Drought in Northern California

[Shan]

We're experiencing the opposite weather extremes here near Sacramento. The weather is warmer than usual, and we'll probably be on drought status this year. I heard that 2013 is the driest year on record for us.

I'm worried about maintaining a pond. Anyone live through a drought? Did you do anything differently for your pond? I doubt I'll be able to do water changes. It's only Winter, and we were just told to only water landscaping two days a week.

 

[addy1]

We had two very dry summers, on a well, I would add water via the well just when the rain did not do the job. I use gutter feed to help fill my pond, we are rural, so far it has not affected the fish, this is the ponds 4th year.
Not too concerned about water changes, if we get a good rain fall the pond gets a good water change. The water tests always stay in the good range, when I test, which is not often.

 

[sissy]

Best thing you can do is shade the pond as much as possible .We had drought here but not a bad one but still had to worry about my well .

 

[Shdwdrgn]

Also eliminate the waterfall portion of your feature. When the water is falling through the air like that, if breaks up and exposes more surface to evaporation. If you can't easily change your pump arrangement, try draping some extra liner material or a sheet of plastic so that the water slides down that into the main pond.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

We were listed under a severe drought a couple summers back... I remember because it canceled most 4th of July fireworks shows.

It didn't seem to have any effect on our 30g pond. Of course, we had it on the east side of the house so by noon the pond was in full shade. Maybe a larger pond with a larger surface would be more effected.

 

[DrCase]

No drought here we have had just over 8" all ready this new year
You can pump pond water on to your land scape
and put fresh water back into the pond

 

[Shan]

Thank you, everyone, for your helpful advice. :blueflower:

 

[Catfishnut]

Shan,

I was reading the news just the past couple of days about the drought situation there in California. I feel for you all. Wildfires, low water levels and no rain for a large portion of the state. I visited my freind and his wife when they lived in Modesto back in the late 80's or early 90's. We visitied a nearby reservoir and witnessed the "bathtub ring" where the water level had dropped something like 25 feet or more. It was a very disheartening sight. Now they are saying that this current drought situation is the worse in 100+ years. That's pretty dry!

Conserve your pond water as best you can through any method which reduces evaporation, and then replenish the level on the days that you are allowed to water your landscape.
Of course, be cautious so that no one gets upset with your doing so and turns you in and results in you getting a fine or something. Would be a good idea to try keeping that practice hidden. Rainbarrels would be a good investment here, if you get any rain at all. Then between the rains and the days you can water, you could keep the pond level up until the weather pattern changes for the better.

Gordy

 

[Catfishnut]

To all who might be interested in some drought facts (from the state of Nebraska) I found this article on the web a while back. It is most interesting, eye-opening and possibly shocking to some, especially to farmers in our state. Take a glance expressly at table I.

http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/live/g1551/build/g1551.pdf

Note that if you were born in 1220 and died in 1313 or if you were born in 1512 and died in 1605 and you lived in the area of western Nebraska where Lake McConaughy is currently located (that's one of our largest reservoirs here in the state of Nebraska), you lived to be 93 years old and for 63 years of your life, you lived through drought conditions!

For the period from 1858 through 1957 (to bring a little more recent perspective on the subject) you lived 99 years and spent 45 years of your life in drought! That includes the horrid dust-bowl days of the 30's.

Gordy