Guest Blogger Amelia Keng: How can technology-research reduce droughts in California?

How can technology-research reduce droughts in California?

By: Amelia Keng

Photo Source: World Atlas

For many years, California has not had an abundance of water. Climate change is only making conditions worse for farmers, city dwellers, and nature as they continue to have a lack of water. According to drought.gov, as of 2022, the state of California is experiencing 99.77% of moderate to exceptional drought. This means that around 37,243,577 of Californians are in drought, due to the significant lack of precipitation and groundwater. Although in the past years, California has seen a

significant increase in wet weather, the state still has a long way to go before it is completely drought free. 

Technology has continued to advance at a rapid rate and today, agriculture can rely on robots or drones to monitor fields, temperature, and moisture. Although technology has many advantages, technology can be quite costly causing many farmers to not be able to afford it. 

Advanced Irrigation Techniques

Photo Source: IFA

According to DOT.LA, not all innovations are as complex as they seem. For example, irrigation techniques provide a simple yet effective approach to minimize water scarcity. More and more farmers are utilizing this technique in order to use water efficiently. Advanced Irrigation management allows farmers to monitor soil moisture levels as well as weather. There are many different types of irrigation techniques that could be vital in helping California’s droughts. One technique called micro drip irrigation allows water to flow directly to a plant’s roots, which is a very efficient way to grow crops. 

However, there are several drawbacks with the use of this technology. Drip irrigation is cost prohibitive as the pumps need power to push the water through hundreds of pipes. In order to combat this problem, a professor named Uri Shani developed a method called N-drip that utilizes parts of micro drip irrigation, which is relatively cheaper. N-drip saves around 75% of the conversion cost as farmers won’t have to pay for operating pumps, energy, and filters. Shani used a new kind of emitter that uses gravity to push the water through the pipes instead of actual power from pumps. This new system allows farmers to conserve water through micro-drip irrigation, but without the cost of electric fueled pumps. 

Water Recycling

Photo Source: The Freshwater Trust

Too little or too much rainwater can be damaging to agriculture. Currently, California recycles about one million acre-feet of water a year, which helps to benefit the people and the environment. Water recycling or water reuse is a process that reclaims water from a multitude of sources and treats it in order to be reused. This reusable water is most beneficial for agriculture, irrigation, and groundwater replenishment.

According to UNEP only about 11% of wastewater is being reused because of significant barriers. For example, most wastewater includes heavy toxins and metals that require a tedious treatment process, which becomes costly. The process involves boiling or chemical processes that make water treatment a highly energy intensive process. However, a new type of technology has allowed this process to become more efficient. This new technology is called nanobubbles, which allows gasses to transfer more quickly and to treat wastewater. There are many positives to this type of technology as it can increase crop yields by using 100% sustainable technology and is able to last 2-3 months. In California, Lake Elsinore has been experiencing toxic algae blooms for over two years now. In order to combat this problem, researchers have been experimenting with nanobubble technology to serve as a solution to this algae problem.

Photo Source: psiberg.com

According to Borgen Magazine, cloud seeding can increase rainfall by 35%, which could potentially alleviate droughts in California. Cloud seeding is the process of placing chemicals such as silver iodide into clouds to stimulate rain or snow. Silver iodide works by attracting to the water droplets in a cloud, which then freezes when it attaches to the cloud. As droplets continue to form, the cloud becomes too heavy and therefore produces snow or rain. This technique can be extremely beneficial as the increasing amount of snow or rain will be able to increase the water levels in California.

Although this technique has been around for decades, there are serious consequences of introducing these types of chemicals into our atmosphere. For example, the chemicals from the clouds would fall on people, crops, and drinking water. Local officials in California have tried to create policy frameworks to regulate the use of cloud seeding, but they are incomplete. However, the country United Arab Emirates has found a way to use cloud seeding without introducing harmful chemicals into our environment. The country has introduced a special type of drone technology that allows them to zap clouds with electrical charges. This allows the smaller water droplets to combine with larger ones, triggering rainfall without the use of chemicals.

Desalination

Photo Source: Business Insider

Desalination is the process of removing salt and other minerals from water that make it consumable for humans, irrigation, or for other industrial uses. This is done with the ocean water where groundwater has mixed with too much salt. As California experiences more extreme dry weather, the Water Desalination Grant program will help to improve water reliability. Since California has continually been experiencing recurrent droughts, multiple communities are looking into desalination. 

There are two different methods of desalination to remove salt and minerals from water. The first method is reverse osmosis, which forces the saline water through a semipermeable membrane. This membrane stops the passage of the dissolved solids like salt. The second method is electrodialysis, which uses both electrical charges and membranes to separate the salt and other minerals from the water into a fresh pool and a brine pool. For many decades, desalination has been used in California and have successfully helped treat water during droughts.

Conclusion

Overall, these four technological advances can be vital to help the state of California successfully reduce droughts. In my opinion, I would prioritize water recycling or advanced irrigation techniques as both of these are cheaper and not harmful towards the environment. Water recycling is efficient and an easy way to reuse wastewater in order to be consumable for humans. Advanced irrigation techniques allow water to flow directly to a plant’s roots, which is a more efficient way to use water. California has already started implementing these four techniques, but the state still has a long way to go before they are completely drought free. 

Works Cited:

Achauer, Hilary. “Six Technologies That Could Help End California’s Cycle of Drought.” dot.LA, 26 May 2022, dot.la/heres-the-technology-that-could-help-california-conserve-more-water-2655490829.html.

“Basic Information about Water Reuse | US EPA.” US EPA, 26 Apr. 2024, www.epa.gov/waterreuse/basic-information-about-water-reuse

Borgen Project. “Cloud Seeding Technology: How Drones Can Create Rainfall.” BORGEN, 15 Nov. 2022, www.borgenmagazine.com/cloud-seeding.

“California-Nevada Drought Status Update | October 18, 2022 | Drought.gov.” Drought.gov, www.drought.gov/drought-status-updates/california-nevada-drought-status-update

California, State Of. California Invests in Desalination Projects and Research to Help Diversify Local Water Supplies for Communities. 19 Apr. 2023, water.ca.gov/News/News-Releases/2023/April-23/California-Invests-in-Water-Supply-and-Research-to-Diversify-Local-Water-Supply.

“Desalination - Water Education Foundation.” Water Education Foundation, 22 June 2020, www.watereducation.org/aquapedia/desalination

“Smart irrigation technology covers ‘more crop per drop.’” MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 25 Oct. 2023, news.mit.edu/2023/gear-lab-creates-affordable-user-driven-smart-irrigation-controller-1025.

Sommer, Lauren. “3 reasons why California’s drought isn’t really over, despite all the rain.” NPR, 23 Mar. 2023, www.npr.org/2023/03/23/1165378214/3-reasons-why-californias-drought-isnt-really-over-despite-all-the-rain.

Who is the person behind the research?

Hello! My name is Amelia Keng. I am attending Denison University in the fall. I am passionate about environmental science and I plan on majoring in that field in college. The Virginia Tech Thinkabit Lab has given me opportunities to research more about conservation efforts and how to help save African wildlife and drought technology. One of my goals for this project is to educate the everyday person about how to save African wildlife, as well as how to bring awareness to others.

Connect with me:

I am always willing to hear your thoughts about my research, so feel free to reach out. Thank you for reading!

Amelia Keng | she/her
LinkedIn
akelli2006@gmail.com