Seasonal Water Hauling - Battling the Drought One Water Tote at a Time
Seasonal Water Hauling - Battling Drought One Water Tote At A Time
Compiled by Debbie Miller Marschke
The 2024 summer temperatures in the desert ratcheted up to triple digits immediately and cruelly did not relent. Everyone expected the summer heat to be bad, because after the El Nino rainy weather pattern exits, La Nina arrives and pushes temperatures to the other end of the spectrum. No rain or relief – for months. It was no joke. Seasoned SCBS members braced for the water hauling season, which would undoubtedly arrive. Predictably, it started with the Newberry guzzler. I can’t remember a year when the Newberry guzzler lasted all summer without the need for human intervention. It boasts a healthy bighorn sheep population and is a designated part of the Newberry/Rodman/Ord Bighorn Sheep hunt unit, for which the CDFW issues multiple bighorn sheep hunting tags annually. However, the Newberry system is not collecting rainwater efficiently and needs to be rebuilt. CDFW is working on plans to rebuild and expand this system, but this will require permission from the local BLM office and a dossier of studies (in progress). Hanson Quarry is damaged by vandals and it’s future unclear. Hanson no longer is able to collect rain water in it’s current state. The resident herds hit the Newberry systems hard as the temperatures climbed. We have a dedicated and reliable crew of volunteers that step up valiantly as needed. Ideally SCBS should not be manually hauling water, but until this guzzler is improved there really is no choice. The animals consume the precious resource at such a high rate that it’s hard to keep pace with them. SCBS’s volunteers are supplemented by employees from the CDFW regularly, we appreciate the participation and validation by their presence. Newberry area guzzlers needed emergency water hauls to replenish the systems five times since the summer began. The first sortie occurred on June 24, 2024. July 15, 2024 the Newberry Group hauled 5500 gallons in 20 totes, which necessitated two trips: 3275 gallons was directed to the Newberry guzzler, and the rest was caravanned in totes to the Hanson Quarry guzzler or Sawtooth system. Another amazing group of volunteers met up in the desert with triple digit temperatures to haul water for wildlife August 12, 2024. According to Monte Hammer, “Everyone filled their tanks and headed to the Newberry drinker for our third water haul to that location in the past 3 months. After that we broke up into different groups to fill three more locations. These amazing volunteers donate their time, vehicles and the fuel required to drive hundreds of miles to provide water for wildlife. Thanks somehow doesn't seem enough but seeing Bighorn Sheep makes it all worth the effort”. There was one more water haul effort to Newberry on October 7, and the group was rewarded by the presence of a sizable Ram who came in, waiting for the group to finish.
The SB 19 Big Gees guzzler, located in the Cady Mountain range near Afton Canyon, also needed help. Terry Anderson visited the system sometime in late June and sounded the alarms. Big Gees was expected to run dry before the end of summer given the rate of sheep usage. The access route to this guzzler had suffered detrimental damage from a flash flood, rendering the possibility of an organized water haul effort impossible. Initially, CDFW explored the possibility of using a helicopter to bring water in, but CDFW did not have the use of one until early fall. Given the rate of water use, the guzzler would run dry sometime in August. SCBS volunteers put their collective brains together and formulated a plan: SCBS would repair the road and refill the guzzler. Recruiting a team to perform manual labor with picks and shovels in 110 degree heat is an uphill climb! Special recognition is given to CDFW’s Jeff Villepique, who contacted the BLM office in Barstow and obtained permission for our group to use machinery to clear the blockages. Scott Gibson was able to obtain a rental tractor on short notice and towed it to the project in advance of the water haul crew. Austin Smith operated the equipment, moving rocks and repairing the flash flood damage to the road.
Steve and I led the water haulers in from the I15 and navigated the path to Big Gees. By the time we arrived, the road blockage was almost cleared so we did not have to wait long to begin delivering water to the guzzler. Yes, the heat was awful; more so for the Marschkes because we were in our open Jeep CJ with no windows. Steve had retrofitted the cab with a water mister system, so he essentially installed a swamp cooler. This actually worked well and we found out that temps peaked at 118 degrees that day. Between the spraying water and sweating, our clothes were crunchy at day’s end (kinda gross). Those misters made all the difference because I thought it felt hotter earlier in the day when we passed through Baker at 109 degrees. We know that we made a huge difference because the data card from the guzzler camera captured many photos of bighorn sheep using the system about an hour before the crews arrived. We delivered 2700 gallons which should be enough until the cooler weather comes. Thank you to the heroic crew: Don Moore, Gabe Abraham, Steve Marschke, Debbie Miller Marschke, Scott Gibson, Austin Smith, Monte Hammer, Jef Bugne Sr., Jef Bugne Jr, Rick Halter, David Hess, Bill Inglehart, Jeff Crouse, Jenny Hinojosa, and Ron McBrian.
SCBS shouldered the rental cost of the tractor to fix the road at Big Gees. After the project, a Facebook fundraiser was launched to help offset the cost of that repair. SCBS would like to thank those that donated to this project: Marty Ambrose, John Henson, John Voght, Darren Buesking, Elizabeth DeBell, and Jimmy Knybel.