Could California Solve Its Water Woes by Flooding Farmland?

July 25, 2024 7:47 PM

In California's Central Valley, 2100 acres of farmland have been changed from farmland into rain-water catchment. It refills the aquifers and prevents floods. "In addition to these two functions, the restored swamp also sequesters an amount of carbon dioxide equivalent to that produced by thousands of gas-powered vehicles. It also provides a haven for migratory birds and other species that have faced the threat of extinction."
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries (14 comments total)

swamps are amazing

I am emphatically pro-swamp

more swamps for all
posted by humbug at 7:54 PM on July 25 [12 favorites]

The water wants to return to the wetlands, by geography. We do a ton of work to keep it out. Water is heavy.

But one day even the kankakee marshes will return from tile drain.

You can't keep a good swamp down
posted by eustatic at 8:04 PM on July 25 [14 favorites]

undrain the swamp, as they say

I wonder if the groundwater depletion is eventually going to make this kind of thing more feasible because farms can't continue to operate. Society is not very good at any kind of "managed retreat" even when it's objectively better in a lot of ways. Maybe instead of paying tens of millions of dollars to landowners we can wait until the land is unusable and offer them a dollar.
posted by allegedly at 8:31 PM on July 25 [8 favorites]

What is it called when there is a patch of relatively dry land surrounded by swamp? Because I’m thinking instead of island crone the new trend should be swamp crone.
posted by Mizu at 8:42 PM on July 25 [1 favorite]

My aunt used to be responsible for the national wildlife reserves in the Central Valley. Now that she's retired she no longer gets to enjoy death threats about projects like this.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 8:59 PM on July 25 [20 favorites]

My aunt used to be responsible for the national wildlife reserves in the Central Valley. Now that she's retired she no longer gets to enjoy death threats about projects like this.

Holy Shit, death threats from farmers who, being farmers in the US, have a high chance of being able to get their hands on guns, is horrifying/terrifying.

I'm so sorry that happened to her.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 9:41 PM on July 25 [7 favorites]

Holy Shit, death threats from farmers who, being farmers in the US, have a high chance of being able to get their hands on guns, is horrifying/terrifying.

Death threats against the public faces of the U.S. Federal government are a lot more common than you might think. 99% of the time it’s just talk, but it does wear people down.

I’m certain this project has and will continue to generate similar ill will for everyone involved. You get involved in California water politics at your own peril. It makes the Middle East look like a bunch of peace loving hippies.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 10:03 PM on July 25 [9 favorites]

This is such a cool project and a really well written article. Added to the reading list for my Limnology class in the fall. Thanks!

The maps of the 2023 flooding are amazing. And I always appreciate anyone who reminds folks that North American rivers used to just be a series of beaver wetlands all the way down, not the narrow, sinuous channels to which we are accustomed.
posted by hydropsyche at 3:42 AM on July 26 [6 favorites]

It makes the Middle East look like a bunch of peace loving hippies.

I'm always interested/horrified to hear about how hard water politics are in the West (I'm originally from the PNW), and the potential role of swamps is fascinating, but while I enjoy hyperbole, I don't think it's good to use this sort of analogy, especially these days. No offense is intended, but hundreds of thousands to millions of Californians haven't died over the last year due to conflict over water rights, and that's what the proportional-by-population-size casualties would look like by analogy to Gaza alone, depending on whose stats you believe. I think talking about the ways in which things are bad in the U.S. is better than using an analogy to a situation that's much, much worse.
posted by cupcakeninja at 4:43 AM on July 26 [3 favorites]

government required the project to undergo several environmental reviews to ensure it wouldn’t harm sensitive species or other land.

I understand stand the need, how NIMBYs have leveraged the process and how it acts as a curb on the unscrupulous green washing a project, but it is hilarious to think that a project to restore the environment might fail an environmental review.
posted by Mitheral at 5:14 AM on July 26

I don't think it's good to use this sort of analogy, especially these days.

Fair enough. I was referring to its historically intractable nature, but you’re right it comes off as trivializing the real violence going on.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 5:43 AM on July 26 [4 favorites]

That was an excellent article, it makes me hopeful even though it's clear-eyed about the challenges.
posted by subdee at 8:29 AM on July 26

This is a big topic in Europe as well, with wetlands restoration being the quickest way to increase CO2 retention in our climate. The revised Regulation on land use, land use change, and forestry (LULUCF) gives EU countries high carbon sink targets and the new Polish government's agenda includes restoring the swamps that used to cover like a third of Poland. Apparently it doesn't even preclude farming, since reeds have many commercial uses.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 10:03 AM on July 26 [2 favorites]

The Gaza comparisons may be a bit much, but I have never seen public meetings in California as fired up about water. I think for farmers it’s the myth of the Paul yourself up by the boot straps individualism that gets eroded when the government just says no we can’t deliver as much water as you want, At least not at a subsidized ag price
posted by CostcoCultist at 12:51 PM on July 26