Where I live, 5 miles from Lake Michigan, we never think about not having enough non salt water...never..but there are places in the U.S where getting enough water is a concern..as it was in California. Further, there are places in this world that do not have .."running water"..and "clean water". Yet, many of us just take this one for granted. In California, this was not true, there was a shortage..but, now that is over for now...

needs it's water!

We have plenty of water here, too, in Hawaii.. glad you do in Michigan.

Before we get too complacent (and it rained last night and today on the SF Peninsula) let's remember that for as long as we've kept records California has swung between wetter-than-average and drier-than-average winters. We're fine for the coming year or so, but we'll see dry winters again, and likely in the near future.

Though whether its good news or bad on water availability, the agencies will raise rates regardless. It's tradition. The half century plus year old pipes are disintegrating everywhere. That and upper management always want new cars and new offices.

According to some studies, long term climate change in the state may bring a destruction of up to seventy five percent of the
existing watersheds towards the later half of this century.

Yes I'm in CA

The drought in the southwest has persisted for over 20 years and possibly duplicates the one that ended the Chaco Canyon culture. We've had a couple of wet summers but winters have been mostly dry with poor snowpack. We're still in drought and so are you.

and my neighbors rain gauge. Hardly any sunny breaks this winter, almost non-stop rain days since October.

But the people suffering the most from this El Nino are those along the coast in Peru, where it usually does not rain. More than 100 deaths from flooding there.

My area the same. Northern ca coast.

Last edited Sat Apr 8, 2017, 12:04 AM - Edit history (2)

Its level has been on a downward trend for close to 100 years. It is drawn down heavily during droughts and not fully replaced in most areas during wet years... the land keeps sinking, and the future storage potential of the aquifers also gets reduced permanently by the subsidence.

But Lake Casitas, our water district, is still only at 44% full. I still cannot bear to drive by it, it looks so barren.

Things are better, definitely, especially in the North, but I have a hard time believing one good year of rain can put this drought to an end.

Northern ca coast, two hrs from oregon.

Raining while writing, its benn almost nonstop 5 months of rain, even for this area most in 30 + yrs.

He willed the drought to be over