Why California is Running Out of Water 

Imagine building a city in a desert and then having water issues...

Fun fact: The way almonds are grown is actually super interesting (at least for arborists like me). They start by planting an orchard of Maple trees*, and wait until they're several years old. Then the maples are cut down and the stumps are quickly treated with a grafting hormone. They graft almond cuttlings onto the maple stump and that's how they grow. The reason for this is because almonds are particularly susceptible to a fungus that spreads from tree to tree via their root systems. Maples are impervious to this fungus and also compatible with almond grafting, hence every almond you've ever eaten was probably grown from a maple tree's root system. *[EDIT] Some people have pointed out that Maples are not the most common tree used as root stock for almonds, Plums, Peaches, Cherries and many others are more commonly used and I'm sorry for spreading misinformation. I was going from a memory several years ago when I talked to a Farmer who used Maples for this. He made it seem like that was the industry standard but apparently it is not. I didn't expect this comment to blow up but I should have double checked. Thanks to everyone who corrected me.

As of mid-March 2023, CA has been inundated by repeated atmospheric rivers from south to north. We now have more than double the average yearly snowfall, with more on the way. This year we are headed for one of the wettest years on record, which hopefully will restore groundwater in aquifers as well as fill the reservoirs. Massive flooding is already happening in some areas, with plenty more to come as the snow melts. Our "wet" season is from Oct 1st to April 1st. We get about a third of our water from snowmelt, the rest from reservoirs and the Colorado River aqueduct system. The state also has plenty of water storage for 20 million people. Problem is, the state has over 40 million. We do have plans for more storage and distribution, but any attempt to increase water storage (reservoirs and damss) gets mired in litigation.

California's central valley actually used to be marshland, especially the southern portion of the state where there is massive cotton farm which is what used to be a lake, these areas were apart of the water cycle for the eastward states which fed it. This vid from 2 years ago goes into good detail "Why the US Erased its 9th Largest Lake..."

I do remember years ago, when I lived in San Diego, that the avocado produces were complaining that their water resources were drastically reduced while the almond growers were being allowed almost unlimited amounts of water. Several avocado growers went out of business as a result. They had already upgraded to trickle watering their trees but the almond growers were basically flooding their groves. I wonder just who the almond growers were paying off.

One of the things I always found amusing as hell when I lived in Phoenix was the green grass lawns. You live in a desert, surrounded by some of the most soul gripping scenery and you bust your azzes and spend bundles to have a patch of green round your house. Don't water it for a few days and it dies. Meanwhile, the neighbours who embraced the desert fauna have a really great yard, that fits into the spirit of the desert. I loved heading into the desert, miles from any light pollution and just sitting there enjoying the scenery. Come night, flaking out on a sleeping bag and just watching the stars. My roommates and I used to drive from Phoenix to Flagstaff a couple times a month, and were in awe of the various terrain types we ran across. I'll miss that scenery for the rest of my life.

Desalination could probably be a solution for socal while also allowing AZ, NV, NM to take more water from the Colorado River. I have watched videos and know there are a lot of issues with desalination (cost, brine, energy needed, etc) but CA has a coastline while the other south western states do not. I duno... just a thought.

Very fascinating and informative video. Thanks for sharing. Surprisingly enough, while South California (Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego) receivelittle precipitation, Southern Arizona (Tucson in particular) get quite of summer rainfall (their “monsoons”), which leads Arizonans to think they’re immune to water shortages. Please do a video on rainfall patterns that move north from Mexico into Arizona, then Nevada and southeastern California deserts. As always, I appreciate your content.

You should look at what happened with the Murray Darling Basin in Australia, where you had agricultural use taking too much water out of the river to the point that Adelaide, the fifth largest city in Australia had around ten years of water restrictions and the river ended up practically dry until major policy changes happened to reduce corruption and prevent illegal water theft by farmers. And this was alongside some of the largest droughts the country had ever seen

The American southwest is so surrealist / dystopian; Manicured lawns with white picket fences, lush golf courses, cattle ranches, and cotton / alfalfa fields in the desert. All the while the mighty Colorado doesn't even reach the Gulf of Mexico anymore. These states really need to implement sustainable policies before they suffer from environmental crises. Like what is Vegas supposed to do when Lake Mead dries up? * edit: my mistake, I meant the Gulf of Cali.

And the rain took that personally

It would be great to learn more about desalination and why it isn't used globally to remedy water shortages.

2:56 This is very funny. I'm Spanish, and those almond trees actually were imported from Spain during the colonization. And I say it is funny, because here in Spain almond trees have always being considered of "secano" meaning of no irrigation. Not only that, but they were planted in the poorest lands because they can handle mind-boggling droughts, along with rocky and poor terrains. If you guys are irrigating those, it is not because the trees need the water to live, but just to increase production. If you have a water shortage, the first thing you should do is cut off the irrigation of almond trees.

To people who dont live here. The central valley is essentially a desert. Its not as bad as the southwest but its just below that hot. It just doesn’t snow in the central valley (it only snows in the sierras/mountains in the winter). Ca has a Mediterranean climate in the coastal cities. Since it doesnt snow in the central valley and isnt humid like the southern states, it just means you can technically grow year round here so long as you have enough water. That being said, it takes ALOT of water to feed crops in the desert…

Weather is a lot different than when I was younger. We have a year or two of drought in Redding, California these days then it pours down and fills up the lakes. It's getting pretty rainy up here again the lakes have risen and it's not even January yet.

It is a great video, I would recommend it for the viewer. Thanks!

Here in Mexico we have a city called Monterrey, that has run out of water. The city is built between rivers and falls, but last year the water was just in a drastic level. The rivers and dams are completely dry. It’s one of the most important problems our country has, because Monterrey is the second biggest city in the country. I hope there’s a way to end this water problematic and avoid the water problems all around the world.

In Australia (Victoria) we had a 7 year drought with no end in sight. As soon as we started building a billion dollar desalination plant the drought broke. Then the construction site was constantly flooded causing delays that cost extra millions. The desalination plant was finally finished only to be mothballed.

Snow pack looks to be going well this week.

Mangrove trees deserve some mention and interest here, southern red cedar, gaillardia flowers, and mulhy grass, as well as other salt-water-tolerateing trees, shrubs, and plants.

Something very rarely mentionned is the effect that water redistribution has on the natural water cycle. Pulling water from wetter areas to dryer ones leads to dryer conditions overall as there is less water available for evaporation and therefore precipitation at the source. This overtime can reduce the total precipitation and water supply at the source, especially if most of the water being pulled isn't going back into the natural water cycle, but being used by humans.

reminds me of a novel called “dry” where california runs out of water and all hell breaks loose. it’s actually quite realistic. really made me think about what i would do in that situation

After two days in the desert sun my skin began to turn red and after three days in the desert fun I was looking at a river bed and the story it told of a river that flowed made me sad to think it was dead

Always love a video about my home state!

There is something that never gets brought up, and that is that California is naturally a dry region. The Spanish kept records of the weather since they arrived 500 years ago and those records show a very dry arid region. What happened about 150 years ago is that the region entered an abnormal wet period and it was during this wet period that large numbers of people began moving there. So the region is just returning to its natural state. Combine the return to a dry weather with warmer temperatures around the world plus a lot of water usage and the region is basically screwed.

I find it odd how folks claim the drought in California has only been going on for no more than 20 years...it has been getting worse for over 50 years folks...I grew up in SoCal and remember all our favorite fishing holes got shallower and shallower until they completely dried up by 1980...I can also remember my parents and their friends talking about droughts and water restrictions back in the 70s just after the gas shocks...

Local Californian here. I grew up in Bakersfield, the biggest farm town in the Central Valley. We grow quite a few of those almonds and also most of the worlds carrots (grimway and bolthouse, check your carrots it’s probably them). We have complex River way and Aquaducts everywhere. I grew up on the west side surrounded by almond trees often spending my summers in their shade and cooling effect. The Central Valley is a desert, this summer alone we had a month of 100 degrees up to 118. We really do produce all that agriculture, and we need the dam water from the north. There are signs on every farm telling you to vote to bud off more water to the Central Valley. I also grew up spending my summers in Arizona and Nevada on lake mead and Powell. It’s so sad to see them so low, not allowing us to get to the places we used to go. If you have any questions I’d love to answer!

Colorado just had the 5th wettest July on record. That's good news for the Colorado river and those it feeds. But desalination is worth looking into.

"Smart people learn from everything and everyone, average people from their experiences and stupid people already have all answers" Socrates

Living in Northern California, the thing I find funny is if you look here, everyone conserves water and have drought tolerant plants and stuff. Then you go down to Southern California (where the water up north is being exported) and everywhere are just green grassy lawns and sprinklers and stuff. Just makes me want to stop giving them water because they don’t even try to conserve it when really they should be conserving it more than us!

Well has improved since

learned more from you than I ever did from school. Great job!

The problem is that many of the states affected are approaching this by raising water rates rather than controlling the actual water supply and water usage. What has resulted is that individuals and businesses with deeper pockets continue using water at the amounts they are accustomed to, while everyone else conserves. That's why you still see golf courses, fancy homes, etc. still wasting water. They'll gladly just pay more money out to use all the water they desire, even though the higher rates don't contribute to increasing the water supply. The local water municipalities just use the extra money to pay off any fines they incur for not meeting water conservation regulations.

One other aspect of California's precipitation pattern, besides getting most water from winter storms coming in from the northwest, is that the second largest source of precipitation comes from "Atmospheric Rivers" that channel vast amounts of water vapor from the tropics in a narrow band. If you happen to be in the path of the river you will get flooded out. Since each event is unique and not predictable more than a week or two out, it is impossible to predict with certainty where they will hit, and how to manage reservoirs correctly. If it is kept too full, then there is no capacity to hold the additional flood if an Atmospheric River event hits. If it is kept too low, then there is not enough supply left over if a River does not arrive.

Very informative video 👍

What I gathered from this video is that water demands in California are growing due to the demand for the agricultural products grown in California and only 10% of the water consumed in California is actually going to people versus farmlands. That tells me that if there is a shortage of water, the farmlands should be the first to shut down so as not to encourage greedy businessmen from taking a required resource from the state. However, people in California are instead required to pay more for water each year, are ticketed when water is used outside of regulated hours, and are required by law to only buy products that restrict water usage. This tells me that our state government is failing us and are being paid off by big businesses.

I feel like most of human's water problems (and other geographic problems) can be summed up as "humans decided to live in an unsustainable area and won't move"

I’ve just come back from an amazing month long road trip in California and the heat was so insane I have never experienced anything like it, when I got back to the U.K I was glad to see some green foliage and some rain. The farm lands I passed through went for hours of driving properly blew my mind!

Informative video.

Great voice great reporting.

I feel like crops that take a lot of water and damage the soil just need to be phased out completely in states that have water supply issues. Either develop drought tolerant varieties that won't require as much water or phase them out completely. Crops like corn and Cotton which normally grow in wetter climates like the southeast and Mexico should not be grown in California. There should also be more rotational farming but that's just me.

As a Northern Californian I've gotta mention these pronunciations. Klamath is pronounced like clam-ith (like the seafood) and Shasta is more like the sha of shaft and the stu of stud

Bro my science teacher put your channel on in class I live in the southern part of the Vally

This video showed up in my feed after I had watched several videos on the Resnicks. I recognize this is an engineering channel, but Forbes's "Inside the Secretive World of Billionaire-Owned Water | Priceless" and NatGeo's "Investigating Shadiness | Water & Power" cover the other side of this equation more in-depth and are worth a watch.

Studies of dried up lake sediments suggests that CA has had absolutely horrendous droughts in the past and can be expected to do so in the future if you think a hundred year drought is horrendous which I do. Precipitation in the region is seriously not dependable.

I remember visiting my girlfriend's relative's in Rowland Heights outside LA a couple of years back. There was water leak just outside their yard that flowed through their yard and down to the street. It was a big leak too, probably like 3-4 liters per minute. Which you know, that's not normal so I asked about it. Turns out it had been like that for several months but the city didn't wanna fix it cause the pipe intersected my girlfriends relative's yard and thus wanted them to pay for repairing it, even though the leak itself was outside their property. But considering the leak didn't actually cause any problems for her relatives they didn't have any incentive to do it. So it remained unfixed and the leak kept leaking. The city had thusly decided that instead to hiring a plumber for a day to go and replace a single pipe, it would be better if they dug their heels in and refuse to do anything out of, I don't know, principle maybe? And in the mean time, thousands of liters of water was just being squandered for no reason every single hour of every single day. They moved out of that house a few years later and as far as I know it was still not fixed at that time... So let's just say I'm not surprised California has a water shortage...

excellent presentation and was glad to see that alfalfa was mentioned as well as almonds as alfalfa actually uses twice the amount of water .. what was not mentioned was that although agriculture is huge it only accounts for 4% of the state's GDP (CA is the world's 5th largest economy) so at a certain point growing food will not be as important as water for people and other areas will take up the task of growing fruits nuts & vegetables .. the ag producers will protest but there will be no other choice ..

WOW! I didn't know this until I was 7 yrs old back in the '60's.

I've been recently watching videos about the fall of ancient civilizations, and many of them fell because they took nature for granted. They expected the weather patterns that existed when they first settled to remain permanent, so when the pattern changes in a significant or severe manner, that civilization got royally screwed. This feels very similar, only difference being that current civilizations can survive this. However, I wonder if this continues, if people are gonna be forced to abandon southern california

Can you make a video about the advantages, drawbacks and challenges of desalination? Would watch!!

I grew up in the San Joaquin Valley never had an issue with water. The problem we have is to much building communities are growing, high speed rail, the train to nowhere, they won't release water from the delta in Sacramento because of a two inch fish. The valley needs water to flourish there a lot of land that is sitting dry.

Man i wonder where you guys get your tunes, they are bumpin and very good for background. Do ya make em yourselves or are there a playlist? plz n ty

I live in the middle of the valley (modesto) and work in the agricultural sector I’ve watched the rise in almond production durning my lifetime, the amount of water that is wasted in orchards on a daily basis is insane and new orchards are being planted all around. I don’t know why the state gov hasn’t woken up to these problems, everyone talks but no action is taken. We don’t need golf courses and pools, we need food!!!

We live in a part of California where it rains 10 months of the year. We are also in the redwoods right on the coast and experience no wildfires at all. Redwoods do not burn easily, and, like I said, we get A LOT of rain.

Thanks!

As someone who lives in Southern California, this video was very informative for a topic that I have been interested in the past couple years. Thank you for making the video!

So, California either needs fewer people, significantly less agriculture, or expanded water systems that probably would need to reach into Oregon. Shifting to somewhat less water-intensive crops might make a bit of a difference, and cities could probably help out a bit by adopting less water-intensive practices, notably getting rid of rules that require lawns.

Saudi Arabia had a similar problem in the past, and they're using desalination plants to meet their water demands, in fact they are a major exporter in the region of food products and diary, which require enormous amount of water, if they can do it surely an advanced place like california can do it

Note: the Las Vegas metro area outside of Boulder City gets NO electricity from Hoover Dam (the dam that created Lake Mead). It gets the vast majority of its water from Lake Mead, however. That's why the water is so cheap there. If you don't have a grass yard or similar water hungry yardscape or a swimming pool, your monthly water bill will be less than $50.00 US per month.

Everyone blames lack of rainfall for the droughts, few people actually cover the fact that soil degradation is an even a greater problem. The way agriculture and deforestation works today forces rain water to wash away and not sip into the ground to refill aquifers and rivers. When this natural process is in a healthy state, rivers run full even in years of little rainfall. But I guess blaming fate or the clouds is better than spending milions on regrowing natural forests around the river's basin.

I'm from the eastern sierras and I always remember seeing the dry lakes and rivers while driving up from LA. There is also the huge ecological impact of diverting nearly all the water to the central valley and LA. Desertification is a huge problem

Thank you

There is a desalination plant in Carlsbad CA, and it produces a huge amount of usable water. The same company that built it tried to build another one in Orange County, but was not allowed to by the California Coastal Commission. They claimed it would put too much salt in the ocean. So if you run out of water, send them a thank you note.

While driving across interstate 8 near el centro, it was crazy to see all the crop fields and farms in the middle of the desert, only being fed water from hundreds of miles away from canals

Ever since i was little i remember people saying that the northern part of California had nothing to keep itself economically until i moved to the upper quarter i then realized the area provides almost all of the southern part's water and it all made sense why the top quarter has wanted to separate into its own state for years

R.O. machines require lots of energy. Plus the maintenance, membranes ,high pressure pumps,volume pumps... interesting to see if photovoltaics can power a reverse osmosis plant.

These massive water projects enabled populations to live in numbers that are far beyond what they could ever normally support.

I never EVER would've thought California actually receives so much water...its simply in places that people don't want to live in. The network of piping to bring water down to the south seems very sophisticated. ALSO didn't know that Cali is responsible for so much of our agriculture which contributes to their very high water usage rate

11:52 I used to jump off that bridge into the water. The top of the arch was probably 50-60 feet above the water level.

Surprised to see so many people that still think there's a drought

I remember reading a book called, "The Cadillac Desert," and it predicted everything that is going on right now West of the Rookies and particular California. The constant stripping away of natural aquifers have led to the problems they are not experiencing. In 1980 Satellite photos showed California showing up as a completely RED AREA on Infrared Scanning. Most of their problems can be attributed to over working the land in favor of development and Industrial demand on the land and aquifers.

I've lived in the Mojave desert most of my life. And amount of water we get up here. It's not a lot though. I have noticed in the last 15 years that amount of a rainfall and snow has dramatically been reduced even though in the early 2000s we had more participation than we do now in the modern day and the area. The Mojave desert is a dry area doesn't mean we don't get rain or snow, though it's been very fleeting in the last 5 or 6 years. The amount of rain and snow that we've gotten The last year that I remember we had a decent amount of snowfall enough to shut down. The whole area was nearly 15 years ago, about 2 years after I graduated from high school. That's the last time that I saw a decent amount of snow in the desert areas

Need to do fog nets and desalination. Also, invest in tunnels carrying water from more mountains/hills/places not tapped into yet to population centers. I know it's tough and expensive. I know the climate/weather doesn't help. But you will get it done.

Here's a challenge: take a shot every time he says "entire".

Incredible mismanagement of water. Like what was said in the clip, it's an engineered water system - due to lack of water in too many aspects has been seen as an engineering problem. The canals that have been built are water highways that do not sustain any life in and around them. No ecological aspects seem to have been taken into consideration. No trees planted on fields or along canals whose cover could have prevented a lot of water evaporation. A sad evidence that this problem is not solved within the scope of engineering and economics

I live in southern California and one of my neighbors waters the plants on city property with her drinking water and 75' extension hose because according to her they don't get enough reclaimed water from the city. These same people vote against desalinization plants because they like to lay on the beach. People are incredibly entitled and think that because they pay their exorbitant water bill each month it is their water to do with what they want... water needs to be five times more expensive before people would appreciate it for its true value.

What’s interesting is that at least in Kern County it seems like they’re replacing a lot of almost trees with pistachios or pomegranate trees

This was a pretty good explanation...We are now entering our 3rd straight year of La Nina conditions. Lots of rain up north, very little in the south. One aspect that you did not mention is the politics around the "endangered" Delta Smelt. I read an article recently that said 78% of the rain water that falls and is collected in Lake Shasta ends up in the Pacific Ocean because bureaucrats have decided that the Sacramento River must stay at full capacity in order for the Delta Smelt to survive. Despite having millions of Delta Smelt in the fish hatchery at Shasta Dam, the Bureau of Reclamation that controls all of the inflow/outflow volumes of every reservoir has decided to let it all go to the sea. There is a plan for a new reservoir near Maxwell, CA but that won't be completed for decades. To make matters worse, even when California voters have opted for the expense of desalinization plants, the California Coastal Commission typically shuts down those attempts as the process heats up the reject water that goes back into the ocean and yep, you guessed it, endangers all the sea life... The issue with populating the western arid regions of the US, west of the 100th meridian was first analyzed by John Wesley Powell back in the 1870's. He suggested dividing up the land by watershed areas instead of arbitrary state boundaries. The politicians, railroad men, and other robber barons laughed at him, and ignored his insights because $$$. There's just too many people in California now to sustain current population levels here. Living in the best weather in the country comes at a tremendous price.

Imagine not building more reservoirs since the 60's and wondering why?

I love this channel so much! Thank you for such detailed information!

After living in Los Angeles, in finding out that there are a natural hot springs located in Koreatown called the Beverly Hot Springs it’s a natural bacteria free ,mineral, rich, water source that comes from under the ground to serve the community someone from the city actually approved plans to demolish it and build an underground parking structure instead it’s terrible and we need to have her voice is heard about our concern over things like this happening because of things like this are approved. It’s only gonna get worse from here.

Friend from Germany 🇩🇪 was impressed with California wine 🍷

Thank you for making these videos! I've had a tough past couple of years, and I'm sure everyone has. You really make everyone's day! We love you!

Been working 11 years for the central valleys largest public water utility divison. Currently hold several licenses thru dept. Public health/State Water Resource Control Board im very aware of our "current situation".. the valley is basically a well irragated dessert, through our smart meter data we are well aware that 80% or better of our consumption is literally irragation. We see abuse especially on commercial and well to-do residential areas we have more resources than is reported thru local media the valley is rich in water rights. My major concern is what's coming. .the metering of private farmland ground water wells... it will absolutely have a immediate impact on that fast food bill. Grocery bill, family gathering bbqs, or overall way of life will be impacted real quick, compounded with fuel and housing prices in the state. I'm concerned for the next generations to be, and the citizens of California who have no choice but to leave the state we love.

Has anyone considered building a soft-walled reservoir stretching under the John T. Know Fwy bridge that maintains a fresh-water lake fed by the San Joachim river, a barrier that could be steadily floated south from the estuary as the fresh water accumulates until it reaches its final destination at the bridge? In this way the City of San Francisco would be able to reduce the City's demand on the other fresh water resources throughout the state.

The Colorado River supplies about 14 percent of the water used in California by agriculture, industry, commercial businesses, and residential customers. The Colorado River water is by far the most important source of water used in Southern California--accounting for over 60 percent of its water supply.

It’s a Friday : happy Rll: uploads : very happy You have a meal : extra happy Truly the best time of life lmao

Living in these northern areas my whole life I have seen the amount of rainfall coincide with the decimation of old-growth forests. Incidentally according to PHDs in forestry are the only trees that can pull enough water into the soil from rainfall and into the aquifers as well as creating clouds for precipitation to fall. Old-growth forests are not renewable, not in a human's lifetime anyway. We can grow baby trees but the roots don't go far enough to reach underground water sources and 90 percent die before they grow big enough. This is definitely creating a very bad, very dry hot climate.

If the problem is precipitation, then why not create large artificial underwater shallows offshore? A series of large reflective platforms that float about 25-50 feet underwater, tethered to the sea floor. That would cause more surface water to evaporate faster by reflecting sunlight back upwards, allowing the water to absorb twice as much sunlight, and thus heat. This evaporating water would be blown towards the mountains, condense, and fall as rain.

California wouldn't have a shortage AT ALL if they would just start to plan ahead. Every 30 years (which is happening RIGHT NOW) , california gets a ton of rain. This fills all lakes and underground wells back up. The issue is, environmentalists have stopped california from building more areas to collect the water when it does rain like this. They have plenty of rain for decades but its being allowed to run right out into the ocean.

We moved from Southern California in 1980, I remember back then as a kid in the 70’s being restricted to watering our lawns by even/odd address’ and you could only wash your car certain days of the week and you had to wash it on your lawn and that was your lawn watering for the week!

I had heard that San Diego was one of the world leaders in water desalination. MIT has also come up with lesser expensive means to desalinate water, so that is probably California's best chance here, especially seeing that the vast majority of the people in the cities ignoring the water restrictions so that they can ensure that their lawns are nice a pretty.

LA and San Diego had tons of downpour this winter for multiple months, but California did nothing to collect it.

I always thought these water systems were pretty cool. Instead of dumping the water into the sf bay. They just have to cut back agriculture there to what the rivers support. Like only allow less water hungry crops, or outright designate farmland to parks or development

I had an Uncle and some other family that live in San Diego come up for a Wedding in May and they mentioned that they might be getting their water usage restricted and I did not know exactly why. Thanks to this video, I now understand what they were talking about.

So cool! Thank you and thank you to your team. I love to learn and grow and your channel has helped me so much!

Hey Lore 👋 Can you do a video if it’s better to live on the East Coast or West Coast?

Desalinization station, wind turbines to pump to, reservoirs on the mountains to,hydroelectric to distribution system

I grew up in Ohio, and while all my siblings migrated to Cali, I'm staying put because of one reason and one reason only... the vast water resources of the great lakes.

I feel very fortunate to live in the "real" northern calif, where we get plenty of rain; it even has been raining here in june! We have a well, and it stays well-stocked. Of course, we still practice water conservation like using grey water to water plants and saving the water from showering and using to flush the toilet, etc etc.