The Importance Of Drought In California

California enters its fourth year into the devastating drought. Local forests face looming wildfire threats. The drinking water supply of local communities are beginning to deplete. Farmers are unable to use a large portion of their land to plant crops. Many California residents have no access to water for drinking and showering. Sparkling lakes and rivers now run placid and dry. Throughout this four-year deprivation of water and struggles with mitigation efforts, I remained completely ignorant towards it all. Luckily for me, the small town in the central valley that I lived in was not as severely afflicted by the drought as others. Laws and rules concerning the rationing and usage of water were either nonexistent or poorly enforced. So I used …show more content…
The majority of the water was used to shower and wash my hands. I turn the shower head on and wait for the water to heat up, this usually took three minutes. And the actual time that I would shower would be 10 to 15 minutes. Then, I would use the faucet when I brush my teeth. On the second day of my readings, I cut down my shower time to five minutes and my brushing time to three minutes. And the approximate amount of my water drastically decreased to 18 gallons. With just those two small changes, I cut my water usage by 65 percent. If I continue to make small changes to my daily activities, I could cut my daily water usage by an even bigger percentage. Shown below is a table in which I estimated the distribution of my total water …show more content…
My daily routine and lifestyle isn’t negatively affected. In fact, it may have improved my timing and schedule management. But more importantly I have come to the realization that there are many Californians like I, that are oblivious to the effects that the drought entails. Many of the residents of California must be educated on the drought. They must especially be taught how to conserve water and cope with the inevitable outcomes that the drought will bring. Many communities who have little care and knowledge about the drought will not be able to show resilience under the stress and problems they may encounter. They will not know the proper techniques and plans to implement to help the affected people. Those who are educated on the current status and issues on the drought will be better able to adapt and live under the different circumstances. Many communities have taken initiative to better cope and protect the livelihoods of their residents. For example, the San Luis Obispo county has created a task force in which they have declared a drought emergency. Within their announcement, they are addressing the problems that were created because of the drought. They are also coming up with plans that alleviate those problems. The San Luis Obispo county shows resilience, in that they are able to recover from the damage that ensued from the drought. Much of the solutions and plans towards the