The Fastline Blog

California is in the unfortunate situation of being an area that is susceptible to the risk of prolonged droughts throughout the year. As you can imagine, this has had a tremendously devastating effect on the state agricultural industry, with many farms having felt the brunt of these droughts much more severely than other industries. Adding to the problem is the sheer size of the state, which means that droughts can occur at different times all throughout California.

When water is in short supply in particular area, it will not be sufficient to meet the needs of the inhabitants of the region, In the case of California, extensive efforts have been made to ensure that this not happen, with the most appropriate courses of action being determined by a careful analysis of drought patterns in the area. This helps federal government agencies formulate a comprehensive approach to dealing with an impending water shortage and in some cases, even help initiate measures that would lessen the blow of an upcoming drought on farms and agricultural industries in the state.

While water conservation remains one of the least expensive and widely practiced means to deal with water shortages in California, there are a few other methods commonly implemented as well. These include desalination, water recycling and cloud seeding. There are a few other methods being considered at the moment, although their viability has not been determined as of yet.

California has had moderate success with desalination as a way to deal with the water crisis. This process involves removing salt from seawater, making it usable for common household and farm irrigation tasks. The main drawback to this method is that it is quite costly, and time-consuming. In addition, desalination uses up a lot of energy.

Recycling water is another viable option for many California farms and businesses. This process involves treating raw water from the sewage in order to remove contaminants. While recycled water has been deemed unsafe for drinking, it can be used for practically everything else. Today, some of the biggest users of recycled water in California are the outdoor landscaping and golf courses in the area.

The most recent solution proposed to dealing with the water shortage in California is cloud seeding. This involves sprinkling tiny silver iodide crystals into clouds in order to encourage moisture formation. The main drawback to this method is that it is quite costly to implement. In addition, many people remain skeptical as to its actual effectiveness.

The water shortage continues to be an issue that not only has an influence on California agriculture, but the everyday lives of all Californians. As we are just beginning the new year, this issue looks like it is going to be a hot topic again in 2010.

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