Municipal Water in Drought-Stricken California: Thinking Outside the Box

Abstract:

Our work reviews the key climatic and cultural factors behind water scarcity in drought-stricken regions of the world, in general, and California in particular. Long-term climatic data, instrumental and tree ring-based, are analyzed to ascertain patterns of drought recurrence, length, and severity in California. Municipal water delivery is examined to identify essential and unessential water uses, showing how water use is governed by unsustainable cultural practices, and how it responds to conservation initiatives and pricing. Lastly, unconventional means to increase municipal are investigated, mainly the recycling of municipal sewage. The supply-side and economic implications of using recycled sewage as a potable water source are compared with those pertinent to seawater desalination.