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CA rains, LV no picnic


hemsteadc

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Couldn't find any talk of the devastating CA flooding on here.  I did see where an RV park near LA had to be evacuated.  Were you affected by this?

I'm on Lake Mead and we haven't seen much sun for a week now, and today we got the tail end of a CA storm.  Nasty wind and pounding rain. I've been coming here for years, and, although the sun doesn't always shine in January, it sure is not cooperating much this year.  And it's cold.

Edited by hemsteadc
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My wife has a brother who lives just over the ridgetop from the coast a little north of Santa Cruz, on Swanton Road. His house was burned in the fires in 2020 and the replacement is closed in and making good progress. As of two days ago they have had a lot of rain and some runoff issues but are all OK so far. 

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

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I agree, all this water at once is just running off into the ocean instead of filling all the lakes and reservoirs; leaving havoc in its wake. I listened to a weather report saying the drought stricken and burned off land is so hard It's like raining on concrete.

 

2000 Winnebago Ultimate Freedom USQ40JD, ISC 8.3 Cummins 350, Spartan MM Chassis. USA IN 1SG retired;Good Sam Life member,FMCA ." And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.  John F. Kennedy 20 Jan 1961

 

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On 1/10/2023 at 3:55 PM, hemsteadc said:

I did see where an RV park near LA had to be evacuated.  Were you affected by this?

That RV park is actually about 1+ hours north of Los Angeles, closer to Santa Barbara actually.  I was in that area for work on Monday when the storm was starting and they had evacuated that park.  Some people full time there.  Back in '95 that same park was destroyed by a similar event.  Many RVs washed out to sea.  

The storm was a doozie.

I did some work in Henderson last year and stayed in Boulder City.  That lake is LOW.  Hope it can recover.  I really like that area.

Marcel

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33 minutes ago, rpsinc said:

That lake is LOW.  Hope it can recover. 

Lake Mead and Lake Powell are both lower than they have been since they were first filled. The best hope for them is not the CA ran or snow but the snow in the Rocky Mountains of Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming and to some extent, Montana. 

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

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23 hours ago, hemsteadc said:

The reservoirs are doing quite well.

Some are anyway: https://cdec.water.ca.gov/resapp/RescondMain

 I hope this is also contributing to the aquifer levels. I watched a TV segment about them, One water driller said today he must drill down 1,000' to find water, whereas when he began he found water at 80'.

 

2000 Winnebago Ultimate Freedom USQ40JD, ISC 8.3 Cummins 350, Spartan MM Chassis. USA IN 1SG retired;Good Sam Life member,FMCA ." And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.  John F. Kennedy 20 Jan 1961

 

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1 hour ago, Ray,IN said:

Some are anyway: https://cdec.water.ca.gov/resapp/RescondMain

 I hope this is also contributing to the aquifer levels. I watched a TV segment about them, One water driller said today he must drill down 1,000' to find water, whereas when he began he found water at 80'.

That is certainly pretty telling.  In the area where I live there are many wells and the local water district uses water from wells for those on municipal water.  Add to that the amount of houses that are continually being built and all the commercial development, well it is no wonder that water is so far down.  Here in So Cal, we dont have the infrastructure to capture as much of the rain water including runoff, as is needed.  That will need to improve but its not likely in my lifetime.

Marcel

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1 hour ago, rpsinc said:

That will need to improve but its not likely in my lifetime.

I have often wondered why none of the "rivers" in the southern half of CA have been dammed up to catch that water. The rivers are mostly dry the majority of time but when a large rain happens in the high desert the water mostly just rushes down the channels and out to sea and the river is dry again in only a few days. 

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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8 hours ago, Lou Schneider said:

The flooding south of Sacramento is coming from the Consumnes River.  It's a designate "Wild and Free" river without any dams along it's length.  There have been several proposed over the years but they have been shouted down.  I guess we're seeing just how wild it can be.

It isn't a Wild and Scenic River.  It doesn't have any legal protections from dam building.

I do have a background in Wild and Scenic Rivers.  Even wrote a management plan years ago for a Wild and Scenic River in Idaho.

I always viewed the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act as basically worthless, EXCEPT the Act does protect the free flowing characteristics of the river and therefore banning dams.  There are also water quality standards that do help protect the water quality.

Full disclosure, not a fan of dams.  But I do benefit from the damning of the Columbia River system in Washington state.

I did search the management of the Consumnes River system.  Pretty interesting, with lots of agencies involved.  Lots of reasons to protect one of the last free flowing rivers in the Central Valley.

Yes, rivers and natural landscapes are wild, and nature is not Bambi.  But there is real value in wild places, particularly in California which has a horrible environmental record.

But to me what this flood shows is that the "preserve" area needs to be expanded.  Let the Consumnes River system run wild, by purchasing the entire flood plain.  That would be cheaper and the right ecological thing to do  I would like to see a RV campground, so I can camp within the preserve on my trip south and explore it on a more normal year.

At some point, we are responsible for the a land ethic that protects both humans and natural landscapes.

Here is a good book to read.  Yeah, I know it was written by a forester prior to 1950.  But it provides perspective on the land and our relationship to it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Sand_County_Almanac

Vladimr Steblina

Retired Forester...exploring the public lands.

usbackroads.blogspot.com

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We have family living on a bluff above the St Croix Wild and Scenic River in Minnesota. They are not allowed to take down any trees that would give them a view of the river as that would also make their house visible to watercraft on the river. We have canoed on the river and it is beautiful.

We have also camped in a campground on a flood plain and got chased out for awhile when a flood hit the area.

But we have also benefited from dams on rivers when we stayed at CoE campgrounds as we drove down the Great River Road along the Mississippi River.

Linda

Blog: http://sandcastle.sandsys.org/

Former Rigs: Liesure Travel van, Winnebago View 24H, Winnebago Journey 34Y, Sportsmobile Sprinter conversion van

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12 hours ago, sandsys said:

We have family living on a bluff above the St Croix Wild and Scenic River in Minnesota. They are not allowed to take down any trees that would give them a view of the river as that would also make their house visible to watercraft on the river. We have canoed on the river and it is beautiful.

 

Managed by the NPS. 

I suspect your family sold a scenic easement to the Federal government, that protected the view from the river.

Scenic easements are a great deal for the landowner, not so good for the taxpayers.

Here is the important parts from my blog on scenic easements as they work in California.

The story is that the Hearst family "donated" the castle to the state of California so they no longer had to pay the maintenance costs.  They did reserve the right to use property "on occasion".  Hmm, I am willing to cut the same deal on my house!  The relationship between the Hearst Corporation and the state of California at the visitor center also made me somewhat nervous.  I am not sure there is a connection between "grass fed beef" and a state park.

But wait, there is more.  In 2004 the taxpayers of California, paid the Hearst family 95 million dollars for developmental rights on the property.  The US Forest Service has backed off buying  "conservation easements".  Generally, they run about 85-90% of the properties value.  Then the "seller" gets to keep and run the property just like they always have.....and for 95 milliion you would think the public would get more than this sign.  So for just another 15 million the people of California could have OWNED the property.

That sign is a no trespassing sign.

Complete link here: https://usbackroads.blogspot.com/2012/03/hearst-castle-san-simeon-california.html

Edited by Vladimir

Vladimr Steblina

Retired Forester...exploring the public lands.

usbackroads.blogspot.com

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At some time folks will realize that mother nature is unpredictable. Always has been. "Extreme" events will always happen. Always have. Utopia doesn't exist. Never has. 

You can't change mother nature. Even though some folks think they can. She has been changing on her own for thousands of years. 

What can change is folks expectations. Learn to live with mother nature and accept that every now and again she's going to upset societies plans and expectations.

It ain't a perfect world. Never was. Never will be. We all need to take a step back and lower our demands on mother nature. 

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10 minutes ago, bruce t said:

You can't change mother nature. Even though some folks think they can. She has been changing on her own for thousands of years. 

Assuming you're making a statement about man-caused climate change, it's difficult to ignore with years of stifling drought followed by torrential rains exacerbated by warming oceans and atmosphere.  I certainly don't dismiss it.

We believe in, and rely on science for so many things, but for some reason climate science is some sort of hoax. I don't understand that.

 

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7 minutes ago, hemsteadc said:

I sense a climate change comment here.

No. Let me put it this way.

If you ride your push bike down the Interstate there's a high risk of being squashed by an 18 wheeler. Yes? Well if you build by a river isn't there a high risk of mother nature claiming the ground you built on at some stage?

Not a climate change post. It's a "be responsible for your decisions" comment.

 

Edited by bruce t
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1 hour ago, bruce t said:

No. Let me put it this way.

If you ride your push bike down the Interstate there's a high risk of being squashed by an 18 wheeler. Yes? Well if you build by a river isn't there a high risk of mother nature claiming the ground you built on at some stage?

Not a climate change post. It's a "be responsible for your decisions" comment.

 

Definitely ^ .

Goes around , comes around .

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As Californian's are experiencing, humans cannot stop the flow of water, they can only redirect its path to an extent. It IS the most powerful force on earth. Build a house in a floodplain, and expect the worst. Not many decades ago no lender would approve building a house in a floodplain.

Interesting article about water collection in CA: California flooding reveals an unexpected solution to endless droughts (msn.com)

Edited by Ray,IN

 

2000 Winnebago Ultimate Freedom USQ40JD, ISC 8.3 Cummins 350, Spartan MM Chassis. USA IN 1SG retired;Good Sam Life member,FMCA ." And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.  John F. Kennedy 20 Jan 1961

 

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3 hours ago, Ray,IN said:

 Build a house in a floodplain, and expect the worst. Not many decades ago no lender would approve building a house in a floodplain.

Entire communities are being flooded and  evacuated.  Roads are washing out leaving sinkholes, and communities are left stranded with  no way out.  Power lines down.  Acres and acres of farmland under water.  This seems to be a bit more of a problem than building on a floodplain.    

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9 hours ago, hemsteadc said:

This seems to be a bit more of a problem than building on a floodplain.    

Monterey Peninsula could become an island as epic flooding engulfs California cities. And more rain is on the way

230112084052-02-salinas-river-flooding-0

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 1/13/2023 at 8:56 AM, Lou Schneider said:

The flooding south of Sacramento is coming from the Consumnes River.  It's a designate "Wild and Free" river without any dams along it's length.  There have been several proposed over the years but they have been shouted down.  I guess we're seeing just how wild it can be.

the problem here is not do to no dams, but housing projects are built in the flood areas. this "land" is meant to catch the flood waters, and hold it so as to be adsorbed into the underground lakes.  but with city's expanding into such areas it can only flow out to the pacific. now as to the snow pack, there is the drinking and farming water supply. but the pumps taking northern ca water and sending it south to la, need to de dismantled. ca has and will always be in a pickle for water.

and as to building more lakes. not always possible, the ground is not always able to keep the water in a lake, some areas the broken ground (rock) will just allow the water to flow under, around the dam. look at the devastation behind the hugh dam in communist china. sure it makes lots of power, heck it even stopped all the garbage from being washed out of there water ways each year. so some good there. 

more water. heck i have not watered my yard in a good four years.

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