Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Earthquakes Can Dry Water Supply. Californians Must Prepare
gvw_calmatters
By CalMatters
Published 6 years ago on
July 31, 2019

Share

Recent earthquakes have us all thinking about emergency preparedness. Whether that’s updating the earthquake kit, putting supplies in the car trunk, or finally affixing the bookshelves to the wall, there are steps we can take personally to prepare for the worst.


Opinion 
Charles Wilson
Special to CALmatters

Critical to any earthquake kit is bottled water. This is because an earthquake may damage local pipelines or water treatment facilities, leaving us with contaminated water or no service at all.
In Trona, the town where the recent July 4-5 earthquakes were felt most keenly, it took six days for water service to be restored to residents. It was another eight days before the water was safe to drink without boiling it first.
For Southern California, this recent spate of earthquakes caused limited damage. But before we let our fear and sense of urgency about planning fade like Fourth of July fireworks, we must remember that the danger of future earthquakes is still very much with us. It is a question of when, not if.
California Institute of Technology seismologist Lucy Jones has said half the number of small and moderate earthquakes occurred in California during the last quarter century when compared to the previous period.
This earthquake “drought,” as she called it, will end.
“The Pacific plate is still on its very slow move, carrying Los Angeles toward San Francisco. Just as the rains came this winter, some year the big earthquake will come,” Jones wrote in the Los Angeles Times earlier this year.

Southern California Depends Heavily on Transported Water

An earthquake doesn’t have to happen in your neighborhood or city, or even your region, for it to have an impact, especially on Southern California’s water supply.
According to UCLA Professor Jon Stewart, the three main water systems that bring water to Southern California each cross the San Andreas Fault at least once.
This means that should the “big one” hit along that fault line, Southern California’s imported water supply from the Colorado River Aqueduct, the Los Angeles Aqueduct and the State Water Project could be severely impacted.
This is especially significant for the State Water Project.
About a third of Southern California’s water supply depends on water transported through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Islands in the Delta are protected by 100-year-old levees. Those levees are not likely to survive a major earthquake.
Should these levees collapse, water from San Francisco Bay would rush inland, and render water supplies too salty. That could interrupt service to millions of people, farms and businesses.
It’s a known risk, and efforts to address it have been underway for years.
Recently, Gov. Gavin Newsom has reaffirmed his commitment to move forward with the modernization of this critical statewide water system. A one-tunnel Delta conveyance solution would vastly improve reliability against earthquakes and levee failure.

Southern Californians Lead the Way on Innovation

In Southern California, we must also prepare for earthquake damage to this infrastructure by reducing our dependence on water from outside the region through smart, innovative, and integrated water management.

Living in earthquake country makes planning and emergency preparedness critical. Taking steps to prepare for the worst is important, personally and as a region. Understanding where our water comes from, and just how important all of our supplies are, is a good start.
It’s what we call an “all-of-the-above” approach for the region and includes looking to modernize our infrastructure, increase local supplies and more.
We must protect and replenish the region’s groundwater. It already is a vital part of Southern California’s water supply and could be even more critical should water infrastructure fail after a major quake.
Southern Californians are leading the way with innovative programs to clean up contaminated sites and to replenish groundwater supplies with captured stormwater and purified wastewater.
Orange County Water District, once way out in front of the pack on groundwater replenishment with recycled water, is now joined by the city of Los Angeles and L.A. County, both of which announced large projects to replenish groundwater supplies with recycled water and captured stormwater.
Others are doing projects, as well, too numerous to mention here.
Living in earthquake country makes planning and emergency preparedness critical. Taking steps to prepare for the worst is important, personally and as a region. Understanding where our water comes from, and just how important all of our supplies are, is a good start.
About the Author 
Charles Wilson is executive director of the Southern California Water Coalition. He can be reached at cwilson@socalwater.org. He wrote this commentary for CalMatters, a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s Capitol works and why it matters.
[activecampaign form=19]

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Carney Ahead in Polls as Canada Enters Last Week of Election Campaign

DON'T MISS

Running Backs Could Get a Boost in This Year’s Draft Thanks to Success of Saquon Barkley

DON'T MISS

Freeman’s Sacrifice Fly Lifts Dodgers Over Rangers in Pitchers’ Duel

DON'T MISS

Verlander Flashes Vintage Form at 42, Strikes Out Trout Twice in Giants Loss

DON'T MISS

Trump Stands Behind Hegseth After Attack Plans Shared in Second Signal Chat

DON'T MISS

One Man Dead After Kings River Rescue Attempt in Fresno County

DON'T MISS

Oil Falls on Signs of Progress in US-Iran Talks Amid More Market Stress

DON'T MISS

US Bond Funds Suffer Fifth Weekly Outflow on Tariff-Driven Inflation Fears

DON'T MISS

Trump Warns of Economic Slowdown Unless Fed Cuts Rates

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Will Sell Naming Rights for Clovis and Reedley Libraries

UP NEXT

I Have Never Been More Afraid for My Country’s Future

UP NEXT

Why Is It So Expensive to Build Affordable Homes in CA? It Takes Too Long

UP NEXT

What Some Animals Endure Before We Eat Them

UP NEXT

Zakaria Warns of ‘Crony Capitalism’ in Trump’s Tariff Reversal

UP NEXT

How California Can Reduce High Concession Prices in Its Taxpayer-Funded Stadiums

UP NEXT

Why Palestinian Christians Feel Betrayed by American Christians

UP NEXT

Other States Do Housing Better Than California; a New Study Shows How They Do It

UP NEXT

Trump and Netanyahu Steer Toward an Ugly World, Together

UP NEXT

New Plan to Accelerate CA High-Speed Rail Construction Deserves Attention, Support

UP NEXT

Why Did So Many People Delude Themselves About Trump?

Verlander Flashes Vintage Form at 42, Strikes Out Trout Twice in Giants Loss

36 minutes ago

Trump Stands Behind Hegseth After Attack Plans Shared in Second Signal Chat

39 minutes ago

One Man Dead After Kings River Rescue Attempt in Fresno County

1 hour ago

Oil Falls on Signs of Progress in US-Iran Talks Amid More Market Stress

1 hour ago

US Bond Funds Suffer Fifth Weekly Outflow on Tariff-Driven Inflation Fears

1 hour ago

Trump Warns of Economic Slowdown Unless Fed Cuts Rates

1 hour ago

Fresno County Will Sell Naming Rights for Clovis and Reedley Libraries

1 hour ago

Steph Curry Scores 31 Points in the Warriors’ Victory Over the Rockets in Game 1

1 hour ago

Pope Francis, First Latin American Pontiff, Dies on Easter Monday

3 hours ago

Chargers in Need of Help at Wide Receiver and Tight End in the NFL Draft

1 day ago

Carney Ahead in Polls as Canada Enters Last Week of Election Campaign

CHARLOTTETOWN, Prince Edward Island (Reuters) – Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, ahead in polls in the run-up to an April 28 elect...

4 minutes ago

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney walks towards his bus after getting off his plane in Halifax Stanfield International Airport during his Liberal Party election campaign tour in Goffs, Nova Scotia, Canada April 21, 2025. (REUTERS/Carlos Osorio)
4 minutes ago

Carney Ahead in Polls as Canada Enters Last Week of Election Campaign

Boise State's Ashton Jeanty runs a drill during the school’s NFL football pro day held, Wednesday March 26, 2025, at the Caven-Williams Indoor Facility in Boise, Idaho. (AP/Kyle Green)
28 minutes ago

Running Backs Could Get a Boost in This Year’s Draft Thanks to Success of Saquon Barkley

33 minutes ago

Freeman’s Sacrifice Fly Lifts Dodgers Over Rangers in Pitchers’ Duel

36 minutes ago

Verlander Flashes Vintage Form at 42, Strikes Out Trout Twice in Giants Loss

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth attends the annual White House Easter Egg Roll event, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 21, 2025. (REUTERS/Leah Millis)
39 minutes ago

Trump Stands Behind Hegseth After Attack Plans Shared in Second Signal Chat

1 hour ago

One Man Dead After Kings River Rescue Attempt in Fresno County

The sun is seen behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County, Texas, U.S., November 22, 2019. (REUTERS/Angus Mordant/File Photo)
1 hour ago

Oil Falls on Signs of Progress in US-Iran Talks Amid More Market Stress

Wall Street street sign
1 hour ago

US Bond Funds Suffer Fifth Weekly Outflow on Tariff-Driven Inflation Fears

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend