California Drought

shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
rocket sok
The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
boomtube-mk2 said:
On April 17th I posted that it was raining heavily and consistently here in Western Oklahoma.
Well it is now May 8th and DITTO THE ABOVE.
In fact it is forecasted to be this way throughout the remainder of this week and possibly well into next week.
Some regions have received as much as a foot of rain just since the BEGINNING OF MAY.
This sounds like a lot but Foss Reservoir is still 12 feet below where it should be and Altus/Lugert is even worse.
Click to expand...

It's a similar situation here in California, it will take us *years* of above average precipitation to get us back to where we used to be. I'm not sure what Mother Nature's ultimate plans are, but it would seem that the odds of many years of above average precipitation are very long...

ThirstyBarbarian said:
I got my "painting booth" set up earlier this week. A couple of painters drop cloths suspended from paracord lines in the backyard to protect the patio and shield the wind. I've been painting and sanding this week. Well, this morning I woke up to find it very overcast. Checked the forecast, and it called for rain! I had to take everything back down and haul it into the garage. Sure enough, it started raining. Why does it only come when you don't want it? I'm on a very strict painting schedule to be ready for Dairy Aire in a week!
Click to expand...

I have a couple of painting and epoxy jobs I want to do outside, or in my garage, but it has been way, way under 70 degrees for about 2 weeks or so here...my only consolation is, it will be hotter than you-know-what here soon, for months, so no worries...I just have to occupy myself in the mean time.

tmacklin said:
Then urinate on it. It's mostly water but also high in nitrogen. Trees eat nitrogen and wash it down with the evil carbon dioxide. Then, they eat rockets. :horse:
Click to expand...

Yes, that seems to be the natural cycle of life...for rockets and trees, at least.
 
My little rain shower yesterday did not last long, but the skies looked threatening for most of the day. Around 4 pm I set the paint booth up again and did some sanding (another thing I like to do outdoors, not in the garage) and applied some primer to 2 rockets. Basically, it was enough rain to be inconvenient, but barely enough to help.

Today, it is bright and sunny. Hopefully, I'll be able to start putting the top coats on one of the rockets, and will set the other in the sun to fully dry yesterday's primer before final sanding.

I've got a lot of painting to do before Dairy Aire in a week, with lots of drying time required between coats. Sorry, parched state, but it would be really convenient for me if the drought held for another week!
 
Last edited:
tmacklin said:
According to the late Harold Taft https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Taft "It takes a flood to break a drought." We've had over 10 inches of rain at my place since the end of March and there's much more on the way. Count your blessings, Thirsty.
Click to expand...
The quote I recall was "Nothing breaks a drought better than a good flood"...probably a misquote or false memory, tho.

I remember the great floods of in the 1980's that put an end to a five year drought. All those who built homes on the former floodplains learned a hard lesson. The entire five mile wide space between I-5 and Hwy 99 was water from sea to shining sea. I expect we'll see something similar when this one breaks. The city where I live could give New Orleans lessons about levees. The Old Town was raised up one full story to avoid the floods....a real underground city.
 
I feel we all need to do our part to conserve water. Shorter showers and less time watering the yards. I catch all the shower water and also rinse water for dishes and use it to water potted plants and flower beds and trees. I do hope that the weather changes and for the next few years we get an abundance of water from storms, but who knows? I know nothing can last forever. Lets all do our part to save.
 
Last edited:
When I run the hot water for something, I catch the cool water while waiting for the hot water tap to run hot. It's a few quarts probably.
 
Well then they need to do something about agricultural water use... because homes use maybe 10% of all water consumption.
 
taiwanluthiers said:
Well then they need to do something about agricultural water use... because homes use maybe 10% of all water consumption.
Click to expand...
And Federal regulations require 80% of California's runoff to flow into the ocean while agriculture in the Nation's Food Basket (the Central Valley) keeps getting cut.

Drive through the Central Valley some time and look at how much acreage is now laying fallow.
 
I started collecting rainwater from the valleys on my roof to water mama's greenie-growie things. I've got two dozen one gallon plastic jugs full right now. At $0.88/gallon from Wallyworld it all adds up. And, I only shower maybe once a week unless its over 100F. The savings on soap alone are worth the sacrifice and I fit right in with the other stinkers in the DARS gang. PU!
 
o1d_dude said:
And Federal regulations require 80% of California's runoff to flow into the ocean while agriculture in the Nation's Food Basket (the Central Valley) keeps getting cut.

Drive through the Central Valley some time and look at how much acreage is now laying fallow.
Click to expand...

Ignore federal regulations, and the Feds. You have an emergency in California. Time to catch the runoff and use it.
 
taiwanluthiers said:
Well then they need to do something about agricultural water use... because homes use maybe 10% of all water consumption.
Click to expand...

Yeah, those pesky food growers need to stop. That IS what agriculture is. Ag uses about as much per acre as lawn, but lawns aren't as tasty....
Where I live about half of the ag water used actually ends up as ground water for domestic use.

Rain baby rain!
 
I just grow more of my own during the drought. Prices on vegetables go up more than the cost of my water.
 
o1d_dude said:
And Federal regulations require 80% of California's runoff to flow into the ocean while agriculture in the Nation's Food Basket (the Central Valley) keeps getting cut.

Drive through the Central Valley some time and look at how much acreage is now laying fallow.
Click to expand...

I have a feeling if I were to respond to this political post, I would get banned for making political posts.
 
ThirstyBarbarian said:
I have a feeling if I were to respond to this political post, I would get banned for making political posts.
Click to expand...

Thirsty, I understand your humor, however I do not believe it was a political post. Complaining about a government is not political, but making comments good/bad about a political party or person is a political post. I do not care what the political makeup of a government is, but if my local government outlaws me collecting rain water (as some US state & local Governments) then they will catch MAJOR GRIEF from me regardless of their political affiliation. This is just My own humble opinion. I am not trolling, or looking to offend anyone.
 
TALON said:
Thirsty, I understand your humor, however I do not believe it was a political post. Complaining about a government is not political, but making comments good/bad about a political party or person is a political post. I do not care what the political makeup of a government is, but if my local government outlaws me collecting rain water (as some US state & local Governments) then they will catch MAJOR GRIEF from me regardless of their political affiliation. This is just My own humble opinion. I am not trolling, or looking to offend anyone.
Click to expand...

The post we are referring to makes a false claim. There is no Federal regulation that requires 80% of runoff in California to run into the ocean. I think it is political because it is in the spirit of, "We could solve this dang drought if the dang gubmit got outta our dang way!" Also, typically the debate around how much water should be diverted for use versus how much minimal flow should be allowed to the mouth of the river is a political policy debate that pits the interests of agriculture against the interests of downstream users, fisheries, and environmental concerns. Environmentalists versus farmers.

There's no way to debunk the false claim, talk about what the regulations really are, or discuss the competing interests that the regulations attempt to balance without getting into politics --- not necessarily party politics, but still politics. My experience has been that the forum moderators allow members to make as many lame-brained one-off political comments as you want in the vein of "Stupid gubmit sides with the hippies against the farmers." But if you try to debunk such a statement or bring any depth to the discussion, that's when you get slapped for politics.
 
ThirstyBarbarian said:
There's no way to debunk the false claim, talk about what the regulations really are, or discuss the competing interests that the regulations attempt to balance without getting into politics --- not necessarily party politics, but still politics. My experience has been that the forum moderators allow members to make as many lame-brained one-off political comments as you want in the vein of "Stupid gubmit sides with the hippies against the farmers." But if you try to debunk such a statement or bring any depth to the discussion, that's when you get slapped for politics.
Click to expand...
Sadly, this applies to a number of things, many of which touch on our hobby ... See my post from a week or three ago about diesel v. ethanol.

"Politics" touches everything, and it can be tough to avoid that particular thorn ...
 
ThirstyBarbarian said:
The post we are referring to makes a false claim. There is no Federal regulation that requires 80% of runoff in California to run into the ocean. I think it is political because it is in the spirit of, "We could solve this dang drought if the dang gubmit got outta our dang way!" Also, typically the debate around how much water should be diverted for use versus how much minimal flow should be allowed to the mouth of the river is a political policy debate that pits the interests of agriculture against the interests of downstream users, fisheries, and environmental concerns. Environmentalists versus farmers.

There's no way to debunk the false claim, talk about what the regulations really are, or discuss the competing interests that the regulations attempt to balance without getting into politics --- not necessarily party politics, but still politics. My experience has been that the forum moderators allow members to make as many lame-brained one-off political comments as you want in the vein of "Stupid gubmit sides with the hippies against the farmers." But if you try to debunk such a statement or bring any depth to the discussion, that's when you get slapped for politics.
Click to expand...

Hardly a "false claim".

https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/delta/article2576571.html

https://www.pacificlegal.org/cases/Water-cutoff-for-Delta-smelt-is-unconstitutional
 
Last edited:
o1d_dude said:
Hardly a "false claim".

https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/delta/article2576571.html

https://www.pacificlegal.org/cases/Water-cutoff-for-Delta-smelt-is-unconstitutional
Click to expand...

Yep, as I said, politics.

Obviously there are regulations, laws, lawsuits, policies and politics that affect the use of water in the state. But that doesn't mean you can just make up completely bogus claims like "Federal regulations require 80% of California's runoff to flow into the ocean." It's not true. The articles you linked to do not support it. Making stuff up doesn't help to advance any kind of understanding of what is going on.

Really, it just a form of trolling. You throw out a made up fact about a controversial topic then just walk away. Others who might disagree just either have to let it stand or get baited into a discussion of a topic that is only going to lead to trouble.
 
Last edited:
I've been collecting rain water and conserving water for almost 2 years now. I've been able to reduce my water usage to 30% of what it was. My wife is getting tired of showering with a "bucket". I'm now gathering parts to divert all the shower water using a 3" 3way valve.

3way.jpg


Tony
 
I was just reading about how if the drought does not break before next January, Arizona may be hit even worse than California, Nevada or anywhere else in the West. Arizona gets about 40% of it's water from the Colorado River. If Lake Meade drops below a certain level measured on January 1, rationing goes into effect, and Arizona is first on the chopping block.
 
ThirstyBarbarian said:
Yep, as I said, politics.

Obviously there are regulations, laws, lawsuits, policies and politics that affect the use of water in the state. But that doesn't mean you can just make up completely bogus claims like "Federal regulations require 80% of California's runoff to flow into the ocean." It's not true. The articles you linked to do not support it. Making stuff up doesn't help to advance any kind of understanding of what is going on.

Really, it just a form of trolling. You throw out a made up fact about a controversial topic then just walk away. Others who might disagree just either have to let it stand or get baited into a discussion of a topic that is only going to lead to trouble.
Click to expand...

Easy Big Boy! You may be heading for another "turd" moment.

Until a little over one month ago, much of Texas was declared to be in a severe drought. That situation has taken a sharp 180 degree turn, lakes have risen more than twenty feet and there is extensive flooding. Neither governor Greg Abbott nor all the treehuggers in Austin had anything to do with this....they just wish they could claim they did. Californians will be complaining about mudslides soon enough and politicians will continue to assign blame and tax the survivors.

The tornado sirens went off here about 45 minutes ago and a tornado was spotted on the ground about seven miles north of where I live. This comes with the territory whenever you get over eight inches of rain in a 72 hour period.

It's good to see that you haven't lost your touch even after a week in the penalty box. :rofl:
 
Last edited:
ThirstyBarbarian said:
Yep, as I said, politics.

Obviously there are regulations, laws, lawsuits, policies and politics that affect the use of water in the state. But that doesn't mean you can just make up completely bogus claims like "Federal regulations require 80% of California's runoff to flow into the ocean." It's not true. The articles you linked to do not support it. Making stuff up doesn't help to advance any kind of understanding of what is going on.

Really, it just a form of trolling. You throw out a made up fact about a controversial topic then just walk away. Others who might disagree just either have to let it stand or get baited into a discussion of a topic that is only going to lead to trouble.
Click to expand...
Pardon my delay in addressing your trademark passive-aggressive response to my factual statement...you are in my Ignore list and I only see your posts when they are quoted.

I fart in your general direction but no mention will be made of hamsters or elderberries because that would clearly violate the The Rocketry Forum's TOS.
 

Similar threads

Wayco
First trip in our new trailer to a most excellent TRA/PHX launch
Replies
0
Views
312
Wayco
Wayco
Sooner Boomer
China lander has reached surface of Mars
2
Replies
49
Views
4K
BigMacDaddy
BigMacDaddy
B
Back Up your Data!
2
Replies
54
Views
9K
mikewrt
M
Winston
The Night A Mysterious Drone Swarm Descended On Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant
Replies
2
Views
890
Winston
Winston
Winston
The Apollo Program, US Navy magnetic mines and the legendary solar storm of August 1972
Replies
0
Views
476
Winston
Winston

Latest posts

Back
Top