[ RadSafe ] USA Drought

Thu Sep 17 12:54:24 CDT 2015

Several points:

1) The Ogallala Aquifer is essentially gone, It was never considered
inexhaustible and even 50 years ago there were serious concerns expressed
by hydrologists about long-term viability, This information was essentially
rejected by politicians; to cut off water would mean losing office. There
is a major break between riparian and ground water laws and the measured
hydrologic characteristics of an aquifer. The same is true for every major
Western USA aquifer: withdrawal rates exceed recharge. Without serious
revision of the law this will continue. I find it very discouraging that
even when the hydrologic characteristics have been well characterized, this
information does not seem to alter the way we are using resources.

In the words of the LA County Engineer, *"**There is a major break between
engineering fact and political reality.**"*
The same is true for the LNT model.

2) Even if rainfall becomes abundant, it will take decades to recharge
exhausted aquifers. There is nothing any politician can do to change this
immutable fact. Our historic misappropriation of priority water rights in
aquifers and surface water has led to this problem. So, in my mind, this is
less about drought and more about our seeming inability to alter our
long-term behavior. The demise of the Ogallala aquifer is a case in point.
The Rio Grande River was historically fed not only by spring snow melt in
the upper reach, but also by perennial springs near the New Mexico-Colorado
border. These springs have dried up decades ago along with wells associated
with the aquifer due to extraordinarily heavy water use in the San Luis
Valley dating back to 1900. This has caused the mighty, perennial Rio
Grande River to become an ephemeral stream sometime completely losing flow
along various reaches of the drainage in dry years.

3) When too much water is withdrawn from some aquifers, there is an
irreversible loss of porosity - the aquifer begins to collapse. This is
caused by the fact that water supports the weight of the sediments in the
aquifer and when it is gone, the sediments collapse. This is happening to
basins in California and concern has been expressed for other major
aquifers.

4) Every major basin in the Western USA has uranium associated with it,
Redistribution of naturally occurring radionuclides has apparently not
caused too many, if any, health-related problems. I estimate that there are
2-4 KCuries of radon released every year in the San Luis Valley due to
Central Pivot Irrigation involving 1-2 million acre-feet of water (1,2 -
2.4 x 10^9 m*3).  Of greater concern would be aquifers with significant
quantities of arsenic, since that has been demonstrated to cause cancer.

I guess the statement, "Don't get me started on this!" is quite appropriate.

Dan ii

Dan W McCarn, Geologist
108 Sherwood Blvd
Los Alamos, NM 87544-3425
+1-505-672-2014 (Home – New Mexico)
+1-505-670-8123 (Mobile - New Mexico)
HotGreenChile at gmail.com (Private email) HotGreenChile at gmail dot com

On Thu, Sep 17, 2015 at 8:11 AM, Miller, Mark L <mmiller at sandia.gov> wrote:

> Just a few minor observations:
> The term: "Great American Desert" was a misnomer coined by an easterner
> who was used to seeing LOTS of trees.  Instead he saw LOTS of grass (not
> sand) and called it a desert. (This is ~ analogous to plutonium being
> called "the most dangerous thing to man" that was coined early in the
> Manhattan Project to urge folks to use good housekeeping practices for
> stuff that they couldn't SEE (like dirt and grime)).
>
> Center-pivot irrigation in the Midwest, which taps the (formerly
> thought-to-be inexhaustible) Oglalla Aquifer is indeed drawing water in an
> unsustainable fashion.  Just ask the farmers in the Panhandle of TX about
> that (they are at the very south end of the aquifer).  Farther North, they
> haven't had so much trouble (yet).  They will, unless they change their
> water withdrawal strategy to ensure long-term sustainability.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: KARAM, PHILIP [mailto:PHILIP.KARAM at nypd.org]
> Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2015 2:32 PM
> To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] USA Drought
>
> Water storage and utilization is certainly part of the problem. But the
> root cause is that much of California is a desert or near-desert, which
> happens to be home to several million people, several million lawns,
> industry, and a lot of crops. If people were not trying to live in and to
> farm a desert then water storage, snowpack depth, and so forth would be a
> non-issue.
>
> For what it's worth, California is not alone in this - Las Vegas may be
> the most egregious example, but much of the Great Plains is also
> near-desert (and, in fact, was known as the Great American Desert before
> the discovery - and exploitation - of the Ogallala Aquifer). At some point
> this aquifer is going to dry up or become unusable, which will really suck
> for the couple of million people and all of the agriculture from southern
> South Dakota, western Kansas and Oklahoma, the Texas panhandle, and eastern
> Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico - all desert areas that are supported by
> "mining" groundwater.
>
> There was a comedy routine a few decades ago that is particularly
> relevant. The comedian (Sam Kinison I believe) was talking about a famine
> in a desert country. He pantomimed picking up a handful of sand and letting
> it dribble through his fingers while saying "See this? This is sand. You
> live in a desert. We have deserts in America too - we just don't live in
> them." (laughter)
>
> But, alas, we do.
>
> Andy
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu [mailto:
> radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Johanning, Jeffrey R.
> Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2015 4:15 PM
> To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] USA Drought
>
> As a CA resident, this does strike a bit of a nerve with me.  Our drought
> is not only self-inflicted, it is government inflicted.  It is not the
> fault of the farmers and the crops they grow, it is not the fault of the
> metropolis' population using water for whatever.  We haven't built a dam
> here in some 50 years to store water and as best I can tell, there are no
> plans for the future, just fining those who are in violation of an
> arbitrary restriction.  Saving the Delta Smelt is actually separate from
> building reservoirs but the same people are behind (or not behind, as the
> case may be) both/either of them as a solution.  Maybe the upcoming
> forecasted El Nino will help but only for a short time.
>
> Jeff Johanning
> Sr. Health Physicist V / RSO
> Leidos, Inc.
> 858-826-9725
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu [mailto:
> radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Brennan, Mike (DOH)
> Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2015 11:09
> To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] USA Drought
>
> I get nervous when people use phrases like "... to save a smelt fish..."
> and "... drains into the ocean", because it often is followed by, "...so
> let' pipe the Columbia down to California where it can be used, instead of
> wasting it by letting it go into the ocean."  Fresh water flowing into salt
> water is WAY more complex than draining or wasting.  There are ecological,
> economic, political, and even geologic factors involved in messing with a
> river more than a few tens of percent.  Often the long term loss of messing
> with the flow is larger than the gain (though by the time that is realized
> it may be too late to change back).
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu [mailto:
> radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Amoling, Ronald
> Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2015 10:32 AM
> To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] USA Drought
>
> It's not all self-inflicted.  From what I've read some of it relates more
> to the water collection and storage.  The current system is designed to
> collect and use water from snow melt.  No snow, no snow melt.  They've not
> yet developed adequate methods of collecting rain/stormwater and collecting
> it in reservoirs so it pretty much runs through storm drains into the
> ocean.  I'm sure that this is a woefully inadequate oversimplification on
> my part, but the main point is that they're geared toward getting water
> from snow, not rain.
>
>
> Ronald Amoling, RSO / EHS Manager
> American Science and Engineering, Inc. | www.as-e.com
> 829 Middlesex Turnpike | Billerica, MA 01821 USA Office +1-978-495-9012 |
> Cell +1-508-728-1348 | RAmoling at as-e.com
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu [mailto:
> radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Dixon, John E.
> (CDC/ONDIEH/NCEH)
> Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2015 8:55 AM
> To: 'The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List'
> <radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu>
> Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] USA Drought
>
> CA's problems may in fact be self- inflicted. 40 years of not building and
> utilizing storage reservoirs to save a smelt fish might be one reason...
>
> John
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu [mailto:
> radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of S L Gawarecki
> Sent: Monday, August 24, 2015 2:25 AM
> To: RadSafe <radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu>
> Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] USA Drought
>
> There is plenty of moisture available in the atmosphere whether icecaps
> are freezing or not (and they are currently melting). The California
> drought is a result of at least a couple of problems.
>
>    1. Changing storm tracks - in recent years a persistent high pressure
>    system has developed in the Gulf of Alaska (normally under the
> influence of
>    the Aleutian Low), which has diverted the jet stream, and this causes
>    Pacific cyclones to bear northwards away from California then dip
>    southwards in the mid-continent. Coincidentally, the Gulf of Alaska has
>    warmed as much as 5 degrees above its normal seasonal averages.
>
>    2. Winter temperatures in the Sierra Nevada are warmer, so that rain is
>    increasing in proportion to snow. Snow pack is what feeds the reservoirs
>    into late summer, and consequently the water distribution systems.
>
> Climatologists are hopeful that a strong El Nino predicted for this year
> will restore normal storm tracks and bring more rain to California. I say
> "prepare for mudslide season."
>
> Regards,
> *Susan Gawarecki*
>
> ph: 865-494-0102
> cell:  865-604-3724
> SLGawarecki at gmail.com
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