The Pen is Not Mightier than the Drought
Bay Area Council CEO this week penned an OpEd for Calmatters highlighting the urgency of developing new water sources for drought-stricken California.
Wouldn’t you know it? Just like washing your car, almost the moment I finished writing this article, the skies opened up. I’d write one every day if it meant ending our water woes.
It tells you everything you need to know about California’s dire water situation – that the atmospheric river that recently pummeled Northern California and other parts of the state doesn’t even begin to make a dent in our drought. Today, 88% of California is experiencing severe drought or worse, up from just 3% this time last year. Never before has California lost so much water so quickly.
Without a strategy to create new water, California is doomed to run in place fighting over our existing, dwindling supplies. The only way to avoid disaster is to begin transitioning California cities toward greater reliance on recycling and desalination, which would also bolster upstream supplies for river ecosystems and other public benefits and provide greater reliability for farmers.
