San Diego County has received approximately 30 percent of its water supply from the State Water Project. The county is in danger of losing crops, of water shortages, and other problems. By Gr. 11
Water and Energy in San Diego
San Diego imports 95% of its water from the Colorado River and Northern California. About 50% of San Diego's fresh water is used for landscape irrigations, commercial enterprises, or industrial processing. The majority of the water distributed to homes and businesses ends up in the ocean off of Point Loma.
Almost 60% of the energyused by the City of San Diego goes for pumping water and sewage. Water saving measures do save over three million kilowatt hours annually. Water conservation reduces carbon dioxide emissions by over seventeen hundred tons each year. Using reclamed water will save energy, and upgrades to electronic control systems, pumping stations, and public outreach problems will help reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. By Neena P, Gr. 11
Reservoirs
Our lakes are a source for our drinking water. They are water supply reservoirs. They are part of the overall drinking water system. The reservoirs are operated by the Water Department‘s Water Operations Division. Their top priority is to ensure the safety of San Diego 's public water supply. Text by Neena, Gr. 11; Graphic by Tasi, Gr. 4
Rainfall Distribution Chart by Grade 7
San Diego is a Stage 2 drought now.
"Supply Enhancement (Stage 2):
MWD reduces water deliveries. In addition to previous stage activities, the Water Authority looks to buy temporary water transfers. Increased conservation may be required. "
http://www.sdcwa.org/manage/droughtmanagementplan.phtml
Drought and the Earth, by Ame, Grade 6
Plants and animas need water to stay alive. Without enough water, crops and cattle die. People may starve. Droughts in the Sahara Desert can last for years.
Plants drink up water from the soil and pass the water out into thte atmosphere as an invisible water vapor. The sun helps make rain that ends a drought by pulling water into the sky. When the sun heats the gases in the atmosphere, they rise. Heat from the sun dies up large amounts of water in seas, lakes, rivers, and puddles. The water turns into more water vapor. When the air has large amounts of water vapor, we say it is humid.
"Most people might think that all the drains lead to the cleaning system, but that is only the storm water conveyance system. All of the other storm drains and sewage drains go STRAIGHT into the Great Big Blue." Gr. 8
See Project Bottled Water
This is how much bottled water California is consuming per year
• The Environmental Working Group (EWG) tested 10 best-selling brands. found mixtures of 38 different pollutants including bacteria, fertilizer, and industrial chemicals
• Five of the tested waters contained fluoride , six contained small amounts of the fertilizer ingredient nitrate, and two contained the drug acetaminophen, sold as Tylenol
• To be safe look at the water bottle recycle symbol. If it has a #2 HDPE ( high density polyethylene ), #4 LDPE ( low density polyethylene ) or #5 PP ( polyethylene).
Muir Hikers at Balboa Park by relecting pool, Jan. 31, 2008
