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California Declared Totally Drought Free For First Time in Seven Years

California was declared totally drought free for the first time in more than seven years this week, following unusually abundant winter rains and snowfall statewide, according to the government's weekly report on U.S. drought conditions. From a report: The U.S. Drought Monitor's latest survey reflected an astonishing turnaround - at least for now - from a severe, prolonged dry spell that reduced irrigation supplies to farmers, forced strict household conservation measures and stoked a spate of deadly, devastating wildfires. A relatively small swath of California's southern-most region, including most of San Diego County, remains labeled "abnormally dry" on the drought map index, as does a tiny patch at the state's extreme northern end along the Oregon border. But this week marks the first time since mid-December of 2011 that 100 percent of the state has been classified as being free of drought, defined as a moisture deficit severe enough to cause social, environmental or economic ills. Conditions were classified as normal across 93 percent of the state.

160 comments

  1. Trump should take credit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    He has long critized California's water management policies. It seems he's getting through to them now.

    1. Re: Trump should take credit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Trump is taking credit for all but one location at the moment

    2. Re:Trump should take credit by ClickOnThis · · Score: 1

      He has long critized California's water management policies. It seems he's getting through to them now.

      From the summary:

      California was declared totally drought free for the first time in more than seven years this week, following unusually abundant winter rains and snowfall statewide, according to the government's weekly report on U.S. drought conditions.

      So, Trump should take credit for the weather? Who exactly do you think he's m"getting through" to?

      --
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    3. Re:Trump should take credit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      He has long critized California's water management policies. It seems he's getting through to them now.

      From the summary:

      California was declared totally drought free for the first time in more than seven years this week, following unusually abundant winter rains and snowfall statewide, according to the government's weekly report on U.S. drought conditions.

      So, Trump should take credit for the weather? Who exactly do you think he's m"getting through" to?

      Why not?

      He gets blamed by TDS-addled, ORANGEMANBAD!!! twits for the phases of the moon.

    4. Re:Trump should take credit by ganjadude · · Score: 1, Troll

      yay climate change!

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    5. Re: Trump should take credit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Article posts on slashdot. Moments later policytards all over the nation make irrevocable changes to their charters. SMH

    6. Re:Trump should take credit by rogoshen1 · · Score: 1

      well to be fair; if the drought intensified; someone, somewhere would blame him.

    7. Re:Trump should take credit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      I remember Obama took credit for the healing of the earth and lowering of the seas before he even won the election.

    8. Re:Trump should take credit by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1, Troll

      He has long critized California's water management policies. It seems he's getting through to them now.

      Don't worry. It won't take long for California Democrats to find a way to screw even this one up.

    9. Re: Trump should take credit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I Remmeber when ACs used to tell the truth and not try to spread bipartisan propaganda.

      Just kidding you are a faggot!

    10. Re: Trump should take credit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Richest state in the nation? Check.
      Highest paying jobs in the nation. Check.

      Yea the dems have ruined that place. Nice repubtard fallacy you faggot!

    11. Re: Trump should take credit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Wouldn't that be partisan propaganda? Bipartisan propaganda would be a bit weird.

    12. Re:Trump should take credit by hambone142 · · Score: 0

      They will likely find a way to tax the rain.

    13. Re:Trump should take credit by cheesybagel · · Score: 1

      No, it must have been global warning. Sorry, climate change.

    14. Re:Trump should take credit by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      In Finland they rake their water reservoirs so they don't have these sorts of problems.

    15. Re:Trump should take credit by ClickOnThis · · Score: 0

      I remember Obama took credit for the healing of the earth and lowering of the seas before he even won the election.

      Citations please?

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    16. Re: Trump should take credit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Try going to the richest parts of California. Each time you see human feces on the sidewalk, thank a democrat.

    17. Re:Trump should take credit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Obama, 06/03/2008: "This was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and the planet began to heal."

      In reference to his nomination.

    18. Re: Trump should take credit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I am glad to see global warming can cause droughts as easily as it can stop them.
      Phew.

    19. Re:Trump should take credit by ClickOnThis · · Score: 2

      Obama, 06/03/2008: "This was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and the planet began to heal."

      In reference to his nomination.

      He was not "taking credit" for those things. It was part of a rhetorical and aspirational invitation to the American public to mark the moment of his nomination as a call to the challenges ahead. In the context of the last paragraph of his address (shown below) he hardly sounds like he's full of himself.

      The journey will be difficult. The road will be long. I face this challenge with profound humility, and knowledge of my own limitations. But I also face it with limitless faith in the capacity of the American people. Because if we are willing to work for it, and fight for it, and believe in it, then I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth. This was the moment - this was the time - when we came together to remake this great nation so that it may always reflect our very best selves, and our highest ideals. Thank you, God Bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    20. Re: Trump should take credit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Funny how they call them "unusually abundant" and then claim the water is back to normal.
      Pick one, unusual, or normal.

    21. Re:Trump should take credit by kenai_alpenglow · · Score: 1

      So if a democrat does it, it's "aspirational". If a republican does it, it's racist/nazism/ignorance/etc. Got it. How about we just call it what it is, campaign rhetoric on BOTH sides.

    22. Re:Trump should take credit by ClickOnThis · · Score: 2

      So if a democrat does it, it's "aspirational". If a republican does it, it's racist/nazism/ignorance/etc.

      Something I did not say. Something I have not said, or even implied, ever. Be more creative with your strawmen.

      Got it. How about we just call it what it is, campaign rhetoric on BOTH sides.

      No, let's call it quoting out of context. Supply the context, and the false accusation self-destructs.

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    23. Re: Trump should take credit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This was back when the existence of vaccines, gravity and a round earth were considered Bipartisan.

  2. California Declared Totally Drug Free For 1st Time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I know it's not close, but that's what my brain saw

  3. Leftist tears by rlauzon · · Score: 2, Funny

    Must be from all the Leftest Tears since Trump took office.

    1. Re: Leftist tears by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Haven't noticed your comment before I added mine.
      +1

    2. Re:Leftist tears by The-Ixian · · Score: 1

      Tears are made of water which came from a well irrigated California... The body does not spontaneously create water from nowhere...

      --
      My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
    3. Re:Leftist tears by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Probably so. It's pretty upsetting to see the many ways our country has become even more disgraceful since Donnie Dipshit was elected.

      The right wingers love to see this country go down the toilet because... shit, I don't know. I've been trying to figure that out for most of my life.

    4. Re: Leftist tears by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      See, now all those bratty climate change protestor kids got nothing to worry about!

    5. Re: Leftist tears by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The evangelicals want to see a final world war that marks the start if the rapture.

      We should probably not elect loonies to run our government and define our treaties.

    6. Re:Leftist tears by greythax · · Score: 3, Insightful

      This place has become a cesspool. Umpteen years ago when I started coming here, there was plenty of debate, but usually it had something to do with facts or or at the very least science. Comments like this would have been down modded into oblivion for being flaimbait. I dunno if mod bots are to blame or what, but it seems like the only posts you see if you browse at 2 are shitposts like this. That, or an anti science conspiracy. Slashdot used to be the best location on the internet to get detailed, informed conversation about any science topic there was. Now it is just a forum for superkendal and his sad asshole ac stalker to stroke each other for attention.

      Does anyone have ANY suggestions for a nerd news site where the community hasn't become so toxic? I need a new haunt. I was hoping I could stick around until things got better, but I think I need to admit to myself that this place is dead. This crowd is just picking over the bones.

    7. Re:Leftist tears by Pfhorrest · · Score: 1

      If you find what you're looking for, let the rest of us know too, because as far as I can tell pretty much the entire internet is like this now (except for small enclaves of equally-reactionary backlash to that).

      --
      -Forrest Cameranesi, Geek of all Trades
      "I am Sam. Sam I am. I do not like trolls, flames, or spam."
    8. Re: Leftist tears by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It's stupid partisan shit. The media does it too. Turn to any national news channel of your choice, chances are they're taking about Trump. Google news's first listed stories almost always have some mention of Trump.

      I'm sick of the shit, there's more going on in the world than Donald fucking Trump.

    9. Re:Leftist tears by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I feel for you. But remember Sturgeon's Law. I'm still here because some of the 10% of good stuff is worth tolerating the 90% of bad stuff.

    10. Re:Leftist tears by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We'd tell you about such a place, but then all the trolls would just follow you over there.

  4. Climate change by Kohath · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I've been told wet weather is a sign of climate change. Two years ago, drought was a sign of climate change. It's an all powerful phenomenon that explains everything.

    1. Re:Climate change by JcMorin · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      They started with "global warming", then we got a very cold season here so they change the tone to "climate change". I guess, climate changing is bad?

    2. Re:Climate change by ClickOnThis · · Score: 5, Informative

      Extreme swings in weather conditions are a sign that the earth's climate system has absorbed more energy. And we have been seeing lots of extreme swings in the last couple of decades.

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    3. Re:Climate change by Paradise+Pete · · Score: 1

      I've been told wet weather is a sign of climate change. Two years ago, drought was a sign of climate change.

      What you've "been told", in general, is not a solid foundation for reasoning. People say all sorts of things.

    4. Re:Climate change by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yeah thats a pretty weak strawman... er i mean argument.

    5. Re:Climate change by mopower70 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I've been told wet weather is a sign of climate change. Two years ago, drought was a sign of climate change. It's an all powerful phenomenon that explains everything.

      I've been told the inability to track a straight line is a sign of poor alignment in a car. I've also been told that difficulty in turning is also a sign of poor alignment in a car. I've been told that the inability to stop is a sign of bad brake adjustment. I've been told that sudden jerky stops are also a sign of bad brake adjustment. I've been told that an engine failing to heat up can be caused by a bad thermostat. I've been told that a car overheating can also be caused by a bad thermostat. Gosh, it's almost as if opposing extremes in a given system can be caused by the same thing!

    6. Re:Climate change by tlhIngan · · Score: 5, Insightful

      They started with "global warming", then we got a very cold season here so they change the tone to "climate change". I guess, climate changing is bad?

      The problem is complexity. The climate is warming, so :global warming" is accurate. However, you tell that to Joe On the Street and he thinks it just means Alaska will be like California in the end so what's wrong with that?

      The real truth is with the added heat energy, the climate will swing more wildly. One day you can enjoy a spring day, the next, you get 3 feet of snow dumped on you.

      The use of climate change is meant to reflect that - the climate is changing, and the wonderful summer days you remembered as a kid was replaced with scorching hot heatwaves years ago. Plus, the word "change" is scary

    7. Re:Climate change by Kohath · · Score: 2, Funny

      Understood. Climate change causes any/every noteworthy change in weather. It's really amazing that way.

    8. Re: Climate change by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm saving this. You are an unsung genius

    9. Re:Climate change by ClickOnThis · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "Understood?" No, you fail at understanding how oscillating systems behave. More energy leads to higher amplitudes.

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    10. Re:Climate change by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Can you give this to me in a car analogy?

    11. Re:Climate change by Kohath · · Score: 1

      Speed increases when going down a hill are a sign of bad break adjustment.

    12. Re:Climate change by Kohath · · Score: 2

      Drought is a consistent weather pattern — consistent lack of rain, not a changing one.

    13. Re: Climate change by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hope your grandchildren enjoy the erratic weather and agricultural collapse you stupid fuck.

    14. Re:Climate change by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 3, Informative

      I've been told wet weather is a sign of climate change.

      For the western US - the coast in particular - the ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation) pretty much trumps everything else. Typically in El Niño years, California is wetter than normal (and my state, Washington, is dryer than normal).

      But those are still just percentages - they don't always pan out. Plus this winter's El Niño fizzled out about halfway through. As Freud might've said, "sometimes a wet winter is just a wet winter".

      Additionally, multi-year droughts are not uncommon for California. There's a reason they decided to build water reservoirs with multi-year capacity, way back in the say. This may be affected by anthropogenic climate change, one way or the other, but it's also an underlying truth about California's climate.

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    15. Re:Climate change by PPH · · Score: 2

      More energy leads to higher amplitudes.

      Just add more capacitors (but not the Chinese ones).

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
    16. Re:Climate change by Shotgun · · Score: 0

      Absorbed more energy.

      If the figures are to be believed, and there is no reason not to, the earth is 1.5C warmer than before the Industrial age started. Correct?

      So, that is a change from 366C to 367.5C? A 0.41% change.

      --
      Aah, change is good. -- Rafiki
      Yeah, but it ain't easy. -- Simba
    17. Re:Climate change by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just wait and see what they do when someone suggests that Trump fixed 'global warming' because this occurred on his watch...

    18. Re:Climate change by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Understood?" No, you fail at understanding how oscillating systems behave. More energy leads to higher amplitudes.

      Flicking a lightswitch on and off results in an oscillation and less energy.

      More energy in waves at a given frequency does lead to higher amplitudes. Climate is not a wave nor does it have a fixed frequency.

    19. Re:Climate change by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Speed increases when going down a hill are a sign of bad break adjustment.

      Is not

    20. Re:Climate change by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Drought is a consistent weather pattern — consistent lack of rain, not a changing one.

      ...and yet we've had more snow then ever, California has had their first no-drought yet, we've got polar vortexes in Colorado....so it seems to be a constant pattern opposite of 'global warming'.

    21. Re:Climate change by smooth+wombat · · Score: 2

      One day you can enjoy a spring day, the next, you get 3 feet of snow dumped on you.

      Our temperatures are going from 72/73 F today (3/15/19) to possibly 42 F tomorrow. That's a 30 degree swing of temperature in one day.

      No snow, but definitely a wild swing.

      --
      We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
    22. Re: Climate change by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They'll be fine. After all, they have angry irrational profane climate zealots like you to take care of them, right? I'm sure you're doing a fantastic job.

    23. Re:Climate change by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Best car analogy ev-ver.

    24. Re:Climate change by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      Silly idiot. Hot sommers cause droughts ... obviously.
      Hot winters cause more rain, obviously.

      California is more dominated by El Nino and La Nina and the changing period between than by "global warming" at the moment anyway. Hint: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    25. Re:Climate change by Kohath · · Score: 2

      It would be better if climate change didn't cause consistent weather and changing weather, drought and rain, heat and cold, more hurricanes and also fewer, and everything else.

      The only pattern is that belief is mandatory. The specifics of what we must believe are various and depend on political needs.

    26. Re:Climate change by Kohath · · Score: 1

      Additionally, multi-year droughts are not uncommon for California.

      Tell the climate alarmists that. They were the ones saying you caused it by driving your car.

    27. Re:Climate change by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      "hear" "global". I don't think you know what those words mean.

    28. Re:Climate change by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Wow you really are special.

    29. Re:Climate change by Kohath · · Score: 1

      Not as special as climate change. Climate change causes everything.

    30. Re:Climate change by nickersonm · · Score: 1

      The real truth is with the added heat energy, the climate will swing more wildly. One day you can enjoy a spring day, the next, you get 3 feet of snow dumped on you.

      That sounds like a normal spring day in Boulder, CO.

    31. Re:Climate change by Mashiki · · Score: 1

      Speed increases when going down a hill are a sign of bad break adjustment.

      No. Speed increases going down a hill means that the car is an automatic, and the transmission has entered a high flow low-resistance state(look up the basics of a torque convertor). The other option is that the car is a manual, and the clutch is disengaged. With the clutch engaged, the engine and gear ratio will limit the speed going down a hill, effectively working on the same principal as a Jake brake(engine brake on diesels).

      If the brakes are causing the car to slowdown going down a hill without them engaged it means there is something wrong with the brakes. Uneven pad wear due to the calipers being overly rusted, or causing the anti-rattle clips to expand as it rusts partially engaging the brake at all times. With drum brakes, that's nearly a 100% sign that either the auto-adjuster was set too wide, or the brake piston is leaking. If it's leaking, especially with power brakes the system it automatically over-correcting for the loss of partial line pressure. This can be easily diagnosed because braking systems are designed in an X configuration,. Right-front is paired with left-rear and left-front is paired with right-rear, and excessive wear on only one set of front pads means you pull the rears to check.

      --
      Om, nomnomnom...
  5. Must be due to global warming, I mean climate chan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yeah sure thatâ(TM)s it.

  6. still paying high water prices by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    Sad part is we're still paying drought prices thanks to Jerry Brown. One way to raise taxes without raising taxes.

    1. Re: still paying high water prices by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Use the free market. Buy water at Costco if you think the publicly regulated plumbing is too expensive. Pay to have it trucked in to your house, and another company to haul your waste water out.

      Or are you a hypocrite who will bitch about how thr government contract for water provision is too high while ignoring the vastly higher cost the "free" market would charge?

  7. Ahh Global Warming! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We should put a stop to drought-free California now! Save the dunes!

    1. Re:Ahh Global Warming! by novakyu · · Score: 1

      Don't you mean the sandworms and the spice they produce?

  8. LIBERAL TEARS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    It's because of all those liberal tears...

  9. California's drought was man made anyway by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The issue was the price of water.

    1. Re:California's drought was man made anyway by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      Exactly. Just like the electricity problems with Enron. And nothing will be done to prevent it from happening again, and again...

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  10. Re: California Declared Totally Drug Free For 1st by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Drug Free?!
    It's getting *worse* with every illegal immigrant crossing the border and every welfare check given to You Know Whos.

  11. Time for the floods then. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Isnt that how it works?

  12. Doesn't California still have a problem though? by pgmrdlm · · Score: 2

    https://www.newsdeeply.com/water/articles/2017/01/23/how-california-can-make-the-most-of-its-rainfalls/

    âoeWe designed our infrastructure in California to take that stormwater and send it out to the ocean as fast as possible, treating it as a hazard or waste,â said Kihara. Now STORMS, other state agencies and some cities are working to change that narrative. âoeIt previously got folded into the sewer fee, so your taxpayer money is taking that stormwater and routing it away. [But] the drought has made us look at what sources of water we can depend on other than Sierra snowpack, and along with desalination and recycled water, what about stormwater? We want the public to look at it from a different perspective: less as waste, and more as a resource.â

    Don't most droughts occur in cycles? Shouldn't they be planning now how to capture as much water as possible for future use?

    --
    Anonymous comments are as pathetic as the anonymous "sources" that contaminate gutless journalism from the New York Time
    1. Re:Doesn't California still have a problem though? by Pfhorrest · · Score: 4, Interesting

      They're called lakes. You dam up a river or creek somewhere. When it rains, the water level goes up. When it's not raining, it gradually goes down, because the water is being used municipally.

      There's a lake that's 60-70 years old that supplies most of the water to my hometown. There was a drought during my childhood, and I grew up knowing that lake to have two islands, a big one and a little one. Turns out the little one wasn't supposed to exist: that was a bit of lake bed peeking above the water surface because it had gotten so low. After the El Niño storms in the mid-90s, the lake was full to the brim, and remained mostly full for most of my adult life, but slowly dwindled down to record lows after such a long drought, so the point that instead of one island, instead of two islands, it had only two peninsulas, because so much of it had run dry you could walk out to either island on the dry lake bed.

      I should go take a look at the lake this weekend, after all of the heavy rains we've been getting lately, and see how many islands there are in it now.

      --
      -Forrest Cameranesi, Geek of all Trades
      "I am Sam. Sam I am. I do not like trolls, flames, or spam."
    2. Re:Doesn't California still have a problem though? by pgmrdlm · · Score: 2

      Or reservoirs. My point is, the article I posted talks about how much water from rainfall flows into the ocean. Either more man made lakes/reservoirs, or big ass catch basins should be built now for the next possible drought.

      --
      Anonymous comments are as pathetic as the anonymous "sources" that contaminate gutless journalism from the New York Time
    3. Re:Doesn't California still have a problem though? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      tis worse then that, all the surface accumulation and even short term storage in lakes and reservoirs are great. However they desperately need to get that into the ground and replenish decades of draining all aquifers.

    4. Re:Doesn't California still have a problem though? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We want the public to look at it from a different perspective: less as waste, and more as a resource.

      But it is waste. It contains all the filth and toxic garbage that ends up in the streets every day. Let's not forget homeless sewage too.

    5. Re:Doesn't California still have a problem though? by rgmoore · · Score: 1

      You dam up a river or creek somewhere.

      The problem is where to put the new reservoir. It's not easy. A major reason the watercourses were channelized back in the day was to make it possible to develop the land near them, so putting in dams now would flood a lot of very pricey real estate. And the development goes all the way from the hills to the shore, so you can't just build a dam somewhere downstream.

      Seriously, look at a map of the Los Angeles area and try to find where to put a reservoir to store runoff from the city. The only places you can put them that don't require flooding developed areas either already have dams or are way upstream in the mountains so you'd have to pump that storm water uphill to store it. We're actually working on the second one, but it's not a cheap and simple piece of engineering.

      --

      There's no point in questioning authority if you aren't going to listen to the answers.

    6. Re:Doesn't California still have a problem though? by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      There's a fundamental problem with storm water, it ends up in cities, and cities are often close to the coast which makes it very difficult to do anything useful with storm water. It's not like you can put a giant dam across the beach. This is precisely why stormwater is ejected into the sea and yet captured inland in dams and lakes.

    7. Re:Doesn't California still have a problem though? by PPH · · Score: 1

      Let's not forget homeless

      Right. Flush them out to sea as well. Move tent camps into the LA river when?

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
    8. Re:Doesn't California still have a problem though? by PPH · · Score: 1

      replenish decades of draining all aquifers

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquifer_storage_and_recovery

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
    9. Re:Doesn't California still have a problem though? by pgmrdlm · · Score: 1

      Ok, I have no problem with that. But how about looking back at history for a solution. Cistern's.

      The Basilica Cistern (Turkish: Yerebatan Sarnıcı â" "Cistern Sinking Into Ground"), is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city of Istanbul (formerly Constantinople), Turkey. The cistern, located 150 metres (490 ft) southwest of the Hagia Sophia on the historical peninsula of Sarayburnu, was built in the 6th century during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I.[1]
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_Cistern/

      We currently bury utility lines, sewers,piping, and many other things under existing structures We defiantly have the technology to build Cistern's. Modern society has already been built over ancient Cistern's, so I see no reason we can build something as sustainable and safe.

      If you think about it. Less would be lost to evaporation.

      --
      Anonymous comments are as pathetic as the anonymous "sources" that contaminate gutless journalism from the New York Time
    10. Re:Doesn't California still have a problem though? by ripvlan · · Score: 1

      My friend lived in San Jose area back in the 80'/90's. I'd visit him every few years and remember driving through the mountains and seeing the reservoirs. The trees kept growing and getting taller each year -- from the bottom of the reservoir! There was no water back then. And a stray wildfire up the backside.

      I wonder about the water tables though. Have those recovered? Otherwise any success will be short lived if/when CA goes through this cycle again.

      My wife used to live in San Diego and talked about the yearly fires. What a different world. I used to travel to Pasadena on business and had to contend with smoke and fire on many occasions. I look out the windows of the office building and see smoke all the way to LA and it always smelled like a giant campfire. We'll see when the Santa Ana winds (fire) come back.

    11. Re:Doesn't California still have a problem though? by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      They're called lakes.

      They're actually called aquifers. Overpumping them (which is what happens during drought) reduces their capacity, and causes sinkholes.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    12. Re:Doesn't California still have a problem though? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      California water policy is about agriculture and not about storm drains. The Central Valley looks green from Google Maps satellite pictures, but it gets less than 10 inches of rain a year (30-40 is normal for the Eastern US). 80% of the water goes to agriculture and they pay way less for it (and have less incentive to conserve) than city users.

      Read Cadillac Desert to learn more. I can't recommend that book enough.

    13. Re:Doesn't California still have a problem though? by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      Enron owned a company called Azurix that was trying to do this in California. It was controversial since the goal was profit: they'd pump in water in good years and then sell it back to everyone in dry years, never mind that they didn't actually own the entirety of the aquifers but just the parts that their pumps were over. Same rent-seeking business model that Enron had for electricity. The locals were highly opposed to it and I remember lots of anti Azurix billboards in the central valley.

    14. Re:Doesn't California still have a problem though? by Pfhorrest · · Score: 1

      an aquifer is something different

      this is not an aquifer

      --
      -Forrest Cameranesi, Geek of all Trades
      "I am Sam. Sam I am. I do not like trolls, flames, or spam."
    15. Re:Doesn't California still have a problem though? by PPH · · Score: 1

      It was controversial since the goal was profit

      I can see why California didn't want Enron (or anyone else) trying to get a 'piece of the action' yet again. But that's not a reason to drop what might otherwise be a worthwhile idea.

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
  13. Always believed in Drought Freedom by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Everyone should have access to Free Drought.

  14. Ca has been in a "drought" for 50 years by sycodon · · Score: 2

    I was raised in CA and every year there was some idiot politician talking about how we were in a drought.

    It's as if they don't understand, "average" rainfall. We'd get creamed in the winter, nothing in the summer, and they'd call it a drought.

    --
    When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
    1. Re:Ca has been in a "drought" for 50 years by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Problem is, there's been a very obvious change in the winter rainfall patterns here in L.A. over the last decade. It used to start raining by November, but now it's usually warm and dry until February. We've had 80-90 degree Decembers. This winter was remarkable because it rained a lot, it rained early, and it actually got cold before Christmas. The hills are crazy green, which we haven't seen in a long time. It's not a matter of dry summers/wet winters anymore, but a lot of year-round dryness that's been relentless.

    2. Re:Ca has been in a "drought" for 50 years by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Lots of places were not getting creamed in the winter like they used to. I lived in the bay area for the last ten years and there were some ski areas (Dodge Ridge) that didn't have snow that whole time until the last 2 years. Lots of smaller places like them had to close after years of no snow.

  15. Waiting to see... by mschaffer · · Score: 1

    I am waiting to see who is going to be first to take credit for this.

    1. Re:Waiting to see... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ... to take credit for a rainy season? You know you can't out-stupid the Trump team right? Anything good happens, Trump invented it (bullshit), anything bad happens, thanks Obama! These idiots have no brains lol.

      Don't emulate them, hang them.

  16. All this at the cost of WA snowpack by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 1

    Our snowpack is 70 percent of it's normal state.

    There is a cost to everything.

    --
    -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
    1. Re: All this at the cost of WA snowpack by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ugh. Don't even dude

    2. Re: All this at the cost of WA snowpack by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 2

      It also is correlated with your increased fire risk, and ours. Rains and snow cause plant growth and floods. We're used to it up here, but you can expect it to keep increasing in places where the infrastructure isn't there to handle it. We have salmon swim across our highways (literally over them), houses pulled into raging rivers, that kind of thing. Expect more of that in Cali.

      (caveat: my siblings live in Cali, and are impacted by some of these events)

      --
      -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
    3. Re:All this at the cost of WA snowpack by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      can you elaborate? i don't understand what point you're trying to make.

  17. The new normal? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    If this is the first time in SEVEN YEARS that things are "normal", shouldn't we set a new normal, where drought is "business as usual"?

    1. Re:The new normal? by pgmrdlm · · Score: 1

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Droughts_in_California/

      Throughout history, California has experienced many droughts, such as 1841, 1864, 1924, 1928â"1935, 1947â"1950, 1959â"1960, 1976â"1977, 2006â"2010, and 2012â"2017.[1]

      --
      Anonymous comments are as pathetic as the anonymous "sources" that contaminate gutless journalism from the New York Time
  18. No credit in FEDERAL PRISON, sorry Trump traitors! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sorry Trump traitors, but even when it rains, you're still a traitor about to hang! :D

  19. Probably just the lube Vlad uses to fuck Trump, ya by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's probably just the aqueous lube Vlad Putin uses when he's plowing Trump's obese treasonous faggot ass, I bet he spilled a ton of that shit on the Steele video. Don't worry though - plenty more lube in prison, traitor. See Don Jr.

    He'll never be caught without it, or he'd be literally fucked to smoking pieces in prison. He'll be there forever. Better ration it.

  20. This is Normal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    California has always had long droughts followed by huge rainfall years. The news is, as usual, full of bullshit.

    Historical rainfall graph: https://d1ml0gfpm9yj9s.cloudfront.net/assets/ca_preview-6fae971b8680789dcdde43613804b49c.jpg

    1. Re:This is Normal by butchersong · · Score: 1

      Yeah pretty much. They're a mess. They have huge floods and tons of waterfall but haven't been working to retain any of it (no new dams / reservoirs) so it drained out into the oceans. Yeah drought free after flooding but no ability to plan for the future.

    2. Re:This is Normal by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      Most of the water used in California comes from snowpack. Rains in the Bay Area or Los Angeles don't help the big picture. The dams don't help as much as they could and they're very difficult to construct and maintain in the long run. Better bet, which angers the pro-dam farmers, is to fix the broken water allocation system in which a few people and institutions have rights to the majority of the water and everyone has to fight over what's left. Some of these water rights came into existence back when Spain owned the state.

  21. Celebration Time! by bob4u2c · · Score: 1

    I'm going to celebrate by flooding the yard and putting out a slip and slide! Who's with me?

  22. time to build a million more homes! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    cause now there's enough water!
    That'll be their mentality, just wait for it...

    Never mind there wasn't enough water before they built the last 10 million homes...

  23. Why Not by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Sure. I mean, saying ignorant and Deplorable things seems to be your bag. And Trump has offered worthless advice to California ("rake the forests", "Wall", "California needs water and should have planned for that", etc.).

    So it's Leftist Tears (not 'Leftest') then, at least it's water and at least it's useful. Your ignorance? Not so much!

  24. Score one for by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    human caused climate change. If you're gonna blame every bad weather event on it you've got to give it credit for the good ones as well.

  25. Do you think CA is storing ANY excess water? by SensitiveMale · · Score: 2, Informative

    NOPE.

    Trillions of gallons of water are simply flowing to the ocean. So the next time there is a drought Californians will bitch and complain about global warming. When pointed out that the lack of water is policial in nature, they reply, as always, with "So politics controls the rain now?"

    1. Re:Do you think CA is storing ANY excess water? by DigiShaman · · Score: 1

      "So politics controls the rain now?" No, politics controls the drain now.

      --
      Life is not for the lazy.
    2. Re:Do you think CA is storing ANY excess water? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Get your information from somewhere other than right wing social media grandpa.

    3. Re:Do you think CA is storing ANY excess water? by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      What water are you talking about? River water? Do you dam a major river? Storm water? Where do you put that? Expend endless energy pumping it inland and uphill?

      There's a reason water is left to flow into the ocean. It's frequently too expensive to do anything else with.

    4. Re:Do you think CA is storing ANY excess water? by Huge_UID · · Score: 1
      Correct.

      But California already has dams at the best locations and new dams will be costly to build and operate. The state also has opportunities to increase storage in its groundwater basins, in some cases at relatively low cost. Coordinating surface and groundwater operations - principally by moving water out of reservoirs and into aquifers during wet periods - can increase the total amount of water stored.

      https://www.ppic.org/publication/dams-in-california/

    5. Re:Do you think CA is storing ANY excess water? by SensitiveMale · · Score: 1

      There's a reason water is left to flow into the ocean. It's frequently too expensive to do anything else with.

      If you think it's expensive to store, wait until there is another drought and Californians start whining about lack of water.

  26. Re:Obama DID take credit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Obama took credit for the healing of the earth and lowering of the seas before he even won the election.

    and got a Nobel Prize for doing nothing!!

  27. A state of permanent drought ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Informative

    Just three years ago we were warned that due to climate change, California was in a state of permanent drought.
    https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/10/us/california-drought-water-restrictions-permanent.html
    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2019/03/11/californias-permanent-drought-is-now-washed-away-by-reality/

    Now plenty of water. A few years ago lake Michigan and other great lakes had levels at unprecedented lows due to climate change, now we are at high levels.

    These tendentious "predictions" to scare people about global warming are always failing. Nature is far bigger and complex than us puny humans.

    Beto's and AOC's shouting that we are 12 years away from global catastrophe falls in the same bucket...scare talk to enforce their radical socialist agenda masquerading under a green blanket.

    And no ClickonThis writing above, there are no trends to more extreme weather. Just trends to more extreme shouting from the press about weather to propogate their agenda of energy poverty and social control. The IPCC reports so there is no link and our understanding of global warming and extreme weather was low. Those who know about weather know that in a warming world the temperature gradient from the equator to the poles (which are supposed to warm faster -arctic amplification) is reduced. And it is the temperature gradient that drives winds, jet streams, and storms. So, no, there are no trends to "more extremes in weather". Tornado are way down in the US, and despite the couple of hurricanes last year, that followed a 12 year hiatus of hurricanes to hit the USA. Flooding and new hot temperature records show no trends of increase (the 1930s were the hottest years in the US)

    http://wattsupwiththat.com/2013/10/03/pielke-jr-agrees-extreme-weather-to-climate-connection-is-a-dead-issue/
    http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/09/21/dr-john-christys-testimony-before-congress/#more-71379
    I

    1. Re:A state of permanent drought ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      YAAFM

      Work that acronym out for yourself.

    2. Re:A state of permanent drought ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yup, you sound real smart, instead of addressing the data, the citations, the facts, you through around insults, and the post below
      starting with "LOL whatsupwiththat?", same low intelligence, call names instead of thinking, can't even type drought correctly.

      Real classy argumentation there...you who have drunk the global warming cool-aid should do some research, some thinking, maybe consider the many scientists who challenge the fake consensus.

      The point is the strident cries of imminent disaster always fail.
      You should get outside your bubble, and look at wattsupwiththat.com.

      It is no denier site, lots of links and stories from academic papers, official data sources, and unlike the warming alarmist sites, you can comment, and if you are civil (which based on your posts here, I am kind of doubtful) can engage in a real discussion and maybe learn something.

    3. Re:A state of permanent drought ? by Darinbob · · Score: 2

      Not plenty of water. One year being drought free doesn't mean we can all go back to drenching the lawns like they were rice paddies and taking two hour showers.

    4. Re:A state of permanent drought ? by Obfiscator · · Score: 1

      I agree that nature is big and complex. I also agree that it's a bit silly to assign any specific event to climate change, and I do wish people would stop doing it.

      What do we know? We know that the global mean temperature has risen by a degree recently (observations and analysis, including models and experiments). From all the evidence we have, the rate of this change is unprecedented. It corresponds very well with increasing emissions of certain gases, and we have a physical explanation for why these gases trap heat.

      To predict the future, we need models. Decades of development on complex Earth system models has not produced perfect results. For evidence of that, look at future projections of terrestrial carbon. Look at climate projections for specific regions in the year 2100, in particular precipitation. The agreement between the models used in the IPCC reports is not great for both of these areas.

      But all the models agree that increasing greenhouse gas emissions will continue to increase the global mean temperature.

      Humans are changing the climate. With the impact that the land surface has on the atmosphere, and the fact that over half of the Earth's land surface has changed from its natural state as a result of human activities (primarily food production, including both crops and pasture for livestock), we should not be surprised that this is possible. What we don't yet know is exactly what the effects will be.

      --
      "Nothing shocks me. I'm a scientist." -Indiana Jones
  28. Always in a drought by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The article may say this much but while drought conditions do not currently exist due to a few years of heavy snowfall in the Sierras, because of the way we use and store water, California is *always* in a drought. One year of light snowpack and we're at a water shortage.

  29. Arizona has also turned into a bath sponge now by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 2

    One more rainstorm, and we're going to start getting alligators.

    1. Re:Arizona has also turned into a bath sponge now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Those are wetbacks, not alligators.

  30. Weather by Dan+East · · Score: 1

    Move to California! It's always nice and sunny!
    OMG we have drought because it hasn't rained enough!

    --
    Better known as 318230.
  31. stupid bitch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is not yahoo news, bitch.
    'Go back to sucking your daddy's dick., seems thats what your good at, right.

  32. Re: Obama DID take credit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    More than trump did repubtard faggots.

    At least Obama has the decency to give back. Trump just takes takes takes takes. Fucking partisan fag!

  33. The real problem is California selling its water. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Specifically NorCal water being redirected to Southern California and particularly LA.

    While we were under water restrictions up here in NorCal, all that water was being funnelled down to Southern California to the economic benefit of the water authorities and not the regional groups who should have benefitted from it. End result: NorCal had a 'drought' because all its water was being directed all the way down to SoCal because they would pay more.

    The drought scam in California has been entirely fictional, and mostly related to the mega-cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles stealing all the water from the eastern range, rather than raising their own water prices and building out the infrastructure to get the water they need from desalinated brackish or seawater local to their own populations. The same applies to Southern California agriculture which shouldn't be stealing water from upstream sources, and instead working to ensure their own sources that aren't simply drying out another region.

    As a final thought: This 'drought free' classification only applies to rainfall quantity. It doesn't solve a much larger underlying issue, which is the water table decline from excessive well usage. Unless and until sufficient clean water can be reintroduced to the water table to offset the losses from agriculture, commercial, and residential usage even years of drought free weather won't solve California's water shortages, nor those leading to desertification in states east of it (Nevada and Utah could both use recovery and restoration, as well as improvements to their own watershedding. There are a number of dry lake beds due to erosion or human mismanagement of the states that could be recovered with some mega-engineering projects. But who wants to spend money on infrastructure or planning for the future?

  34. Re:Try not lying, see if basic shit comes to you by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    As someone who hates Trump, you should be aware that politicians tend to lie when it can increase their power over people. Seattle declares "droughts" all the time, but there's always plenty of water.

  35. WTF? by Cyberax · · Score: 1

    California has just spent more than a billion dollars restoring the spillway in Oroville. There are also several dam repair projects going on. New reservoirs are probably not going to happen, California has plenty of water as it is.

  36. Re:The real problem is California selling its wate by Solandri · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Specifically NorCal water being redirected to Southern California and particularly LA.
    [...]
    The drought scam in California has been entirely fictional, and mostly related to the mega-cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles stealing all the water from the eastern range [...] The same applies to Southern California agriculture

    BS. Cities and towns only use about 10% of the water. The vast majority of water is used for agriculture and for environmental reasons (keeping rivers flowing, wetlands wet, and preventing saltwater inundation in bays). Yes most of the water used by LA metro residents is piped in from elsewhere. But it's a tiny fraction of the water that's redirected around the state. Southern California has very little agriculture - a few orange groves and scattered ground crops. The vast majority of agriculture is in central California (note that the Bay Area is actually in the middle of the state, not Northern California as its generally called, and is adjacent to most of this agricultural productivity).

    What needs to happen is for the price of agricultural products grown in California to increase to truly reflect the scarcity of water. Agriculture contributes only 2% to California's GDP, but consumes 80% of its non-environmental water use. California's agriculture industry needs to be charged full price for the water it uses. People in other states will then either pay the higher prices for California crops and livestock, allowing California farmers to afford to buy water from sources in other states. Or they'll refuse to pay the higher prices, allowing production to move to states where it makes more economic sense to grow those crops and livestock. Both of these alleviate the endemic water shortages. But as long as the state government insists on subsidizing its agriculture industry with cheap water, it'll result in water shortages for residents outside of the agricultural areas. That's what happens when you subsidize something - it distorts the economy causing shortages elsewhere.

  37. Re:The real problem is California selling its wate by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well LA did drink the Owens Lake: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owens_Lake

  38. lol by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So...seven years of drought, seven years of plenty? Where have I seen that before...hmm

  39. Re: Obama DID take credit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why are you so mad? Is it because Trump wonâ(TM)t have sex with you?

  40. 366C? That's an oven by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I think you mean 366K, then percentage changes are making sense.

  41. Re:Try not lying, see if basic shit comes to you by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Learn what words mean. Drought is a level of water, not "zero water left"

  42. Re:The real problem is California selling its wate by istartedi · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The real "real problem" is that California has too many people and too much agriculture using too much water.

    The highest estimate I could find of pre-contact population in California was about 700,000. Of course natives didn't use massive flood irrigation techniques, so the state's carrying capacity is probably much higher, but we're closing in on 40 million people here combined with an unsustainable Central Valley irrigation system that's already causing salination of the soil and draw-downs of aquifers to the point where land is subsiding.

    --
    For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
  43. Re: Obama DID take credit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Informative

    More than trump did repubtard faggots.

    At least Obama has the decency to give back. Trump just takes takes takes takes. Fucking partisan fag!

    What has Obama ever given back? He took more of the working classes money to pay for health care for everyone else. You're not charitable when you use other people's money!

  44. Re: California Declared Totally Drug Free For 1st by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No, it's not illegals that do that, it's California's massive (and rapidly growing) homeless population. Wherever they go, you're likely to find needles and feces on the sidewalk.

  45. Re: Obama DID take credit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    "If you like your doctor...."

  46. It's your car stupid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Looks at your post...looks at UID...looks at post....looks at UID...

    YOU'RE DRVING A DODGE! What the hell did you expect???

  47. Re: Obama DID take credit by kenai_alpenglow · · Score: 1

    Didn't he give back part of that chicago park that he took for his "library"?

  48. Calamity marketeers have done this my entire life by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is entirely political; the people pushing it have certain political policies they want to promote and they know the public would never allow those policies to be implemented in ordinary circumstances because they would severely harm the average member of the public. The solution they have log used is to claim that the sky is falling, that there is very little time to avoid disaster, and that their preferred political policies just happen to be the ones their "studies" require.

    The all-time champion of this garbage was Paul Ehrlich, who scared people in the 1970s to badly that Hollywood latched onto his nightmare future predictions and started pushing films like Soylent Green and Silent Running.

    Paul Ehrlich's partner-in-crime was Joehn Holdren, who went on to serve as President Obama's Science Advisor and helped with the propaganda effort to turn parts of the government into Global Warming and then Climate Change propaganda agencies.

    In the 1970s, we were told the world would end before the 1980s if we did not accept leftist policies.
    In the 1980s, we were told the world would end in the 1990s, and certainly before 2000 if we did not accept leftist policies.
    Same in the 1990s and in the first decade of the 2000s.

    Jest Google or DuckDuck or whatever for all of Algore's predictions, and the garbage announcements of stupid British royals ans Hollywood types etc about how we "only have 4 years to act" or "have to act within the next 6 years" or "we only have a decade left in whch to act" (none of these are direct quotes buy a smart person can rapidly find oodles of these conflicted predictions of doom by opinion makers). Anybody who took any of those predictions seriously should, by now, have given up and decided to live a life of reckless pollution and debauchery since it all clearly can no longer matter given all the point-of-no-return points we have crossed years ago.

  49. then grow cannabis by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It requires less water, and can make 1000x more money per acre.
    No brainer, there.

  50. Global warming! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We absolutely MUST stop this global warming! It is destroying out planet!