Where Does Our Water Come From?

Graphic by Alekhya Maram

By Savonnah Wong

When you twist the knob on your sink to get a glass of water or turn on your shower, the source of the water never crosses your mind. When you use water, you may be tapping into different sources either close to your home or from many miles away. In the Bay Area, there are over 11 reservoirs that deliver more than 260 million gallons of water to our homes daily. 

However, the amount of water that is available each year differs based on climate conditions. As of 2021, the Bay Area’s dams and reservoirs are not completely full. According to the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency, “The district’s seven reservoirs were 72% full on Friday [January 29, 2021].” Although recently, conditions have not been “as dire as the drought between 2011 to 2016” said Andrew David, a physics teacher at the Athenian School, “everyone should be aware that as every single year passes, there has been less and less water.” 

One particular reason the water levels are dropping is that climate change disrupts weather patterns. With global warming and the rising temperatures on Earth, snowpacks are melting. 

“Snowpacks are nature’s way of storing water for a longer period of time than rain,” said David. 

Water is retained in seasonal snowpacks and melts slowly throughout the spring and summer. Instead of having to capture snow as it falls, the snow melt from the mountains steadily fills reservoirs throughout the warmer months. 

However, due to global warming, snowpacks are declining and melting earlier, reducing the water levels of reservoirs. This contributes to the onset of megadroughts: extreme drought conditions for an extended period of time. Megadroughts create conditions conducive to the desiccation of trees, forests, and soil. These dry conditions take a toll on the health of plants and allow fires to start relatively easily. When a fire starts, it can grow into a huge forest fire quickly. It is beneficial to have snow or water on the ground as long as possible so that trees and forests can retain moisture to withstand fires. However, temperature rise due to global warming makes this unlikely. 

Another way our water supply is connected to the environment is the impacts of water distributing facilities on eco-life. Many animals are directly impacted by the artificial reservoirs and dams built to transport water to our homes. Specifically, the populations of some fish species are dwindling due to how water is distributed. 

In California, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has listed the Central California Coast Coho Salmon as an endangered species as of 2005. Many salmonids swim upriver to the mountains to lay their eggs; however, if there is an artificial dam built on the river, the salmon are not able to lay eggs where they originally were supposed to be. With the combination of overfishing, disease, pollution, and water distribution infrastructures, 99.5% of all native Salmon have disappeared from the wild. Although this disappearance is the result of many factors, the important takeaway is that there are many things humans do disrupt the life of animals.

Water in California is one of the top issues in the state. If people continue to waste water daily, we run the risk of depleting our water supply. Many Californians want to know how to make a positive impact and want to change their daily habits to conserve water. However, it is “important to educate yourself on what actually makes a difference, and what just feels like it is making a difference,” said David. 

Many people turn off the sink while brushing their teeth or cut down the length of their showers, but compared to reducing meat consumption or cutting down on clothes shopping, the impact of these actions is negligible. 

“People will be hearing about California water for a long, long time. [This is a] huge issue in the state and people will deal [with] this problem,” said David.