Earthquake could threaten California’s water supply

Water from the Sacramento River is pulled through the Delta to pumps that deliver water to California residents. Most of the water, though, is used to satisfy agricultural needs. All of this exported water disrupts the natural water flow through the region. However, now with sea level rising and increased and improved seismic risk assessment – the aging infrastructure in the Delta might be putting the water supply of 23 million Californians in jeopardy. While the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has been there for thousands of years, building levees has changed the area’s pristine marshland into farmland. The Delta is the hub of the water for two-thirds of California’s population and supplies water for up to three million acres of farmland. The area is a habitat for 500 species and is home to more than 400,000 people. Highways, pipelines, power distribution, railroads and deep water ports go through the Delta. To understand what’s going on in the region, take a look at Sherman Island. The man-made island is an infrastructure choke point with six highways, three railroads, major transmission lines and gas lines and telecommunication towers that run through. However, Sherman Island has evolved quite a bit in the past century:… Read full this story

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