Los Angeles County collects 33 billion gallons of rainwater in recent storms

[Buckeye Native 001]

Originally Posted by ChrisLA

Wettest Seasons (Period: July 1 to June 30 of following year)
Since first recorded rain season, 1877-1878

Total Inches of Rainfall Season
37.25 2004-2005

I lived in Southern California during that period. I don't think we got anything quite like what's hit California the past few weeks, but I remember the arroyos, creeks and rivers being pretty consistently full. Hell, there was even snow on the Santa Ana Mountains IIRC.

We're finally getting some of the rain and snow in Arizona from these weather patterns. Every little bit helps.

[jd3189]

How often is it suppose to rain in California?

Throughout the last decade I always heard about the drought conditions in the news. Living here for 5 years now, while it never rained during the dry season (basically late spring in April/May to possibly late fall/early winter), some rain still came in the wet season to green the hills and pack snow on the mountains. Of course, not as much as of late, but a year never went by without any precipitation.

From recorded weather history, it seems like there were periods of droughts and periods of floods. Thus, would the current drought period still have occurred without the influence of man-made climate change? If so, there’s even more incentive to capture more water during the wet seasons to last through the dry periods. Would help allow Cali to be less dependent on the Colorado River and other reservoirs it shares with Nevada, Arizona, and Utah.

[craigs]

Originally Posted by edale

In most cases, I think you're correct. But this post demonstrates a poor understanding of the LA River and Southern California's hydrology.

The LA River isn't really a river in the traditional sense that people think of rivers. It's more of a drainage corridor, and it would run dry most of the year if not for artificial sources in the dry months. There really isn't a fixed course or discernible banks of the river, and prior to channelization, it would wildly change course during large rain events.

If the LA basin wasn't urbanized, water flowing out of the mountains would fan out across the basin creating a series of wetlands in lower lying areas after rain events. You can see the alluvial fan pattern on the north side of the mountains in the sparsely populated high desert. That obviously isn't possible given the urbanization of LA, so instead, water has to be channelized into predictable drainage patterns. The LA River is fed by many of these channelized streams or arroyos, and when it rains, water rushes at extreme volumes and speeds, and much of it gets dumped out into the ocean. It's an entirely different scenario than water patterns in the eastern half of the country.

Correct, and very well put.

[SFBruin]

How does one collect rainwater?

[202_Cyclist]

Originally Posted by SFBruin

How does one collect rainwater?

Rain barrels! Some cities give tax rebates for these barrels.

https://doee.dc.gov/node/1089492

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by SFBruin

How does one collect rainwater?

Here are some projects that have been completed and some that are still being constructed: https://dpw.lacounty.gov/wmd/stwq/benefit.aspx

There's also this: https://wramps.org/dashboard/

[JDRCRASH]

Originally Posted by SFBruin

How does one collect rainwater?

Some cities like Beverly Hills are using abandoned PE ROWs (in this case Burton) or other open spaces to build swales for stormwater storage to be treated and then reused for landscaping, making it a "green street".

https://www.beverlyhills.org/departm...rtonwaymedian/

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by 202_Cyclist

Rain barrels! Some cities give tax rebates for these barrels.

https://doee.dc.gov/node/1089492

I mean. These are very common in Philadelphia (homeowners are incentivized to divert runoff from our combined sewer system to prevent overflow into the rivers).

Is this really it? In one of the dryest places in the country people are just now installing rain barrels? We've had them for years.

[TWAK]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

I mean. These are very common in Philadelphia (homeowners are incentivized to divert runoff from our combined sewer system to prevent overflow into the rivers).

Is this really it? In one of the dryest places in the country people are just now installing rain barrels? We've had them for years.

If it's the "new normal" to rain again (the rain was clutch in the 90's) then I'm definitely gonna get some sorta tank. A lot of houses in my county have wells, so there's an availability of expertise for water retention projects/equipment.

[Trae]

although this is a lot of rain, I think the drought Socal has been in as made people forget it does rain over here.

[SFBruin]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

Is this really it? In one of the dryest places in the country people are just now installing rain barrels? We've had them for years.

They're pretty popular in Seattle.