Water table versus aquifers

I live on 20 acres and I’m only allotted enough water for 1. If I had 40, I could use all the water I wanted.  I have 2 aquifers below me. If I drilled deeper, I’d have unlimited water, but that would cost around $100,000. I had good water in Morongo Valley. It’s on the east side of Big Bear, down the hill. Morongo is basically a lake with sand floating on the top. It seeps out on the east side.  Earthquakes were a big concern.

Nice Emmy Lou Harris reference! However I much prefer the recorded version–a lot more controlled and nuanced. Hey Terran, have you checked out the eagle nesting live cam I posted about? It’s sponsored by Friends of Big Bear Valley.

She was kind of drowned out . The recorded version is better.

I haven’t been to Big Bear in ages. Mostly we’d go to Forest Falls and follow Mill Creek, climb the jumpoff over to Whitewater. I did take Vivian trail up San Gorgonio. I didn’t go to the top. We got to around 10,000′ and went off the side. I literally slid down about ‘3,000’ using the manzanita to stop. Lots of manzanita and buckthorn. I preferred the thorns. Manzanita will beat your legs up. If you get on the east side, there’s nobody there until you get to the diversion dams. Still no people, but the water company had a road going up there. Went to Silverwood Falls a few times. Followed the east fork of whitewater to south fork and came out in Cabazon. Did an Indiana Jones exit into south fork. Dropped down about 15′ landing in the sand. I’ll have to check out the cam. I’ve only seen eagles in Tahoe around Baldwin Creek. They turned my old fishing hole into an eagle sanctuary.

Even though it is about 20 years old, Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water, by Marc Reisner is a great book to understand why and how it happened along with consequences.

About 20 years old about 20 years ago. 1986. Time slips away doesn’t it? I’m sure it’s still very relevant. I remember reading about India having increasing problems in that time period. California especially up in the Central Valley. As jscott mentioned the almond farmers. Not to rule out the many others including the desert areas.  The most controversial perhaps being Cadiz.

My dad lead many of the water conservation efforts in the Coachella and Palo Verde Valleys . In the 60’s early 70’s, we had a number of visitors from middle eastern countries seeking knowledge. They partially solved their issues by buying up land in the Palo Verde area.