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Californian Drought? Really? I saw no water management.

As California enters its 5th year of drought, having visited LA this year for a holiday I saw very little evidence of water management.

Depleted snowpack’s, lakes and rivers continues at an alarming rate, the search for water supplies continues at an increasing pace. Well drilling rises in a vain effort to replace lost surface water. Wells are depleting and not recharging and where as the engineers would strike water at say 500 feet below ground they are having to drill 1,000 to 1,200 feet or more and with well depletion comes subsidence.

How crazy is this, well drilling records are secret from the public and their is no policy limiting ground water use or drilling. Even if changes to well drilling and abstraction were agreed they would not fully kick in until 2040 so Californians can abstract as much water as they like until then.

During my short stay in LA I noticed wastage from leaks to continual garden watering and sidewalk washing down. This well know doubt continue until the state runs completely dry or the heavy continual rains fall and come to the rescue. Either way these guys need a strict enforceable water management policy, I fear that will not be the case rather a giant water supply pipeline will be constructed at billions of dollars.