Just say the word “megadrought” a few hundred times then take control of the water:

The water spigots on California farms will soon be twisted tighter.

As the state faces a growing threat from drought, an increasing number of water agencies are planning to require flow meters on agricultural wells, part of a landmark effort to measure and constrain pumping that used to be free and unlimited. It’s a controversial step aimed at protecting water supplies that could change cultivation practices in the Golden State’s thirsty fields.

“It’s hard to be as efficient as possible if you don’t know how much water you’re using,” said Sierra Ryan, interim water resources manager for Santa Cruz County.

___

#water

https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/drought-the-end-of-california-s-groundwater-free-for-all/ar-AALO4Oq

California turning off the water to farms.

You are witnessing an engineered famine.

#water

https://californiaglobe.com/section-2/california-state-water-resources-control-board-votes-to-end-water-diversions-for-over-5700-farmers/

Young farmers lose hope as drought closes in: ‘It’s like a sad country song’

As irrigated crops compete with fish for scarce water, farmers in the Klamath Basin lament they may be the last generation to work the land.

#water

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/05/drought-western-us-family-farms

Water reforms could heavily impact rural NZ

https://farmersweekly.co.nz/section/agribusiness/view/water-reforms-could-heavily-impact-rural-nz

#water #nz

New plan slows Lake Mead decline by paying farms not to plant crops

Officials in Lower Colorado River Basin states want to slow the decline of Lake Mead’s water levels over the next few years by paying Southern California farmers not to plant crops.

It’s not a plan that Bill Hasencamp, manager of Colorado River resources for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, considers a “drought buster,” but it will reduce lake level decline by up to 3 feet over the next three years, he said.

#water

https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-nevada/new-plan-slows-lake-mead-decline-by-paying-farms-not-to-plant-crops-2418280/

Utah: "another resevoir goes dry"

SALT LAKE CITY — Another reservoir has gone dry as Utah's drought emergency continues.

If the drought continued into next year, the Utah Department of Natural Resources director told FOX 13 that next year could bring about water rationing.

#water

https://www.fox13now.com/news/utah-drought/another-reservoir-has-gone-dry-as-utahs-drought-emergency-continues

U.S. declares first Western reservoir water shortage, triggering cuts

WATER SHORTAGES OUT WEST

From Reuters: Dated 8/17/2021

"Arizona will lose 18% of its annual apportionment, while Nevada will see cuts of 7%. Apportionments to Mexico, which are required under a 1944 treaty, will be cut by 5%.

Separately, 10 Western governors urged President Joe Biden to declare a federal drought disaster in their states, qualifying farmers and ranchers to seek special assistance "beyond what is available through existing emergency programs."

"Historic drought levels threaten to eliminate entire crops, depress yields and harbor extreme levels of pests and disease that add to the cumulative loss," the governors wrote in a letter.

While not a surprise, the cuts in reservoir supplies will mean less water -- and tough allotment decisions -- for agriculture, cities and Native American tribes in the parched region, which is in its 22nd year of drought."

#water

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-declares-first-ever-shortage-western-reservoir-triggering-water-cuts-2021-08-16/

Mayor of Orlando claims city is running out of water because Oxygen is being used by all those COVID patients, asks residents to curtail use:

The mayor of Orlando called on residents to stop watering their lawns and washing their cars immediately because liquid oxygen normally used by water treatment plants is now being diverted to hospitals to treat patients amid the recent surge of COVID cases.

#water

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9916911/Florida-mayor-urges-water-limits-COVID-19-surge.html

Water Wars: BC, Canada set to declare 15,000 wells illegal in 2022

Starting March 1, 2022, about 15,000 well owners discover their wells are now illegal and could be subject to shut down.

Users of historical wells going back decades prior to 2016 were given a 2019 deadline to apply, which was later extended to 2022.

But five months away from it, less than a quarter of the 20,000 users have applied. And many of those who did are waiting years to have applications processed.

He said there are no indications that the deadline will be extended again, so all users who haven’t applied for licences could see their wells become illegal.

“The social, economic and political costs of being forced to shut down businesses of 15,000 current groundwater users … are too severe to contemplate,” he told MLAs.

#water

https://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/columnists/les-leyne-15-000-water-wells-could-be-declared-illegal-in-2022-causing-economic-chaos-1.24362080

Farmers in California abandoning their fields — the water was cut off. They have little option.

Farmers in California's San Joaquin Valley are abandoning their fields due to drought that resulted in water allotments cut by a third. Farmers in this region, reportedly the most productive agricultural region globally, grow 250 different crops on 17% of the irrigated land in the United States.

"Our water supply has gotten even more limited. It's become less reliable and less predictable," said Joe Del Bosque, owner of Del Bosque Farms. "We've always known that a lack of water is a potential hardship for our farm. But to get to the point where it completely stops the farm — we never thought that would happen," said Del Bosque.

"As our food supply shrinks, their food prices are going to increase," said Del Bosque.

#usa #water

https://www.wtvr.com/megadrought-forcing-farmers-to-abandon-fields

NSA/CISA/EPA warn of rising incidence of Cyberattacks on municipal water and wastewater systems

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Security Agency (NSA) and the FBI issued a joint advisory warning that threat actors are targeting hardware and software that support drinking water and wastewater infrastructure operations.

CISA said Thursday that malicious cyber threats to information and operational technology networks, systems and devices could affect the sector's potable water delivery wastewater management efforts.

[ See full video report: https://www.iceagefarmer.com/2021/10/23/ceo-food-prices-to-explode-now-fbi-nsa-warn-of-cyberattacks-on-food-water-systems/ ]

#water #Cyberpandemic

https://www.executivegov.com/2021/10/cisa-warns-of-water-wastewater-infrastructure-security-threats/

32,500 trees destroyed. Many farms bulldozed across California. Midwest farmland confiscated for destruction for carbon pipelines [post above]. We are being killed…
_____

To fight off a California dust bowl, the state will pay farmers to reimagine idle land

Farmer Erik Herman said he couldn’t help but feel a tinge of remorse as he looked out over the dirt field where an orchard of 8,000 fig trees stood until earlier this month, when they were uprooted by bulldozers in the name of conservation.

The orchard, seven miles outside Madera in the sprawling San Joaquin Valley, is another casualty of the water shortage that is forcing farmers in the nation’s top-producing agricultural region to abandon otherwise fertile ground en masse.

Tractors barreled past on a recent morning, kicking up clouds of dust as they yanked out tree roots still hidden under the soil. Herman walked through the once-thriving orchard, nodding to heaps of dead tree trunks stacked densely in the center of the field.

Erik’s father who runs their specialty crop business, said he has no idea what to do next with the 300 acres, the equivalent of about 32,500 tress, they plan to raze this fall.

“It’s just going to sit there. It will probably never be farmed again,” he said. “We will be a good neighbor and keep the weeds down. To the extent that we can, we’ll keep the dust down, but that’s a tough one.”

#water

https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/To-fight-off-a-California-dust-bowl-the-state-16596612.php

The plan is to severely limit food supply.

“Control food, and you control people.” — Kissinger

____

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The federal government says it won’t deliver any water to California farmers because of a severe drought. The decision will force many farmers to plant fewer crops in a region that supplies a quarter of the nation’s food.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said a severe drought plaguing the western United States has left its system of reservoirs depleted. Environmental laws also require the system to have supply to maintain water quality throughout the fragile San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta.

The bureau said January and February have been the driest ever recorded for the northern Sierra Nevada mountains.

#water #USA

https://ruralradio.com/rrn/news/citing-drought-us-wont-give-water-to-california-farmers/

MEGA DROUGHT (after dumping water into ocean) leaves hydropower offline, famers with fallow fields (NO FOOD):

"I got the land, I got the people. I have everything but no water. I can't do it," said Del Bosque, a 73-year-old farmer in Firebaugh, California.

#water #usa

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-61669233

As Po dries up, Italy's food and energy supplies are at risk

Water is so low in large stretches of Italy's largest river that local residents are walking through the middle of the expanse of sand and shipwrecks are resurfacing.

Authorities fear that if it doesn't rain soon, there'll be a serious shortage of water for drinking and irrigation for farmers and local populations across the whole of northern Italy.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/ap-water-italian-venice-turin-b2103214.html

#Water #WaterWars #Italy #WarOnFarms

California announces plan to charge landowners for their own water

It's not satire — it's Agenda 2030 perfect awareness of all resources and economic activity.

California has announced to landowners that they now are going to be billed for the water they take out of their own wells, on their own land. Hundreds of dollars in fees are looming, with 25% penalties for those who don't pay on time:

"Landowners whose property is within an unmanaged area and contains an operating ground water extraction well must report the volume of groundwater extracted from the well. The groundwater extraction volume must be reported as a monthly total. In addition to pumping volumes, reports must include the location of the well and the place and purpose of use of the groundwater. Groundwater extraction reports are not due to the state water board until February 1, 2023. However, if you are required to report, the report must include pumping volumes for each month between the date of receipt of this letter and September 30, 2022."

#Water

https://www.wnd.com/2022/07/california-announces-plan-charge-landowners-water/

Unbelievable - Terrible timing to not be able to export grains/oilseeds:

U.S. barge backlog swells on parched Mississippi River

Commercial barge traffic on southern stretches of the Mississippi River was at a standstill on Tuesday as low water levels halted shipments of grain, fertilizer and other commodities on the critical waterway, shipping sources said.

The supply chain snarl comes just as harvesting of corn and soybeans, the largest U.S. cash crops, is ramping up and as tight global supplies and strong demand for food and fuel have sent inflation soaring.

Around 100 tow boats hauling some 1,600 barges were lined up for miles waiting to pass through one trouble spot near Lake Providence, Louisiana, that has been largely closed since late last week, shipping sources said.

At least two other sections of the lower Mississippi have also been closed at times, disrupting the flow of grain to U.S. Gulf Coast export terminals, where some 60% of U.S. corn, soybean and wheat exports exit the country, they said.

Shippers have been loading less cargo per barge so vessels sit higher on the water, and towing companies have reduced the number of barges per tow by nearly 40% as the low water conditions narrowed the navigable channel.

#us #water #SupplyChain

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-barge-backlog-swells-parched-mississippi-river-2022-10-04/

Persistent drought conditions and high winds are creating dangerous harvest conditions for Missouri farmers.

Missouri farmer Robert Schmidt says there were several combine fires across the state over the weekend, including one near his farm. “The farmer was able to get out some of the crops from the 800 acres that burned. The fire put itself out with the help of the fire department containing it to a wetland area.”

“The best thing we can get is many hours of steady rainfall to soak into the soil profile.” According to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor, all of Missouri is categorized as abnormally dry to exceptional drought, with 14 percent in extreme to exceptional drought.

#water

https://brownfieldagnews.com/news/dry-weather-sparks-harvest-fires-in-mo/

Tanzania starts rationing water due to drought

[You don't need water EVERY day…]

Tanzanian authorities on Thursday began rationing water in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam following a drought-induced drop in water levels from its main source, the Ruvu river.

The 5.5 million inhabitants of the Indian Ocean city will go without piped water for 24 hours on alternating days, the Dar es Salaam Water and Sanitation Authority (DAWASA) said.

"The timetable will be updated every week according to how the change of weather increases or decreases the water levels," it said.

#water

https://newsaf.cgtn.com/news/2022-10-28/Tanzania-starts-rationing-water-due-to-drought-1etT6uaHCus/index.html