William Johnson of San Diego writes passionately about the crisis in the water supply of his beloved area in California.  William just returned from a trip east and commented about the "green" that he observed here.   There's more to the  "green" in the east than what we enjoy in 2009.

WILLIAM:  The green here this year and for the past couple of years is all part of a cycle.  We go in cycles of about 7-8 years.  I've watched it for quite a few 7-8 year cycle repeats. 

When this cycle is completed, which, if I can predict accurately from memory, will be about 2 years.  Then we in the east should enter into a dry cycle and our grass will be brown, the corn will grow to only about 2 feet, the folks in Frederick County MD will have water trucked in to many areas because the wells will be dry and the city water drastically low, etc. 

In areas that are overbuilt for the existing infrastructure of the towns, mandatory water restrictions are in place even in this year of water abundance.  In Purcellville, a builder wanted to add another 240 town homes to the water supply.  Thank goodness the town council rejected the application.  It would have meant that the existing already low supply would have been reduced to every resident that depended on the local water supply.

Typical Farm in Northern Virginia in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountain Range. 

Our farms are not massive agribusinesses that we see in California, but farmers with truck farms who have no product to sell in our dry cycles.  California relies on full fruited trees and plants because they sell to huge suppliers and have to have "super market ready product".  In dry cycles, our truck farmers sell fruits and vegetables that are small and not attractive.  I still buy them because I know they are local and our farmer families hard working neighbors.  We don't have the vast water dependant development that they have in California.  Here, when it doesn't rain, the fields are dry. 

So, we can enjoy the green forests this year, but for how long???  Perhaps the agricultural enterprises in California can be deemed to be "too big to fail" and qualify for some massive federal aid from tax payers across the country.  Makes sense to me.  I'd rather subsidize food for our nation than the Wall Street Gangs.  Of course, there might be some spill over.

Frederick County Parcipitation averages Jan.-Dec. **

That's about 40 inches of rain fall annually.  Enough to grow significant crops.  Yet, in dry years, the fields produce little to nothing to market because the farms don't have artificial water supplies that we see in California.  In the east, if the rain falls, the crops flourish.  If the rain doesn't fall, there are no crops. 

Rainfall in San Diego appears to be quite low based on historical data.  Yet, California is where the massive agribusinesses are located and the massive water supplies needed.  Nature is opportunistic and plants only grow naturally where the conditions are friendly.  When mankind moves the plants to an unfriendly location, producing an engineered environment, it could eventually fail simply because the need to maintain the engineered environment far exceeds the profit from the plants growing there.  Unless, the massive businesses that provide these artificial environments are deemed "To Big To Fail".  It is clear to many that California cannot subsidize these massive engineered environments for crops.  California has deficits/debt the likes of which we can only imagine, yet they are real.  The country, all of the country to some extent has become dependant on the produce from California.  Does that make the California agribusinesses "To Big To Fail"?  Could be. 

Normal Percipitation for Leesburg, VA.

The message here is not the water supply.  It's the water usage. 

**  I've used Frederick County, MD as the example of our area simply because it's an area that suffers crisis in water supply in our dry cycles.