Drought, now what?

When I lived on the Sonoma coast of California during the mid 90s to 05, conditions were dry. Some planned communities could only get water permits if they built large reservoirs, and only took water from streams during high water in the winter. Some long time residents on wells were seeing their well water declining due to rapid vineyard development sucking the aquifers dry. Recently, a large food producer in Santa Rosa was having trouble getting a permit because the city wanted a lot of money to supply the water and sewer.

And now, we see California in a super drought. Northern California has 8% of normal snow pack. Stories from the Sonoma coast are of January with everything brown, when the hills should be green from December rains. Predictions are that this situation will likely become the new normal.
California residents and planners will have to take lessons from India and Africa about capturing and storing water when it is available for use when it's not.

A few years ago. I did some research and design for planned communities which could not use ground water or water from nearby ponds or streams. All water use had to be derived from captured rainwater. The above picture shows the result. massive underground reservoirs built from space age structural plastics, covered with permeable geo fabrics and permeable landscaping materials. Beautiful and functional year round supply. In India, a return to traditional rainwater catchment is happening. Small retention dams are built in swales and stream beds. The object is not to make ponds, but to slow the water down so it sinks into the soil and recharges the aquifers instead of running off to the sea.

Industry is going to have to forget about sewer systems, and focus on "0" discharge and recycle all their water and adjust their thinking about how they use water.

Arguing about water rights and rates is not the answer. A paradigm shift in how water is viewed, captured, and utilized is necessary from the large scale user all the way to the homeowner.

To read about progress in India that may relate to problems here-http://www.hydratelife.org/?p=1765&goback=%2Egde_79990_member_5806975627458260994#%21

Blue Future Filters rainwater filter systems

Sequester

According to a study by the Association of General Contractors,  (http://www.agc.org/galleries/news/AGC_Sequestration_Report.pdf) the sequester mandating mandatory reduction across the board to discretionary spending will remove over 100 million dollars from rural water and waste-water funds.

These funds take the form of state loans to small utilities trying to make their water and waste-water systems meet federal regulations. Taking the funds away makes rural citizens less safe from the threat of water borne disease.

The EPA, in establishing rules such as the total coliform rule and the surface water treatment rule as well as supporting research into affordable water and waste-water treatment technologies, has attempted to address the discrepancy between access to safe drinking water for rural citizens on par with residents of cities.
Even for small systems, a rural water treatment system to ensure potability can easily cost over $100,000. In these days of almost impossible loan availability, these small systems have had only one recourse, repayable loans from the states. The sequester takes that availability for many communities off the table, denying them access to necessary improvements and upgrades.

It's very disappointing that there are elected officials in Congress willing to put these rural citizens at risk because of a political agenda.