In drought-starved California, recent rains might be enough to provide short-term relief today for golf course superintendents. But for those wondering where their water might come from in the future, the recent storms promise to leave water users throughout the state not satisfied, but longing for more; much more.About 10.2 inches of rain have fallen in San Francisco just in December. But just how far does that go in San Francisco? It's half the Bay area's 2014 total, and about 8 inches above the historic December average of just 2 inches.
With most of the state embroiled in a three-year drought that climatologists say could extend for many decades, the December storms hardly are a signal that all is suddenly hunky-dory on the country's left coast, say Jim Ferrin, CGCS, and Mike Huck, two members of California's golf industry who also are recognized experts on the region's water issues.
Of California's 47 reservoirs that help provide water to the state's 38 million residents, only 13 are operating above 50 percent capacity. Among the other 72 percent of the state's reservoirs, at least 23 are operating at a capacity of 39 percent or less.
"It's been a mixed bag around the state," said Huck, a Southern California-based irrigation consultant and former golf course superintendent who is as well versed as anyone on the state's water issues. "Reservoirs are increasing, but there is still a long way to go before we get to where we are supposed to be historically."
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration tracks rainfall around the globe, and it says another 11 trillion gallons of rain, or 34 million acre-feet, are needed to kick California's drought status to the curb.
"Keep in mind, a golf course might use up to 250 to 300 acre feet of water (per year)," Huck said. "We're a long way off from making any progress."
In fact, at that rate, according to NASA, it would take two or even three years of above-average rainfall to give California the water it needs on a long-term basis and make the term "drought" a thing of the past. Few, if any, in California are expecting that.
"Since November, we have received close to 12.5 inches of rain," said Ferrin, superintendent at the Sun City Roseville complex near Sacramento and a statewide speaker on California's water plilght. "This has helped the drought minimally as reservoir levels have only filled minimally ? far below the levels they should be at during normal climatic times."
While not a regular occurrence, rain events, like those that have taken place in November and December, are not completely foreign to California.
Huck recalls when he was a superintendent at Mission Viejo Country Club in Orange County, and watching the news in New Orleans during the 1991 GCSAA Education Conference, as hillside homes near the golf course were destroyed in mudslides because there was so much rain in Southern California. He also remembered when he returned from the show how he had to rent an old Jacobsen HR 15 gang unit to mow the rain-soaked overseeded rough areas.
"We rented it for a week just to get caught up," he said. "It was like a hayfield."
Although the rain has been a welcome respite from prolonged drought, the fact is Californians rely more on snowpack in the Sierra Nevada for their water. Runoff from the snowpack feeds into the many river systems and reservoirs scattered throughout the state. And so far this season, snowpack in the Sierra is down by about 40 percent compared with the historic average, according to the California Department of Water Resources.
"The snowpack will have to exceed 150 percent in order to supply enough snow melt to fill the reservoirs and end the drought for next year at least," Ferrin said. "The Sierra's provide 75 percent of California's potable water. Rain is great, but snow is more important."