Climate Change in California. Part 3

because of its warm dry summers california relies on favorable winter conditions it's the cool sierra nevada acts as a reservoir storing water in a fake snow pack dan kane of the scripps institution of oceanography says the snow pack delivers water when the state needs it most it's historically has reached a scene of him in springtime in them provided a relatively orderly snow melt which releases water during the late spring and summer when it's most needed for agricultural industrial and domestic uses kaine and other climate researchers projects that by the end of this century the snow pack could decline by more than half depending on the extent of warming doesn't mean will lose water it means that the water will be coming off the series faster hands make that region more flood prone and also make it more difficult to contain and store the water so we have more water in the water last year in a time when you maury roos is chief hydraulic just for the california department of water resources

than ever example fifteen hundred foot rise of the level of the water they know that they will reduce the smoke that runoff by about a third that's a forty five minute riff we do natural start recess five million acre feet is enough water to supply all the households in southern california it's hard to know how big a problem that would be climate researchers are fairly competent when they projected warming but what will happen with the timing and location of rainfall is a lot less clear current thinking is precipitation patterns will change too much hydraulic as maury roos looks out on the san joaquin river from a boat dock in the delta swallow start over head russia's called julie's not in the breeze about three quarters of the state's water supply flows down from the snare and cascade mountains and into the delta from here much of it is on south to farms and cities we have the potential of place for larger floods with higher

skill levels get more rain runoff contributing there a message on a little warmer water cooler so you're like firing volunteers to be a big star global warming is also projected to melt that sheets of ice at high latitude raising sea level how much depends on what people do to curb greenhouse gas emissions and how sensitive the oceans and atmosphere turn out to be warming oceans will also raise the sea level because the water will expand as it's heated scientists project to rise ranging from half a foot to three feet by the end of the century maury roos says even the lower estimate wouldn't be good for the thousand miles of fragile levees in the delta higher sea level you have a firewall over and flood events and more pressure on the levees was greater risks are failing the other component of sea level rise is it anticipates some additional salinity

intrusion on the ocean cruz says at this spot on the san joaquin the levee girded river is quite a bit higher than the surrounding land which is well below sea level the island is almost twenty feet below sea level with a southern an israeli troops most of the islands and the central western the big fear is a major earthquake one could easily repaired several levees allowing sea water to gush in that would disrupt the state's drinking water supply changes in high quality and warming water temperatures also threatened california's already imperiled salmon and steelhead so global warming could stir up additional conflict between farmers cities and environmentalist but peter gleick of the research group the pacific institute says the answer isn't more dams and bigger reservoirs in part because we've built all of the major plumbing that our environment will permit and in fact one of the debates read in california's how to reduce the

environmental consequences of the infrastructure we've already built goodling blake says that californians still waste a fair amount of water he suggest the best plan for now is to make more efficient use of the water we have on the sacramento san joaquin delta ilsa sets ill eighty nine point three kpcc