Water is serious stuff, particularly in California where drought is on everyone's minds. Water flows into our houses and it also flows into our farms and gardens.
With supplies growing more limited, how do farms and gardens factor into the water equation? What are the environmental issues?
On this episode, we take a look at California's water supply, where it comes from, where it goes to, its impact on habitats, and how it supplies the farms and gardens that feed us.
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California Department of Water Resources’ Jana Dawson Frazier toured host Nan Sterman around and down into Lake Oroville to show us the frighteningly low water level.
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Host Nan Sterman and Jana Dawson Frazier, from California Department of Water Resources, stand at the end of the boat ramp at Lake Oroville. Few, if any boats are able to launch under these conditions.
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This otherwise idyllic scene reveals just how low the water level is in Lake Oroville. At the time this photo was taken, the water should have been three quarters of the way up to the tree line.
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The crew walked down to Lake Oroville, into what is usually many feet underwater. It looked like an empty bathtub in the bottom.
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All kinds of structures that are usually well under the waters of Lake Oroville are instead high and dry.
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The critically low water level reveals the craggy sides of Lake Oroville.
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The dire state of Southern California’s water supply is shockingly evident in this image of Lake Oroville, where the snowmelt from the Sierra Nevada mountains begins its journey to the faucets and hose bibs of Southern California.
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We walked across the top of the Oroville Dam on a beautiful, crisp December day, to witness the dire state of Southern California’s water supply.
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Blythe area farmers started diverting water from the Colorado River to irrigate their fields in the 1800s. In 1957, the Palo Verde Irrigation District built their permanent diversion dam based on the longtime use that gives this region senior rights to the river water.
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The farms in Blythe, California are flood irrigated with water diverted from the nearby Colorado River. Cameraman Michael Gerdes captures the process of flooding a field of onions.
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Water slowly infiltrates the furrows between onion rows. What isn’t used by the plants, returns to the aquifer and eventually to the river. It is an extremely efficient system that has been used for generations along the river.
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Not far from the onion field, crop of broccoli is ready for harvest. In an elegantly choreographed process, the farm crew cuts and packs the broccoli in the field.
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About The Series:
A GROWING PASSION is a lifestyle program that explores San Diego County’s agriculture and horticulture activities as an expression of this growing earth-friendly movement.
From backyard food production to major horticultural growers, from low water landscapes to sustainable practices around the home and in the garden, we tell stories about the natural and man-made landscapes that shape the social, cultural, environmental and economic interests of our community.
We celebrate how San Diego grows. The series is hosted by Nan Sterman.
Watch On Your Schedule:
All episodes of A GROWING PASSION are available for streaming on demand.
Join The Conversation:
A GROWING PASSION is on Facebook, and you can follow @GrowingPassion on Twitter. Share photos and follow the series on Instagram.
