Crazy change in the water table!

[chris142]

As most of ya'll know we had some decient storms here in SoCal in the last few weeks. I've never realized how quickly the rain will raise the water table under us.

In Johnson Valley there is a mine. It's actual name is the "Johnson mine". It's often confused with the "Elsie mine". Many of you have been in it. You walk in 400 ft then it "T"s. If you go right you go about another 400ft and it dead ends. Go back to the "T" and go the other way you will see a hole about 60 ft deep, surrounded by wood, has a ladder and a place where they put a bar on 2 pieces of wood to crank up the Ore.

I was there last Sunday and the water table has risen since the storms and the bottom of that hole has several feet of water in the bottom!

Theres no way that the water could have gotten in there other than the water table has risen reciently.

I had no idea that the water table was that close to the surface there. I wonder how much it has risen since the storms?

[sarah]

Too cool! Maybe we will be out of this perpetual "drought" and be "allowed" to water our lawns! (I don't have a lawn, just sayin' hehe) I saw an article in the Daily Press that was a bit shocking to me:

Heavy rains bode well for 2011 water supplies
December 30, 2010
Brooke Edwards
The water content in California’s mountain snowpack is nearly double the average for this time of year, according to data released this week by the Department of Water Resources.

That bodes well for the amount of water contractors will be able to freely pump from the state aquifer, which should allow the local Mojave Water Agency to store more of this year’s plentiful rains for future dry years.

“This boosts our hopes that we will have an adequate water supply for our cities and farms as we continue to shake off effects of the 2007-2009 drought,” DWR Director Mark Cowin said in a statement.

MWA, which controls the water supply for the entire Victor Valley, is contracted to receive 82,800 acre feet from the State Water Project annually, with each acre foot enough to serve two average local households for a year. But allocations have been decreasing steeply for the past several years due to a combination of drought conditions and environmental lawsuits that have reduced the supply the state can pull from the Central California Delta.

Maybe this will solve global warming too!

[Mtbikbob]

So, its not about the water or electricity, or the gas...its about the money. Or rather a group of greedy people.
If there's too much water, well, They need to raise the rates to deal with the surplus, if there's too little water, They need to raise the rates to deal with the lack They are selling. Same is true for fuel and electricity it would seem.

[Mitch]

Chris,

Interesting story. Lots of springs to monitor for changes, like the 6 or 8 in Rattlesnake Canyon.

I heard from a Big Bear resident that the lake filled up to the point water was lapping at the roadway on Stansfield Cutoff, and they had to open the gates on the dam to lower the level. Thats a lot of water in Big Bear. Good news for drought conditions.

[mkjeepers]

As most of ya'll know we had some decient storms here in SoCal in the last few weeks. I've never realized how quickly the rain will raise the water table under us.

In Johnson Valley there is a mine. It's actual name is the "Johnson mine". It's often confused with the "Elsie mine". Many of you have been in it. You walk in 400 ft then it "T"s. If you go right you go about another 400ft and it dead ends. Go back to the "T" and go the other way you will see a hole about 60 ft deep, surrounded by wood, has a ladder and a place where they put a bar on 2 pieces of wood to crank up the Ore.

I was there last Sunday and the water table has risen since the storms and the bottom of that hole has several feet of water in the bottom!

Theres no way that the water could have gotten in there other than the water table has risen reciently.

I had no idea that the water table was that close to the surface there. I wonder how much it has risen since the storms?

[COLOR="Blue"]We were out in JV last year and one of the mines had a lot of water on the floor. I'm not sure if it was the Johnson or another. Thanks for the up date, I think we'll just procede on to the other mines tomorrow.

BTW Lake Gregory and Lake Arrowhead as well as Big Bear lake have all opened their spillways.[/COLOR]