BajaNomad

Baja Sur Fresh Water

Osprey - 9-22-2011 at 09:23 AM

Water Works


What is fossil water? The term intrigued me enough to want to know more about our water here in Baja California Sur.

Fossil water is that million year old fresh water waiting, way down deep below the surface, to be sucked up and used when we can’t think of anything else to do.

There are three kinds of water, oceans, above ground and in the air and Baja Sur has very little of the parts without the salt. The skinny peninsula is not laid out for wetlands – much of it is a narrow strip of land surrounded by salt water with a ridge of mountains running in a ragged line down the center. Don’t look for Lake Baja Sur. When it rains, the rare fresh water downfall runs down the mountain slopes and canyons to the shoreline flats where it is pushed, drawn, hurried along to the sea. On the trip only miniscule amounts of fresh water seep beneath the surface to become part of the shallow, tenuous water table.

As the rain water beneath the sand meets the salt water near the shore, the waters mix – the brackish water is often too salty for humans or agriculture. There are a few areas where the flats between the mountains and the shore are low enough, vast enough to have formed deep basins that hold huge but yet to be measured fossil water aquifers.

Right now, globally, most wells are no deeper than 100 meters and their aggregate drawdown is about a foot a year. Our wells are few, very shallow and the drawdown is dramatic and getting worse with each year of drought. Seventy percent of the water goes to agriculture and livestock – agriculture here leaves behind an unwanted deposit of salt that eventually goes back into the shallow water table. If we continue to use more water than the recharge and the wells dry up, some of them will not find again enough pressure to bring the water to the well – that will also happen when we overdraw deep fossil water reserves in the same way we lose access to deep pools of oil.

Here’s how we stack up with our neighbors when it comes to available fresh water. What hydro guys call flow and stock, streams and rivers, the internal renewable water resource in the regular water table. The figures are for the year 2000 but they could be for any recent year. The amount shown below is that available fresh water resource per inhabitant PER YEAR in cubic meters.

Baja Sur 35
Mexico 4,338
Central America 20,370

At my place my wife and I pay for about 20 cubic meters each PER MONTH. So in a year we use 240 cubic meters.


Now here comes the good part. What are we going to do about this emergency? Nothing, not a damn thing. Nobody lived here for the 4,000,000 years it took to build any fossil water basins. Now we have come along and we are using up hundreds of years of late water and every drop we catch from monsoons and storms. The driest areas will begin to ration fresh water when we run out of the surface stuff. One little village will have enough for a hundred more years, another will run out in 20 years, etc. etc. When it finally gets critical enough (for agriculture, livestock and people) we will dig way down deep and get at all that slightly radioactive old stuff until it runs out.

You and I will be long gone. It’s not our fault, it was bound to happen = ni modo. Gotta ask yourself “Why would anyone want to live in a desert?” My answer would be “It was great while I was there and we had all the water we wanted.”

Footnote: A deal has been signed by Sitka, Alaska to ship 80 million gallons of fresh water from Blue Lake to a Mumbai bottling plant. The big tanker ships, that usually hold oil, are being refitted at this writing. We could maybe make a deal to have some of the ships stop down here. Is it on their way? I’ll have to look that up.

[Edited on 9-22-2011 by Osprey]

David K - 9-22-2011 at 09:36 AM

Nice article Osprey.

Once the water is gone, so will go the people... at least down to the numbers the local supply can furnish.

I first read of the use of fossil water at Rancho de Wilson (near today's town of Vizcaino) in the Lower California Guidebook, also in Erle Stanley Gardner's 1962 book 'The Hidden Heart of Baja', and in Tom Miller's 'The Baja Book' where he talked about fossil water at Vizcaino and the Magdelena Plain.

Russ - 9-22-2011 at 12:14 PM

On average I use 3 cu. meters/mo. But we are charged a pretty high price. $50 pesos per cu. m. by the private supplier. And of course there is no power or phone lines here either. And we get to pay probably the highest property tax in Mulege municipality. Oh, did I mention we have to pay for maintenance on our dirt road too?
Sorry about the highjack. I started off with water related and got carried away. :yawn:

[Edited on 9-22-2011 by Russ]

Osprey - 9-22-2011 at 12:31 PM

Ah, but you are ALL BY YOUR LONESOME. What's that worth?

Russ - 9-22-2011 at 12:39 PM

Absolutely Priceless
Almost......

[Edited on 9-22-2011 by Russ]

bacquito - 9-22-2011 at 01:05 PM

Thanks for the "eye opener". Frequently in Ensenada we have no city water available for a day or more. There is concern for the future.

Skeet/Loreto - 9-22-2011 at 01:27 PM

Osprey:

The lack of a good supply of water in Baja was the Main reason I made several Comments on this Board about the Limited Supply whem Bay of Loreto started building in Loreto.

I went through a 7 years Drought while living in Loreto and know how bad it can get.

If we have another Drought in Loreto the people will have to leave of start hauling water from WHERE??

Osprey - 9-22-2011 at 01:32 PM

I think Pam Bolles posted about an ad hoc meeting with the water resource guy from Loreto Bay one time. As I recall he got off his moto to join Pam and co for an after dinner drink and when they gave him their concerns said this:

"Not to worry. We will be planting very special kinds of trees all around the project that will cause this whole area to be a rain forest so there will be ample water."

Maybe we should ask Pam if she got the guy's card or phone number.

Cypress - 9-22-2011 at 02:46 PM

The "water issue" in Baja could get real serious? Hillary might be the answer to more than a few prayers.:bounce:

castaway$ - 9-22-2011 at 02:53 PM

De sal technology will continue to improve and will eventually be cost effective when the need (demand) becomes critical enough to warrant the further research into the viable processes that are currently being used or developed.

Cypress - 9-22-2011 at 03:06 PM

No water= no people!

Pescador - 9-22-2011 at 03:58 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by castaway$
De sal technology will continue to improve and will eventually be cost effective when the need (demand) becomes critical enough to warrant the further research into the viable processes that are currently being used or developed.


Not necessarily so. I did a lot of research on this for a potential client and the biggest problem is the byproduct of de-sal, which is some pretty toxic stuff. Water is a very elastic product and anytime you want to change some property that is present in the water, you find that the water tries its darndest to return to it's normal state. When you lower the PH, for example, the water tries very hard to return to its original state. The same thing was true of Salt Water, and it tries to return to its original chemical composition and requires a lot of energy to convert it. The lay person assumes it is a quick and easy process to take the salt out and have water, but the process is very expensive and right now you need a way to get rid of the byproducts. If a project the size of Loreto Bay had gone pure desal, it might have raised the salinity level beyond recoverable levels, since it is already so high in the Sea of Cortez.
Like most of the "Green Technology" that gets pushed by subsidies and political agendas, this one has some major problems that will need to be overcome before it is a viable alternative.

Osprey - 9-22-2011 at 04:03 PM

Don Jorge, in the summer months the humidity hangs around 70% for months and if you lived here through 16 of those like I have you might begin to think the word Tropical is apt. Most mornings find my plants dripping with fresh water droplets. If it is an illusion, I'm part of it now and some of my neigbors consider me the king of Chisme.

capn.sharky - 9-22-2011 at 04:03 PM

Water, water, everywhere---but not a drop to drink.

There is more water in Baja than one would think. Building small dams in the foothills to catch and save storm water is one solution (plus adding recreation areas to Baja). Also, desalination is another answer when lack of water becomes a problem. So much of Baja Sur is not lived on or ranched so no one has really explored for underground water is much of the land. I would guess there is plenty to go around for many years to come. Los Angeles was a great desert at one time and we have figgured out how to bring in water.:yes:

Osprey - 9-22-2011 at 04:09 PM

Capn, I was trying to explain that it is hard to imagine great untapped aquifers in the Laguna mountains -- they rise very abruptly (almost 7,000 ft) and that defeats the theory that the underground water would somehow defy gravity and stay up there until we need it and until we can find ways to dig deep wells in high mountains. That's partly what the piece was about -- the layout says you're probably wrong. But, so am I.

Cypress - 9-22-2011 at 04:23 PM

It's a desert, no rainfall, no snow, and no rivers. And praying for a hurricane to bring rain? Careful what you pray for.:)

wessongroup - 9-22-2011 at 04:33 PM

No hijack intended.. but for drilling "high in the mountains.. these guys are pretty good... have no idea of costs... but, if "it's" there ... think these guys could hit it....

Emergency Mine Rescue: Nova

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/emergency-mine-rescue.html

Even in Baja in the mountains... but, then that would really solve the long term problem... would it...

Udo - 9-22-2011 at 04:56 PM

Jorge...

It's very obvious you did a greg deal of research on your water piece. It sure is not a good sign when you have to pray for hurricanes to fill your water supply wells.
On another note, It looks like Hillary will fill a few wells this time around.

Oggie - 9-22-2011 at 05:22 PM

In Bahia de los Angeles the main source of water is fossil water from the dry lake west of town. It is highly mineralized and will kill plants over a couple of years and render the ground sterile. A developer is floating a plan to build a resort with a golf course. Go figure!

Osprey - 9-22-2011 at 06:01 PM

Udo, 7 to 10 inches of water from a hurricane is possible in the Lagunas. That's a year's water for Baja Sur. It comes raging down the canyons in muddy rivers of power, trying to get to the sea. You could not begin to measure the part that seeps down thru the granite, basalt and sand/sandstone beneath the surface that will, in a few days, weeks, months make a small rise in a 30 ft well the sole source of water for villages between the mountains and the sea. It is not meters or feet, it is inches.

BigOly - 9-22-2011 at 06:05 PM

In Baja Sur most of our fossil water comes from years of orographic rainfall. The assets of snow pack are nonexistent. Water is hard to store in reservoirs due to the soil structure. The sand fills in when the water is dammed. Static hydrology of fresh water/salt water probably needs more study but a baseline needs to be established.

Osprey - 9-22-2011 at 06:28 PM

Above the little farming village of Boca de la Sierra there is a concrete dam and a one kilometer aquaduct (a meter by a meter). When it rains (and somebody can walk up there to the valve) it works well to channel the water to the village/farms. Over time the dam fills up with silt and will not hold water. The aquaduct is useless untill graders can make it up the rugged canyon to remove the silt. There will one day be series of dams/reservoirs at La Purisima, Mulege (Rio Santa Rosalia) and San Jose del Cabo --- they are building two more as we speak above San Lazaro, the reservoir for Los Cabos. Unless they are very clever they will lose much of the fresh water to silt, leaks and evaporation. Ask Cabenos about that.

Bajatripper - 9-22-2011 at 07:15 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Pescador
Not necessarily so. I did a lot of research on this for a potential client and the biggest problem is the byproduct of de-sal, which is some pretty toxic stuff. Water is a very elastic product and anytime you want to change some property that is present in the water, you find that the water tries its darndest to return to it's normal state. When you lower the PH, for example, the water tries very hard to return to its original state. The same thing was true of Salt Water, and it tries to return to its original chemical composition and requires a lot of energy to convert it. The lay person assumes it is a quick and easy process to take the salt out and have water, but the process is very expensive and right now you need a way to get rid of the byproducts. If a project the size of Loreto Bay had gone pure desal, it might have raised the salinity level beyond recoverable levels, since it is already so high in the Sea of Cortez.
Like most of the "Green Technology" that gets pushed by subsidies and political agendas, this one has some major problems that will need to be overcome before it is a viable alternative.


In agreement with this, I've done the same reading. Unfortunately, the reality is that when the need arises, I doubt too many will care about the harmful byproducts, choosing to believe the people from within the industry who (even now) assure us that these problems are minor or don't exist.

BajaBlanca - 9-22-2011 at 08:13 PM

if you all remember, i posted about puerto nuevo BCS a while ago ... well, the guy who owns the cabanas went into the mountains and he himself PIPED water all the way (literally miles) to his cabanas so that he could have plenty of water...it is a feat worth seeing ! Now he and the townspeople have plenty of free constantly running water.

never heard of fossil water - thanks for the education, Osprey !

RnR - 9-23-2011 at 08:22 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by capn.sharky
I would guess there is plenty to go around for many years to come. Los Angeles was a great desert at one time and we have figgured out how to bring in water.:yes:


Yes, from almost a THOUSAND miles away .....

It's only about 900 miles from the end of the California State Water Project near San Diego to the Los Cabos area. Maybe Cabo should get started building that pipeline/aqueduct .....

Osprey - 9-23-2011 at 08:46 AM

The marina is like Grupo Mar's other two projects in Baja, Puerta La Salina up by Ensenada and Lighthouse Point Estates next to the Punta Colorado Resort right here. They are land developers who sell lots for homes, hotels, marinas, etc. After 9 years there are about 20 homes at Lighthouse point estates (486 lots) so if and when we see a lot of homes on the islands of the marina, lots of yachts in the slips it may take some time in today's iffy housing/economy situation. Just one of their golf courses could use the same amount of fresh water as our village so there are bound to be some fights here over the cool, wet stuff.

shari - 9-23-2011 at 09:48 AM

a little footnote on water....the ships that carry salt from Guerrero Negro to Vancouver, to salt the canadian roadways with...unload the salt and fill their ballast tanks with lovely fresh water from Toba Inlet to bring back to baja...they use this water to wash the salt with I believe and maybe even for water at Cedros Island.

El Jefe - 9-23-2011 at 09:54 AM

We use about 10 cubic meters a month trucked in. We looked at desal but decided that having water trucked was more economical than having propane trucked to feed the generator that ran the desal plant etc.

Now I see that we are quite a bit over a sustainable amount. Will have to cut back on watering those cocos I guess....

Below is rainfall history for area close by me on east cape. Yes, the drought continues.

PLAYA TORTUGA RAINFALL

1998- 23.25 INCHES
1999- 1.83
2000- 9.08
2001- 10.82
2002- 4.51
2003- 14.48
2004- 4.52
2005—4.66
2006—11.41
2007---3.98
2008---4.51
2009—5.81
2010---2.66

AVE RAINFALL/ YR—7.81

2011- 1.13 YTD

Osprey - 9-23-2011 at 09:58 AM

Jefe, exactly where are you? I'm surprised we got almost 2 inches so far this year -- more than you.

[Edited on 9-23-2011 by Osprey]

El Jefe - 9-23-2011 at 11:47 AM

I am between Zacatitos and Vinorama on the coast road about 16 miles up from San Jose del Cabo. The rain stats come from out neighbor Lou who lives a little closer to SJdC.

We've had a few more lucky showers than Lou, so we are probably in the 2 inch range too.

[Edited on 9-23-2011 by El Jefe]