Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire California water problems...who would've guessed

The only dependable water source for CA is the ocean. There should have been a massive building project of desalination plants built along the coastline before now. This would help alleviate some of the water demand along with other dam building projects....or else CA is paid big time for someone else's water leftover.

The only way desalination would work is to build a canal from the ocean to the Salton Sea, flood the Salton Sea, and then you can build huge desalination plants that can pump directly in to already existing aqueducts.

Would be expensive, hugely expensive, about 25% as expensive as the high speed rail system. But it solves two currently immediate water needs in Southern California, a reliable fresh water source, and the restoration of the Salton Sea.

Coastal property in California is too valuable and limited to be able to build desalination plants the size that they'd need to be. Only way it could work is to have them inland, and then near a distribution system able to handle the output.

A canal to the Salton Sea would solve "ALL" of Southern California's water needs at once!

And unlike what most believe, building water storage is not the answer, we have plenty of that already... which is useless when there is no water to fill them.


Phil

True that there is no water to fill them now, but if they had been built thirty years ago the state would have been in better shape now water wise. Ed

It is true that there is no water to fill them, but if they had but them thirty years ago the state would have been in better shape water wise. ED

To busy [bleep]' around.

Too busy f a g g i n ' around.

Greyghost... Please post a link about using Salton Sink as a saline sump. And when that would make desalinization cost effective.

Even in high water years there isn't enough water in California to satisfy all who hold Water Rights. The demand will always exceed the supply of surface water. And the aquifers around the State can't make up the difference. Those aquifers are already over pumped.

Some more of them f&&king environmentalists/liberals BS thinking. Lets protect the earth instead of coexisting with it. I believe you can develop natural resources without destroying the environment. If environmentalists/liberals would put more time into developing the resources I bet it could be done and still keep the natural beauty of the earth.

Phil,
You've just hit on 1 core piece of the problem. "Coastal property in California is too valuable to...".

I'm thinking the cost to flood the Salton Sea (or any other viable solution, for that matter) pales when you consider the alternative.

As you already stated, storage facilities aren't the problem. You have plenty, just no water to keep in them..

JMHO, but if you're weighing the difference between millions of Kalifornians doing without "necessary and required" water, and maintaining the beautiful upscale lifestyle of southern Kalifornia..

So.. Let's do some fuzzy math. Desalination development for perpetual clean water = 25% of the cost for high speed rail system. Hmmm.

OK, Let's review now. Water for survival.. 1/4 less high speed rail system? Water for survival.. 1/4 less high speed rail system?

Phuggin' hilarious.
Just sayin'.

And, Oh, by the way..

Liberal retards never seem to have a problem employing Imminent Domain to foster other "projects".

Water rights never garanteed the holders water in times of drought, only a place in line for it. It's a system for some order, a order of curtailment and somewhat reflects land values.

There's a lot of truth to that. California was once a great place to grow up, but those days are long past. I can't tell you how much it sickened to me to continually meet people from NY or NJ who thought they were living some ultimate fantasy brie-and-wine California lifestyle while pushing the same failed liberal policies that turned so many big northeastern cities in chitholes.

There are a great many things I miss about that state, especially the unrivaled diversity and beauty of its wildlands, but I am SO glad to be out of there now.

Yes. But when a last in line Water Rights holder doesn't get their water they demand they should have it anyway. By way of the national media.

I give you the Westlands Water District as an example. What say you? What's your take on this? I don't own Water Rights in California. But I have a relative in Chico who is sweating bullets over this.

Trying to understand this.

Salton Sea is 240 feet below sea level.
Banning Pass is over 2500 feet above sea level.
Water from the Colorado aqueduct is over 1500' high at the Mecca or White Water tunnels to flow into Lake Mathews and beyond.
So water desalinated at Salton Sea is going to have to be pumped about 2000 feet up to flow in the existing Aqueduct.

So how is it cheaper than water directly from the ocean when So Cal's inland valleys are only about the 1000 foot elevation level?

Detroit has lots of water and available housing. Just imagine the utopia that is Californians living in Detroit.
Bring a coat....

This drought is going to break a lot of ranchers, but if it makes the libs move back where they came from it will be a good thing. ED

Its about taking care of as many problems all at once, and as cheaply as possible.

Any way you work desalination it has to be pumped to the highest point and gravity fed as needed. And if possible without building new infrastructure!

Salton Sea has got to be taken care of and soon or there will be such toxic dust blowing throughout that the area will be inhabitable.

Since trying to put fresh water into the Salton Sea to desalinate it to acceptable levels isn't currently workable, the canal allowing ocean water would do that and bring the area back from the brink of destruction. And since (hopefully) desalination as a necessary water source won't be permanent, its capacity when not needed could also then be used to keep the Salton Sea at acceptable levels... another words solving both problems at the same time.

Currently they have two solutions to solve the problem with the Salton Sea, both are half ass and not well thought out. The current plan thought to be the cheapest only fixes part of the problem and hasn't been funded at all in the last 40 years. Estimated I believe at 9 to 10 billion and does nothing. The Eco system their is dying and hasn't much time left.

There's also a possible third benefit of such a system. More water from down south, might also permit enough water to be retained up in the Owens Valley area to help solve the problem there which is already in the works, but I don't believe funded either.

Legislator can solve the problem or keep talking about it.

But Obama is pushing the rail system. He's not pushing the water solution. That's all the difference in the world on what gets the priority.

Hey, I believe in high speed rail just not at 200 mph with frequent stops.

All that is needed is dedicated track with equipment we already have and at current speeds of 60 to 70 mph.

WOW, we had that back in the 30's.

Those speeds would get from San Diego, to Sacramento in 8 to 10 hours depending on number of stops, and few of the long waits and delays of air travel.

Hell, San Diego to Seattle would be a pleasant trip.

Dedicated track is the answer to rail... and believe it or not, the high speed rail system doesn't have it!


Phil