The mini-drought, trees and you
Notice those curb-side streams? Thought it may have been raining during the night? Not a chance. Someone’s sprinklers are running off into the street. Southern California has been bone dry. The winter storms have been diverted by the jet stream so Northern California is doing OK. Ventura, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles counties are in a “mini-drought.” We’ve really had little winter weather. The lows around our house in El Centro have dipped to 39 degrees. But it’s the recent, steady 80 degree weather that gives proof that our 20172018 winter is a weak one.
The chances of rain or frost here are unlikely. It’s good news for commercial and backyard farmers and gardeners. There won’t be a massive crop freeze. My friends’ tomato seedlings won’t be damaged. In fact, I should have spouted seeds months earlier to put tomatoes, peppers and eggplant transplants into the ground before now. My concern is that my seedlings sprout soon so I can plant them and look forward to a crop before the big heat hits us. In April, the temp was already roasting over 105. I really don’t want sun-dried tomatoes on the vine.
Sometimes, discussion of a California drought is dismissed by Imperial Valley locals. The agricultural community, in particular, points to its grip on Colorado River water. It’s water that also supplies the cities and county-wide, non-ag businesses. So it’s easy to say, Imperial Valley is water rich and safe from drought. However, I remember that decades ago, both the state of California and the federal government warned Imperial Irrigation District and the local ag industry to begin conserving water or begin losing it. Why? Cities need more water and the large percentage of water used by the ag industry becomes a ripe target for water transfers. In the end, more water transfers to Los Angeles and San Diego have become history. More Imperial Valley fields lie fallow as a result, and one side effect is that the Salton Sea receives less water from agricultural drains leading to the sea’s evaporating shore line. Sea shrinkage leads to more dust in the air in the north end and in Riverside County. The dust may include heavy metals which is even more detrimental to health.
An immediate impact of the recent five-year drought on the Valley was the state mandated water conservation goals for cities and towns. The state insisted on 25 percent water usage savings compared to prior years. Californians responded positively. Sounds great until you start noticing dozens of dead trees throughout public parks and around residential homes. Bucklin Park, which is close to me in El Centro, lost dozens of old trees. It was a combination of the drought (2.5 to 3 inches of annual rainfall is missed), and the restriction on the parks’ manager to water the park sufficiently. Real consequences. I was surprised that California cities rolled over so easily to this top-down edict that had terrible consequences for urban parks and city landscaping. Two UC Extension agents wrote one of the few opinion pieces showing how this water conservation effort was shortsighted in that thousands of trees would be lost to cities throughout the state.
As local residential water and sewer bills have increased, I can see the loss of trees in surrounding neighborhoods. People just won’t water their landscaping if cities charge high water and sewer rates. There are solutions. Water-wise education by cities, the IID, and the county is probably the least expensive choice. Send out information with water bills; hold Saturday morning workshops on drip irrigation and soaker hoses; allow the use of gray water from washing machines for watering lawns and trees. I also believe that cities and counties could make a better effort to influence state top-down decisions. Across-the-board water-use cuts are harmful especially to the parks we cherish and the residential landscaping we have labored to create.
It’s absurd to think that Imperial Valley is somehow insulated from drought conditions. We live in the DESERT, and we’d be wise to treat our water, all of it, as the precious commodity that it is.