Laserfiche WebLink
HISTORIC RAIN, YET DROUGHT REMAINS <br /> <br /> <br />ORANGE COUNTY GRAND JURY 2022 I 2023 Page 7 of 57 <br />“The current state of our climate <br />is a prolonged drought. To survive, local <br />sources of water need to be more resilient. “ <br /> <br /> F.E. Weymouth Water Treatment Plant and Quality Control <br />Laboratory <br /> Pure Water Southern California Demonstration Plant in Carson <br /> <br />INVESTIGATION AND ANALYSIS <br />Climate <br />The current state of our climate is a prolonged drought. To survive, local sources of <br />water need to be more resilient. <br />Throughout Earth’s evolution, there have been and continue to be impacts on its <br />climate. The continents have been drifting since there was a super continent, Pangea, <br />175 million years ago. The resulting different geographic locations have differing climate <br />conditions which are still evolving. These “climate changes” have been extensively <br />studied and documented by paleo-climatologists, and their data has been used to <br />forecast what climate conditions will most probably be in the future. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Today’s scientists and climatologists agree that Earth is changing due to evolutionary <br />cycles and that climate warming is being acutely exacerbated and accelerated by the <br />effects of human activities. Worldwide, glaciers are receding, sea levels are rising, and <br />permafrost melting. Many global regions that were historically self-sufficient for potable <br />water are now in periods of extended drought where precipitation is a declining <br />resource. Orange County is directly affected by the resulting effects of climate change, <br />evidenced by water reduction mandates and the various proposed means and methods <br />to capture, recycle, and store more water. <br />This report acknowledges climate change and its effects on the people of Orange <br />County. It examines whether the current proposed means and methods for securing <br />more water are sufficient to sustain the projected growth in the county and support the <br />green and vibrant lifestyle to which its inhabitants have become accustomed. <br />As evidenced over the past five decades, the durations and resulting expectations from <br />the seasons in this geographic region of the U.S. (Western) have dramatically changed. <br />Winters have seen declining periods of sustained precipitation, and summers are hotter, <br />longer, and drier. This has directly affected the rivers, lakes, streams, dammed <br />reservoirs above ground and aquifers below ground that rely on melted snow and rain <br />for continued and reliable replenishment. Paleo-climatologists have validated the past