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Post by The Big Dog on Jun 4, 2008 10:59:46 GMT -5
Okay, we've had a couple of dry winters. And the population of Kal-e-forn-yah has continued to have growth each and every year. But what have we not had? Why we haven't had any significant increases in water storage capacity for years. The Department of Water Resources and local agencies (down to and including our own SoCo Water Agency) have done pretty much a big fat zero to add capacity to accomadate additional demand caused by population growth. Just like we haven't built any new power plants, or oil refineries. Leave it to the Governor to zero in on the false mantra of "global warming" as a root cause when the cause lives and works in Sacramento. What a load of manure our Governor is peddling, on this and across so many issues. It occurred to me again just the other day that we recalled Governor Gray Davis for a lot less crap than Arnold has done. We've been sold a bill of goods in a slick package and while I never voted for Mr. Schwarzenegger, I am deeply ashamed for my party that he identifies himself as a Republican. Bitter and cynical? Why yes... yes, I am. The full San Diego Union Tribune story.[/quote] |
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Post by saintjoeeric on Jun 5, 2008 1:09:31 GMT -5
We can take some consolation in knowing that Tom McClintock is on his way to the United States Congress in the Fourth congressional district east of Sacramento. How much nicer it would have been if McClintock and not Schwarzenkennedy won the recall election! Do you think there could still be anyone actually proposing the draining of Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in light of the drought we're in? I believe it was Milton Friedman who said, "Let the Communists control the Sahara Desert and within 5 years there'll be a shortage of sand." Sounds like our state officials with regard to water, oil refinery capacity, the list goes on......  |
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Post by heckheckle on Jul 8, 2008 19:06:29 GMT -5
Here is just a thought that I thought should be "Stuck" in somewhere. I have been telling Builders, Homeowners, etc, for 50 years that instead of planting Pine trees,
Spruce trees,etc, to Plant Fruit trees. We need a huge gang 0f "Johnny Fruit trees", instead of
"Johnny Appleseeds" People who will plant a fruit tree anywhere. Not to worry if it survives.
just keep planting. In all the Forests that have burned and all over the world. Anywhere that looks like a good place for a tree. Plant one, a dozen, hundreds. All kinds of fruit.
Get them started now. You can be sure that the next problem with the lack of trees will be
floods and mud slides. The Brush and trees that carpeted the ground has now been pretty
much burned off. We need trees to stabilize the ground. Fruit trees will also solve a lot of the hunger problem in the world.
Heckheckle knows.
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Post by Mink on Jul 8, 2008 22:00:53 GMT -5
God bless you Heckheckle.....my Daddy, rest his soul, said and did the same thing!!  |
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Post by bolverk on Jul 11, 2008 11:12:35 GMT -5
Here is just a thought that I thought should be "Stuck" in somewhere. I have been telling Builders, Homeowners, etc, for 50 years that instead of planting Pine trees, Spruce trees,etc, to Plant Fruit trees. We need a huge gang 0f "Johnny Fruit trees", instead of "Johnny Appleseeds" People who will plant a fruit tree anywhere. Not to worry if it survives. just keep planting. In all the Forests that have burned and all over the world. Anywhere that looks like a good place for a tree. Plant one, a dozen, hundreds. All kinds of fruit. Get them started now. You can be sure that the next problem with the lack of trees will be floods and mud slides. The Brush and trees that carpeted the ground has now been pretty much burned off. We need trees to stabilize the ground. Fruit trees will also solve a lot of the hunger problem in the world. Heckheckle knows. Really? And just who is going to harvest all of these fruit trees planted in the middle of our forests? And how will you get your Democrat brethren, the environmentalist, to go along with this poorly thought out idea of planting fruit trees among our indigenous forests? Though I certainly believe that we need to plant new trees, just not fruit trees that will leave fruit on the ground to rot. Heckheckle knows what? |
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Post by Mink on Jul 11, 2008 21:35:02 GMT -5
Bloverk, sonoma country, especially in our immediate area, was nothing but Gravenstein apples, there were abundant prune trees as well as the grapes. Who picked them.....people did.
Sebastopol employed many at their caneries with shifts around the clock. Apple products galore it was. The hops were once a big item here as well even thought not a tree (I don't think )
Heckheckle knows more than you think......
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Post by crossride on Jul 11, 2008 22:02:39 GMT -5
I happen to like fruit trees and if allowed, I will go harvest what I need from them, so I say plant away! I don't see who it will hurt (although I'm sure someone is about to tell me...).
Mink: Hops are a vine. I like hops too, well at least the after product.
Mink (and others): His screen name is BOLVERK. I've seen it spelled BLOVERK more than a few times and it bugs me. Unless I'm not party to some inside information, I'm surprised Bolverk is not upset about it, as he is about many other things ;-)
heckheckles knows... proofreading?
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Post by Mink on Jul 11, 2008 22:25:28 GMT -5
quote: "Mink (and others): His screen name is BOLVERK. I've seen it spelled BLOVERK more than a few times and it bugs me. Unless I'm not party to some inside information, I'm surprised Bolverk is not upset about it, as he is about many other things ;-)" I'm sure Bloverk will speak up for himself and sorry for my intermittent dyslexia  |
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Post by The New Guy on Jul 12, 2008 1:08:57 GMT -5
mink, you meant plum trees, right?
or were those prune trees growing right next to the raisin trees? ;D
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Post by Mink on Jul 23, 2008 23:34:34 GMT -5
mink, you meant plum trees, right? or were those prune trees growing right next to the raisin trees? ;D Quite right TNG....oops! They were beautiful plums too. My parents made sure us kids knew where money grows, so we picked prunes (and not very well and I was 12 yrs. old). We were paid and Mom told us, "now you have money for school clothes". Yikes, we still have pictures of our choices  |
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Post by jgaffney on Jul 29, 2008 15:31:08 GMT -5
Dragging this thread, kicking and screaming, back on track, here's a little backgrounder on our local water supply.
The Sonoma County Water Agency built Warm Springs Dam in the 80s, to howls of derision from the environmentalists. Marin County was offered a share of the water, but they too turned it down, calling it a financial boondoggle.
Well, the resultant Lake Sonoma has proven to be an ample water resource for the cities that buy water from SCWA: Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, Cotati and Petaluma, along with the Valley of the Moon, North Marin and Marin Municipal water districts. NMWD is basically Novato, and uses the SCWA water to keep Lake Stafford full. MMWD serves the balance of Marin County, and uses the SCWA water to supplement the water from their system of lakes on the slopes of Mount Tam. The two water districts in Marin pay a premium for the water because their property tax bills don't help to pay off the debt on the dam.
If you watch the data on the weather page of the PeeDee (the hardcopy version), it will give water storage and water level figures for the main reservoirs in our system: Pillsbury, Mendocino and Sonoma. When Lake Mendocino has to close the boat ramp because it's too far from the water, Lake Sonoma is still in great shape.
The water that is released from Lake Sonoma is routed through Dry Creek into the Russian River above Wohler Road. The water is then trapped behind the rubber dam and diverted into the settling ponds, where the wells suck it out. So, when one of the misinformed people accuse the Water Agency of "stealing" river water, you can now correct them and say, "No, it's our water. We're just using the river as a conduit."
Our problem now is that we can't release more water from Lake Sonoma. The Fish & Wildlife Service has ruled that high flows in the summer will wash away the steelhead smelts, and that the habitat uses of Dry Creek are more important than the water conveyance uses. What this means is that eventually there will be a water treatment plant at Lake Sonoma, and an aqueduct connecting it to the balance of the County's aqueduct system. Count on a billion dollars to make this happen. When it does, the summertime flows in the Russian River will go nearly to zero in low years. People have talked about being able to walk across the river above Asti in the summertime. I can see it now: Trowbridge Canoes with wheels!
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Post by The Big Dog on Jul 29, 2008 16:22:52 GMT -5
And remember it is those self same "greens" who oppose any increase of capacity at Lake Mendocino, which meters water to the lower Russian River.
It will look funny to see dry riverbed behind the dam at Healdsburg come July 4 in a few years.
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