Has the California drought finally ended? That question has been bandied about quite a bit over the past few days and weeks. Flooding rivers, record snowfall in the Sierras, and dams on the verge of collapsing aside, some of the weather people at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) still list most of California in a long-term drought. I know, it will take years for aquifers to recover, but if that’s the standard, California will never be out of a drought. Wasn’t there something about the land subsiding there due to so much groundwater being used during the drought? That leads me to believe long-term damage was done to the aquifers.
All this reminds me of another question I’ve had on several occasions over the years when we’ve had drought conditions here in southwest Arkansas. I’m driving to Texarkana, as I do many, many times every month, and the ditches are full of water. Yet the area is still listed as being in a drought. How in the world is that possible, and how does an area finally get out of being listed in drought conditions? I realize that there is about a one-week period for rainfall totals to be updated and reflected on the drought map, but it seems to me like it’s a lot easier to get in a drought than it is to get out of one.
So, I decided to enter the realm of weather and climate and try to find out. As one who has always been interested in weather — it’s kind of a hobby I got from my mother — I was excited to investigate. What I found is that it’s all very confusing. You may be listed in drought conditions in one government index, yet not in another. And the soil can be saturated, but the drought may or may not be over. I kinda knew all that, as one heavy rain can affect the moisture content of the topsoil but not fill up reservoirs and streams, much less recharge an aquifer.
So how is drought measured? It seems the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) has been used the longest for monitoring drought. The index was created by Wayne Palmer, a meteorologist who published his work in 1965. It uses a method that measures soil moisture to determine drought. If you go by the latest PDSI map of Feb. 11 on the NOAA website, all of California is out of drought conditions, but Northwest Arkansas is in an extreme drought. Who knew? On the other hand, as I said earlier, The Drought Monitor, a map produced jointly by NOAA, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, and the National Drought Mitigation Center, still shows most of California in a long-term drought. I told you it was confusing.
Getting back to the drought in California, the real problem there isn’t the weather or the lack of rainfall, as those things always vary. It’s just that there are way too many people living in an area that has an arid climate. According to the 2010 Census, almost 23 million people live in southern California, and that number has likely grown much larger since then. The demand for water is more than what the land can provide.
In the past, the state built aqueducts to move vast amounts of water from northern to southern California, and that worked for a while. But no more, as growth in northern California and other demands on water there has limited the amount available to be sent south. To be honest, I’m surprised there’s enough of anything for all people who live in southern California. They might better spend some of their money on desalination plants instead of high speed rail. You can’t drink trains and tracks, folks.
As for the drought being over, it is and it isn’t, just depends on who you ask. That’s pretty much the way it is with all things these days, it seems.