California

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Californias Water Resources

• Chapter 13A, Section 2

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Californias Water Supply

• The main sources of Californias freshwater
  supply are precipitation, surface water, and
  groundwater
• California receives an average of about 58 cm of
  precipitation per year
• Northern CA and mountains receive most of the
  precipitation
• Some of CAs precipitation flows back into the
  lakes, rivers, and streams that make up the
  states drainage basins supplies half of the
  freshwater needs for the year
• One of CAs major sources of fresh water is the
  Colorado River
• Some precipitation seeps into the ground to
  become groundwater accounting for 30 of fresh
  water used
• Most groundwater is used in the area from which
  the water is withdrawn
• Desalination removal of salt from ocean water
  to obtain fresh water

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Californias Average Annual Precipitation
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Californias Drainage Basins
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Concept Check

• What is desalination?
• Desalination is the removal of salt from ocean
  water to obtain fresh water.

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Californias Water Projects

• To meet freshwater needs throughout the state,
  California has an intricate network of water
  storage and distribution systems, or water
  projects
• Aqueduct pipe, or channel, through which water
  flows from a higher elevation to a lower
  elevation
• The Los Angeles Aqueduct carries water 359 km
  from the Owens River east of the Sierra Nevada,
  providing L.A. with water since 1913
• Californias State Water Project (SWP) is one of
  the nations largest water distribution systems,
  transporting water from northern CA to southern
• The federal government has also constructed major
  water projects in CA

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Californias Water Projects
Yellow Federal Green Local Red State
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Water Needs

• Most of Californias water supply is used to grow
  crops
• The rest is used in homes, businesses, and
  industries, or has been set aside for recreation
  or wildlife use
• About 80 of fresh water used each year goes
  toward irrigating crops
• Think of all the ways you use water, this adds up
  to about 380 liters per person per day
• The major use of water in industry is as a
  coolanteither to cool products or the equipment
  used to make products
• CA preserves some streams and rivers as fisheries
  and as recreation zones, not diverting the water
  from these areas

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Assignment

• Read Chapter 13A, Section 2 (pg. CA 13-CA 19)
• DO Section 13A.2 Assessment 1-7 (pg. CA 19)