Samuel Stout-Calderon: Shipping away water breaks the natural cycle
The valley does not have a drought so much as a water shortage. Let us explore my concept by returning to school for a moment, the lessons of our water cycle. Spring comes, and the snow melts off the mountains and creates rivers. These rivers then flow to various lakes, and some eventually to the ocean, evaporating all along the way. This, combined with various other sources of evaporation, rises to the sky and forms clouds which then rain down upon the land.
Some of these clouds will make it back to the mountains, beginning the cycle again. The Central Valley is one of the largest producers of agriculture in the world. Why, then, would it be justifiable to ship our water hundreds of miles away outside of our water cycle? When we dam up the water and divert it from the area, we are creating leaks and breaks in the cycle. San Diego County is getting a desalination plant in 2016; why can’t other seaside cities follow suit?
Samuel Stout-Calderon, Modesto
This story was originally published September 22, 2015 at 5:03 PM with the headline "Samuel Stout-Calderon: Shipping away water breaks the natural cycle."