Commentary: Though welcome, El Niño will not relieve the drought

Climatologists predicting the possibility of a strong El Niño this year are quick to point out that even if rains come this winter it would be all but impossible for them to end California’s punishing four-year drought; the state is too far behind for an El Niño to break the drought.

History, however, has proven that people averse to desalination, using conservation-only rhetoric, will capitalize on the possibility of an El Niño event to argue that rainfall will cure the current California drought and make desalination — especially the proposed Poseidon plant in Huntington Beach — unnecessary. Such is simply not the case.

As we begin the fifth year of the drought, even if we get our much-needed rain, we must acknowledge the realities in which we now operate and the lessons we must learn: California’s antiquated water infrastructure and policies, in addition to global climate change, mean that El Niño is not enough and will not “fix” the historic drought we are in.

Moreover, according to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the last time we had a strong El Niño, in 1998, the state was immediately hit with a dry spell, known as La Niña.

We must also keep in mind where most of the state’s water infrastructure is located, and where El Niño is expected to have its greatest effect.

Nearly three quarters of the state’s reservoir storage space is located north of Fresno, and while there is still a chance that an El Niño will have a major effect on the central and northern parts of the state, Southern California is expected to get most of the rain. And although infrastructure improvements have been made, Southern California’s water capturing system is still ill-equipped to hold large amounts of water, and our reservoirs will remain unfilled.

Californians need clean, reliable and renewable sources of local drought proof water. Luckily, we are already sitting on one of the planet’s largest such sources of water: the Pacific Ocean. We cannot depend on once-in-a-decade events, such as El Niño, to replenish groundwater basins, refill reservoirs, and bolster snowpack.

Alternative sources, such as the proposed Huntington Beach Poseidon desalination plant, and the Carlsbad plant, which will start delivering water to San Diego this fall, should be approved and embraced. Local water agencies, including the San Diego County Water Authority and Orange County Water District, have already voted in support of such efforts.

As we approach the winter and prepare for what hopefully could be significant rainfall, we must be cognizant of the unprecedented drought we are in and the fact that drought-prone California is still not equipped with the infrastructure and resources it needs to fully capitalize on even a strong El Niño.

Since no one event can solve all of our water problems, and because droughts are now expected to become more regular, severe, and long lasting, we can no longer rely on seasonal rain falls. We must continue to think about ways to secure fresh drinking water, improve water infrastructure, and diversify water portfolios; our future depends on it.

ERNESTO MEDRANO Is a council representative at the Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council.