The Trilogy Ends….Part 3 of the Bay Area Science Forum
April 26th, 2008 by Kishore
On May 8th, the three month discussion on Water in California concludes with a look to the future. With expected water pinches coming from population growth and climate change, the discussion is fairly pertinent. BASF is focused on creating an informed public as key ballot issues on water are pending.
The discussion will focus on the following strategies:
* Increasing surface storage through dam building.
* Desalination of sea water.
* Attempting to match water quality with usage, so that the cost to produce high quality drinking water is only incurred when it is needed.
* Prevention of water pollution, including urban runoff management, to decrease the amount of treatment needed.
The dam issue is key, as the governator is pushing for an 11.6 Billion dollar bond measure to build new dams (exactly where is unknown) and create a canal around the San Joaquin Delta (where there is all that hubbub about a little fish). The push is under great attack by environmentalists for the lack of conservation measures in the bill. And frankly the talk of desalinization as a solution is almost laughable…as discussed in part 1 of this series, the process is so energy intensive, the water produced will be incredibly expensive.
Also, how the heck are we going to pay for 11.6 billion dollar in water upgrades considering the expected $14 billion budget deficit? There are plenty of questions on this topic, I would definitely make this night.
More Info:
Chronicle Article on new dam measure
Cal Water Crisis (group funded by number of California Water Agencies)
Dan Bacher’s Critique of Governators Plan
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