Drivers barrel into standing water on Interstate 101 in San Francisco on January 4.

Josh Edelson/AFP by way of Getty Images

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Josh Edelson/AFP by way of Getty Images

Drivers barrel into standing water on Interstate 101 in San Francisco on January 4.

Josh Edelson/AFP by way of Getty Images

A bomb cyclone hit California this week, knocking out energy, downing bushes, and dumping large quantities of water.

Some California residents are watching this treasured H20 wash away and questioning, why cannot we save the water for instances once we desperately want it?

The state grapples with drought, but it surely’s not so simple as placing out a giant bucket, says hydrogeologist and professor at UC Santa Cruz, Andrew Fisher.

Professor Fisher spoke with NPR concerning the challenges dealing with the state, but additionally the alternatives which are already being labored on.

This interview has been lighted edited for size and readability.

Interview highlights

On how a lot water may be saved for later and the place

Some of it may be captured for later, however the brief reply is it falls so rapidly that we lack the flexibility to take that water and set it apart rapidly sufficient in a spot the place we are able to retailer it for later. The main types of storage for water in California are the snowpack, that sometimes accumulates yearly, after which reservoirs behind dams, after which groundwater aquifers.

And the problem is that once we get a whole lot of rainfall like this, it is not forming snowpack in decrease areas. And reservoirs are likely to replenish fairly rapidly. Then we have now aquifers, and so they have area, but it surely’s exhausting to get water the place it must be so it could actually infiltrate into the bottom. And even then, it is exhausting to get it in quick sufficient.

On the totally different challenges with capturing rainwater

Because the water falls at a really quick charge and it creates a hazard, we do are likely to deal with stormwater as a nuisance and attempt to get it off the panorama as rapidly as attainable.

So, when we have now the choice to carry that water again just a little bit and let it percolate into the bottom, this can be a great alternative. However, typically that water is just not appropriate for ingesting. That’s an extra bottleneck as a result of you possibly can’t deal with the water as rapidly because it’s falling or as rapidly because it’s working off. And, after all, the extent of remedy you want may range from place to position, and it does create fairly a logistical problem in an effort to cope with that water.

The Golden Gate Bridge is seen by a mixture of rain and splashing bay water in Sausalito on January 5.

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The Golden Gate Bridge is seen by a mixture of rain and splashing bay water in Sausalito on January 5.

Josh Edelson/AFP by way of Getty Images

On the place the stormwater flows when it is not being captured

It’s going to a wide range of locations. A whole lot of it would find yourself rolling out to the ocean. Some of it’s being diverted and we’re amassing a few of this stormwater and directing it in the direction of infiltration basins the place it could actually percolate into the bottom.

There are folks across the state and across the western United States who run related tasks. So individuals are attempting to gather as a lot of this stormwater as we are able to when we have now this chance. It seems, a whole lot of water is falling, a whole lot of water is working off, so a big a part of that does find yourself flowing out to the ocean.

On the present storm with extra rain coming

I’ve obtained a pupil group that is out proper now, sampling from a few of our programs. And we dashed out right here between the storms, as a result of it is a possibility when it is secure to go gather water samples and see how water high quality appears. I’ll simply be aware that we have now to get extra water within the floor. We merely haven’t any selection.