California's Water Supply
- Created by: Joseph Timoney-Smith
- Created on: 03-02-15 11:08
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- California's Water Supply
- Threats to the American Dream
- Precipitation
- The area is very arid, with an annual precipitation of 200-600m
- 50% of California's rain falls between November and March - leading to seasonal shortages
- 22% of precipitation is only available for human use
- Population
- It is likely to hit 40 million
- There is spatial imbalance, the population is too dense but in areas that there is not enough precipation
- Precipitation
- The Colorado River Basin under Pressure
- Factors
- It irrigates 1.4 million hectares of farmland
- North versus the South
- Northern California feared that the water would be owned by the south as a higher percentage is closer to them
- The Bay-Delta region is where supplies are transferred, multiple users all demand more water
- Sharing the River
- Mexico takes 10% of the total flow
- California gets 50% of the lower basin
- Colorado gets 52% of the upper basin
- Factors
- The Salton Sea
- Is an agricultral sump - it acts as a recieveing basin for runoff from irrigated farmland
- It has become a wildlife refuge boasting millions of birds, fish and flora among its fresh and salt water marshes
- 75% of the inflow is toxic to animals from cotton and citiris farms
- Has a higher salt content than the Pacific Ocean
- Tourists don't visit due to the smell
- eutophication and algal blooms have caused 7.5 million fish die in one day
- Threats to the American Dream
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