The Brown just got warmer and darker

The brown water looks bad enough already, now the federal government will be requiring California’s many thousands of aqueducts and levees to be shorn of all vegetation.

… meaning all those 100 year old oaks will be chipped and shredded, all the bankside willows and cottonwoods will be ripped up and vanished, and goats will be commonplace – given their incredible mowing ability.

For those out of state, the canal-aqueduct system of California is the next Big One. The potential for a natural disaster of epic proportions – due to water scarcity in the south state, and the relentless development that adds more toilets, mouths, green lawns, and swimming pools where they’ve no business existing…

Many are simple earthworks, built with now-primitive tools in the late 1800’s to reclaim fertile soil for farming. With our propensity for earthquakes, and the power of all that pent up water – a significant breach in the right spot would bleed the freshwater out and cause salt water from San Francisco Bay to rush inland, past the pumps to SoCal, and rendering everything south of Sacramento bone dry.

One temblor away from 25 million people thirsty. There’ll be plenty of soda pop and beer, but after the riots even that will be gone.

If the guidelines are enforced it’ll require the removal of a lot of vegetation and the shade it affords those waterways, and if there was anything naturally occurring – it’ll cease quickly.

… and for those anglers fishing the Delta, it may warm the water a bit, remove much of the bankside cover, and likely cause fish to abandon prior haunts in favor of those areas where vegetation remains plentiful.

Us fellows plying the long rod had better think of brain-addling daytime temperatures and pack plenty of water.

The Delta is a legendary Largemouth Bass and Striped Bass fishery, I imagine this type of change won’t be positive for the resident fish, but SoCal is owed, so it’s necessary.

Tags: California Delta, San Francisco Bay, levee repair, largemouth bass, striped bass, temblor, averting an eco-disaster, fly fishing for bass