Assessment of Drought Impacts on Agricultural Water and Energy Uses in the Central Valley of California

摘要

This study focuses on the impacts of drought on Central Valley's water availability and energy consumption for agriculture in California. Crop yield and revenue, water availability and use, and energy consumption are highly correlated. While water shortage as a result of drought can have direct adverse impacts on crop productions, it also increases the energy consumptions. Energy consumption increases as a result of higher groundwater depth, lower streamflow, and lower water elevations in lakes and reservoirs due to the drought. Data is analyzed to observe the impact of drought on surface water availability including streamflow and water storage in lakes and reservoirs. Historical data have been used to perform different statistical analysis including regression to observe the correlations between different parameters. Simple data driven predictive models have been developed to observe the impacts of drought of different magnitudes on groundwater depth, agricultural energy consumption, and agricultural revenue. Models have been applied to eight different counties that include Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Tulare.