California Still Needs More Water Storage

Water remains an extremely precious resource for all Californians, but especially for farmers. Despite recent rainfalls, many are understandably concerned about where the water for their livelihood will come from long term.

Kristi Diener is a Writer and the Organizer of the popular Facebook Group “California Water for Food and People”. She and many others are asking the government to increase reservoir storage by investing in our state’s water infrastructure.

Diener…”Our California dams and reservoirs were originally built for flood protection and for two other users: for people and for agriculture. Environmental usages now account for about 50% of the human water supply. But we haven't built any new major reservoirs to replace this lost water. So the deconstruction of the central valley and the southern parts of the state are really starting to add up.

These were areas that were civilized and cultivated based on our state. Magnificent ability to bring surface water to them. But with the loss of the stored water, farmers and cities are increasingly having to turn to groundwater pumping to make up the difference.”

For specific ideas to address the issue, Diener points to raising the Shasta Dam. If raised 18 feet, the dam could hold a year’s supply of water for 6.6 million people. She also points to projects such as Temperence Flat and Sites Reservoir as potential areas for investment.