go about remedying the issue of water shortage throughout the state, including Southern California. IV. California Political Action taken- Governor Schwarzenegger A. Bill passed to appropriate funds necessary and how they would be Meant to do so. V. Future concerns, if any, for the issue of water shortage in Southern CA. VI. Benefit of Action taken to assist in the curbing of the problem. VII. Conclusion. Read More