WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW CAN HURT YOU.

This photo is from Reuters Media.

Right now in Calaveras County, and throughout the state,  people are shocked and concerned about water usage;  their reservoirs are drying up. They are concerned for their future in a globally changed climate with an estimated 10 year drought.  In the worst drought on record, the California Sierra snow pack was at 27 inches. It is now at 2 inches. That is scary.

There is an urge locally to dam up all the water so we can to keep it. But damming doesn't bring more water.  It is frightening and people are scared. But solutions have to protect people, fish, agriculture and the environment as the river serves many areas over miles of its flow. I wondered if there was a bill in our state to ban fracking?

Several states have banned fracking with good reason. Imagine waking up to find your tap water bursting into flames, or your horses going blind, and cows dropping dead. Admittedly, that is what happened in Arkansas, and is a worse case scenario where the entire town had to be evacuated.

The latest news from a peer-reviewed study by the Colorado School of Public Health and Brown University found an association between the density and proximity of  gas wells within a 10 mile radius of a maternal residence showed a prevalence of congenital heart defects as well as possible links to defects in the brain and spinal cord.

With a 25% mandatory water reduction, I began to wonder about fracking in California? I called Governor Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom our Lt. Governor. No one would or could  give me a direct answer about anything having to do with fracking. Newsom put me in touch with the Water Control Board. Everyone was in meetings. But an aide  put me in touch with The Division of Oral Gas and Geo Thermal. Their public relations person, Don Drysdale could not or would not answer questions directly but he emailed me.

More on this subject tomorrow.

NO, WATER, WATER, WATER.

This graph comes from Mother Jones Magazine. California is in deep trouble as is Southern Oregon. I opened my accumulated mail and my water usage, while I was gone, with only one person living in my house was over the base amount by a small amount. Our base amount was recently reduced by 20%. No sprinkling system was used during that time. Karen hand watered plants that appeared to be dry. We are both water misers and what bothers me about percentage cuts is that water misers are unfairly penalized. The next cut will be 30% we are warned. We know it has to be done and our water usage must be altered.

I stopped for fresh produce yesterday and paid $38 for a small bag of all organic produce and counted my blessings that I can afford to buy locally grown food that doesn’t have to be hauled across the state in a big gas guzzling truck, and sit for a week in a box in cold storage at the grocers.

It was also interesting to see what fruits and vegetables use the most water. I was surprised that California citrus and avocados and cherries were not on the list. I always consider them major parts of the California economy. It seems useful to me to know what foods are water lovers and which are not. I haven’t planted a garden since my neighbor shares his with me. I have an unused well and I’m looking into activating it but it only gives 9 gallons per minute.  Now I hear, the county has decided to tax people’s wells. I have to wonder whether I will be taxed at the same rate as another neighbor who gets 64 gallons a minute?  I have no ready answers. Karen and I are going to work on a crude water catchment system before our predicted rain on Wednesday. I’ll keep you posted.