Thread: Donald Trump tells Californians there is no drought

Donald Trump tells Californians there is no drought

Steph Solis, USA TODAY
12:14 p.m. EDT May 28, 2016

Presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Fresno on May 27, 2016 in Fresno, California. Trump is on a Western campaign trip which saw stops in North Dakota and Montana yesterday and two more in California today. (Photo: Spencer Platt, Getty Images)


Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier version of this article misstated the name of California’s governor.

California suffered one of its driest years in 2015. And last year the state hit its driest four-year period on record.

But Donald Trump isn't sold. The presumptive GOP nominee told supporters in Fresno, Calif., on Friday night that no such dry spell exists.

Trump said state officials were simply denying water to Central Valley farmers to prioritize the Delta smelt, a native California fish nearing extinction — or as Trump called it, "a certain kind of three-inch fish.”

“We’re going to solve your water problem. You have a water problem that is so insane. It is so ridiculous where they’re taking the water and shoving it out to sea,” Trump told thousands of supporters at the campaign event.

USA TODAY35 protesters arrested outside of Trump rally in San Diego

Yes, there is a drought

A series of graphics from the Los Angeles Times shows the progression of the drought from 2011 through today, using data from the U.S. Drought Monitor, a federal website that tracks the dry conditions. The drought worsened in 2014 and 2015 and has marginally subsided this year.

The most recent Drought Monitor report says that over the past week parts of northeastern California and northern Nevada recorded improvements, and "overall conditions have continued to steadily improve during the past year."

Water from Lake Success flows through a concrete-lined ditch east of Porterville, California. The reservoir's level has fallen during the drought, and the water that is still available flows through ditches to farms that hold senior water rights. Downstream, the Tule River has been left dry, eliminating a source of groundwater recharge in an area where many wells have gone dry. (Photo: Olydrop)


Dry spell sparks tensions

Trump spoke in Fresno and San Diego ahead of California's June 7 primary. California is the country's top agriculture producer, and the drought raised tensions among farmers, government officials and environmentalists.
State officials imposed a water ban on June 1, 2015, after record low rain and snowfall. The scarcity was evident from the Sierra Nevada's shrunken snowpack to the dry wells of the Central Valley.

USA TODAY For the Record’s week in review: The dream debate that will never be

Trump's comments come weeks after Gov. Jerry Brown issued an executive order updating water restrictions. The water rules were imposed in hopes of building the state's "resilience" in the long-term water conservation measures through monthly water use reporting and bans on "clearly wasteful practices such as hosing off sidewalks, driveways and other hardscapes," according to a news release from the California Government Operations Agency's website.

Meanwhile, the powerful farm lobby is trying to secure federal and state approval for billions of dollars to create new water tunnels, dams and other projects.

At least we know where Trump stands on the issue: “If I win, believe me, we’re going to start opening up the water so that you can have your farmers survive."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...ught/85082174/

With Extended Drought, Biggest US Reservoir at Lowest Level Ever


The image shows Lake Mead on the Nevada-Arizona state border at its lowest point ever, taken by the Thematic Mapper on the Landsat 5 satellite, May 2016.


Ken Bredemeier
May 30, 2016 11:13 AM

The 16-year drought in parts of the western United States has dropped the water level in the country's largest reservoir at Lake Mead to its lowest level in its 81-year history.

When full, the lake — straddling the Nevada-Arizona state border that was formed with the construction of the Hoover Dam during the Great Depression of the 1930s — has a surface elevation of more than 370 meters above sea level. It provides crucial water to the two states and also California, including Los Angeles, the country's second-biggest city.

But the Lake Mead level has been falling during the extended drought that has parched farmlands in the west and led to water rationing. In the last week, the recorded lake level fell to 327 meters above sea level.


The image shows Lake Mead on the Nevada-Arizona state border at its highest point ever, taken by the Thematic Mapper on the Landsat 5 satellite, May 1984.

Lake Mead is currently at 37 percent of capacity and its shoreline has the distinctive look of a dirty bath tub, with rings marking where water levels once were.

Melting snowpacks that feed the lake from the Colorado River have diminished over the years. Emergency measures could be implemented if the water levels continue to fall throughout 2016, but the agency that manages the lake is predicting that its level could rise slightly in the coming months.

http://www.voanews.com/content/with-...l/3351905.html

Drought, smelt, whatever. California is running out of water and there is nothing Trump can do about it. The reason is overpopulation and defoliation. Trump is beginning to show a little overconfidence. Not everyone in California sneaked across the border yesterday. Water is an old problem in California.

Originally Posted by pkskyali

Drought, smelt, whatever. California is running out of water and there is nothing Trump can do about it. The reason is overpopulation and defoliation. Trump is beginning to show a little overconfidence. Not everyone in California sneaked across the border yesterday. Water is an old problem in California.

It started in 1863 when the settlers ran the Indians off their land and stole their water too.

"In 1861, Samuel Bishop and other ranchers started to raise cattle on the luxuriant grasses that grew in the Owens Valley. They came into conflict with the Paiutes over land and water use, and most of the Paiutes were driven away from the valley by the U.S. Army in 1863 during the Owens Valley Indian War."^[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Water_Wars

A drought is caused by lack of rain and snow.
-----------------

"A drought is a period of below-average precipitation in a given region, resulting in prolonged shortages in its water supply, whether atmospheric, surface water or ground water. A drought can last for months or years, or may be declared after as few as 15 days."

Drought - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DroughtWikipedia