Comments on: What Exactly is a “Watershed” Any More http://www.inkstain.net/fleck/?p=4201 A few thoughts from John Fleck, a writer of journalism and other things, living in New Mexico Thu, 09 Sep 2010 02:37:12 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Kit Stolz http://www.inkstain.net/fleck/?p=4201&cpage=1#comment-276333 Kit Stolz Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:02:12 +0000 http://www.inkstain.net/fleck/?p=4201#comment-276333 To make Northern California and Southern California into one big watershed might make sense to a water manager, but it ignores geography -- specifically, the Tehachapi Mountains. Getting water from places like Shasta over the highest water lift in the world requires three separate power stations, no less, and uses an astonishing amount of the state's total energy budget. Yes, we in California have made this work -- sort of. But is more such massive geoengineering the answer? What about capturing local rainfall during storms, and holding it, instead of rushing it to the sea as rapidly as possible? To make Northern California and Southern California into one big watershed might make sense to a water manager, but it ignores geography — specifically, the Tehachapi Mountains. Getting water from places like Shasta over the highest water lift in the world requires three separate power stations, no less, and uses an astonishing amount of the state’s total energy budget.

Yes, we in California have made this work — sort of. But is more such massive geoengineering the answer? What about capturing local rainfall during storms, and holding it, instead of rushing it to the sea as rapidly as possible?

]]>