It's happening in a part of the United States that denies that science exists and forbids its teaching in public schools. Thus, it's understandable that they don't understand the fact that one or two million people can't inhabit an area receiving 5 inches of rain a year.
35
What struck me most about this article is that it is written by a Texan ... who believes in climate change!? (Sorry for the snark)
16
Maybe people should stop breeding and overpopulating the world. There's only so much that technology can do with finite resources. Water being one. It's already being commodified and purchased/controlled by powerful companies. What will happen in the future? Water wars? I'm glad I'm not condemning offspring to that kind of inevitable future.
14
Northern states, New York included, would do well to think very hard about the cost of contaminated water sources and aquifers relative to issues related to hydraulic fracturing. This is not a nonsense claim as suggested by relentless television ads bought on nightly news programs. To see that this is a real issue, consider the policy development over the past several years by the Department of Interior of a "fracking" policy for onshore Federal lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management. To quote the objectives of this policy:
"The updated draft proposal maintains the three main components of the initial proposal: requiring operators to disclose the chemicals they use in fracturing activities on public lands; improving assurances of well-bore integrity to verify that fluids used during fracturing operations are not contaminating groundwater; and confirming that oil and gas operators have a water management plan in place for handling fluids that flow back to the surface."
The Secretary of the Interior, Sally Jewell, is a petroleum engineer and recognizes that these issues are real. Details can be found by referencing 43 Code of Federal Regulations Part 3160 {cite: 43 CFR 3160}. The EPA also has been paying attention to these issues in separate proceedings.
"The updated draft proposal maintains the three main components of the initial proposal: requiring operators to disclose the chemicals they use in fracturing activities on public lands; improving assurances of well-bore integrity to verify that fluids used during fracturing operations are not contaminating groundwater; and confirming that oil and gas operators have a water management plan in place for handling fluids that flow back to the surface."
The Secretary of the Interior, Sally Jewell, is a petroleum engineer and recognizes that these issues are real. Details can be found by referencing 43 Code of Federal Regulations Part 3160 {cite: 43 CFR 3160}. The EPA also has been paying attention to these issues in separate proceedings.
11
As troubling as this article is, it is a bit of justice too. Texans elect more legislators who deny the existence of climate change than any other state. Time to accept scientific reality and adopt conservation measures and perhaps stop poaching businesses from other states, which drives up the Texas population which Mr. Parker laments.
18
Forget the XL pipeline to carry oil......Instead......build a WATER pipeline from the states along the Mississippi which each year predictably flood, to the western U.S.
AND, for God's sake, don't allow fracking which puts polluted waste into our water systems.
Oh, and how about CONSERVATION of water??? Less animal protein, shorter showers (yes, that WILL help), drought tolerant landscaping instead of lawns, permeable pavers instead of sidewalk and parking lots; and here in L.A. mulch over all of the residential parkways. When the parkway (strip of lawn between sidewalk and street) is watered, half the water goes onto the sidewalk, half onto the street.
We CAN do this people. It'll take effort, but hey, we're up to it!
AND, for God's sake, don't allow fracking which puts polluted waste into our water systems.
Oh, and how about CONSERVATION of water??? Less animal protein, shorter showers (yes, that WILL help), drought tolerant landscaping instead of lawns, permeable pavers instead of sidewalk and parking lots; and here in L.A. mulch over all of the residential parkways. When the parkway (strip of lawn between sidewalk and street) is watered, half the water goes onto the sidewalk, half onto the street.
We CAN do this people. It'll take effort, but hey, we're up to it!
5
I am fearful that someday soon a Presidential candidate (take your pick) will propose building a water pipeline from Lake Michigan to New Mexico, seeking votes in the Southwest. I am fearful that if Scott Walker proposes this, too many job-starved Midwesterners will go along. I am fearful that if Hilary Clinton proposes this, environmentalists will have no one to turn to but Scott Walker.
4
Urban areas in California use about 10% of the available water; ag uses 41%; and the remaining 49% is used to benefit the environment (wetlands, aquifers, wildlife, etc.), with a portion of that sometimes used for farming. Most residents of large cities here use less than 100 gallons per day per person. Los Angeles is using less water now than it did 30 years ago despite having 1 million more people.
Thankfully, the 1% are only 1%, because the wealthy (as in Beverly Hills) use at least twice as much water as normal people.
Of course, people should conserve water - our drought is only going to get worse - and all urban residents should have water meters, but "people" includes farmers, too, and there's much they could do to use their water more conservatively. It's perplexing to me to see huge sprinkler systems watering large fields in the middle of a hot day, as is common in the Central Valley and in Arizona.
And much more water could be saved if California's water managers employed their own conservation measures, like lining their canals to prevent seepage and covering them to prevent evaporation.
Overall, though, unless desalination becomes much cheaper, I think the southwest is in for some very hard times - and since the Central Valley grows much of the nation's produce, the nation as a whole will suffer as well.
Thankfully, the 1% are only 1%, because the wealthy (as in Beverly Hills) use at least twice as much water as normal people.
Of course, people should conserve water - our drought is only going to get worse - and all urban residents should have water meters, but "people" includes farmers, too, and there's much they could do to use their water more conservatively. It's perplexing to me to see huge sprinkler systems watering large fields in the middle of a hot day, as is common in the Central Valley and in Arizona.
And much more water could be saved if California's water managers employed their own conservation measures, like lining their canals to prevent seepage and covering them to prevent evaporation.
Overall, though, unless desalination becomes much cheaper, I think the southwest is in for some very hard times - and since the Central Valley grows much of the nation's produce, the nation as a whole will suffer as well.
10
Well, just don't mention the words, "Climate Change." Many governmental leaders of the Red States who are feeling the inital effects of the changing weather patterns associated with climate change (which were long ago perdicted by climatologists), such a prolonged drought or increased devistating mega storms, continue to deny the role of climate change simply for mainly politcal purposes. I note that in Virgina for example at the nation's largest Naval base, Norfolk Naval Station, that rising sea changes and constant flooding from periodic Mega storms has made it imperative that the base commander work with the local government on disaster plans and stratigic planning for future changes neccessitated by the rising sea levels. This however has been complicated by the State and local reticence over even talking about 'Climate Change'. Now as I understand it the Base commader and the local government use code words such as "Periodic tidal Surges" when making plans for dealing with the rising waters associated with climate change.
9
This is what the XL pipeline should be used for-- i.e. transporting water from the
Great Lakes---forget the tar sands!
Great Lakes---forget the tar sands!
9
Thanks for a well written and accurate piece. Mark Twain might have said it best; "Whiskey is for drinking, and Water is for fighting". The ongoing drought in the American West is frightening. Worse, more subdivisions constantly sprawl out over what was decent farm and range land. Mr. Parker's "triple threat" is right on target - booming population, ongoing drought, AND Climate Change.
What is so shocking, to me, is that many people still think that water "comes from the faucet". I lived for decades out in the middle of nowhere in Central California. It used to be beautiful farm land and horse country. There never was a whole lot of water, but if one was careful, you did fine. Wells, on average were 250', and, if you were lucky, they produced "maybe" 10 or 15 gpm. When the 2500 acres of zoned Ag and Scenic Conservation land next to my old property was "re-zoned Commercial", it was (A) a crime, and (B) horrifying AND stupid. There was almost no water, yet the developers wanted to put faux Tuscanney houses on every 10 acres. Do the math. That's a lot of water use.
I still meet people who think everything is "just fine", but, they are all City People. In moving to rural Oregon, we are still caught in the same drought as N. California and the Sierra. My well is better than my old one, and I surely do not take that for granted.
The tokenism of immediate gratification that smart phones, etc, have brought us is hollow. To me, it says; "Urban, and uninformed".
What is so shocking, to me, is that many people still think that water "comes from the faucet". I lived for decades out in the middle of nowhere in Central California. It used to be beautiful farm land and horse country. There never was a whole lot of water, but if one was careful, you did fine. Wells, on average were 250', and, if you were lucky, they produced "maybe" 10 or 15 gpm. When the 2500 acres of zoned Ag and Scenic Conservation land next to my old property was "re-zoned Commercial", it was (A) a crime, and (B) horrifying AND stupid. There was almost no water, yet the developers wanted to put faux Tuscanney houses on every 10 acres. Do the math. That's a lot of water use.
I still meet people who think everything is "just fine", but, they are all City People. In moving to rural Oregon, we are still caught in the same drought as N. California and the Sierra. My well is better than my old one, and I surely do not take that for granted.
The tokenism of immediate gratification that smart phones, etc, have brought us is hollow. To me, it says; "Urban, and uninformed".
17
why is more water being consumed? a growing population.
yes, but if we conserved water, there would be more water to go around. that's good, because then there will be extra water, for what? a growing population.
yes, but if we ate less meat, we'd use less water and -- a growing population.
why is there climate change -- where did that come from? burning more coal, oil and gas. why burn more coal, oil and gas? a growing population.
yes, but it's just the natural cycle of drought. OK, that's what aquifers are for, water in the water bank. oh wait, we're draining those dry, one by one. why do that? a growing population.
the culprit here is not the sucking thirst of profit capitalism -- or climate change, or megadrought, or bad agriculture, or lack of conservation. you're being taught by the media to focus on the details rather than the basics. a continually growing population is at the root of every explanation.
open your eyes ... face the facts.
yes, but if we conserved water, there would be more water to go around. that's good, because then there will be extra water, for what? a growing population.
yes, but if we ate less meat, we'd use less water and -- a growing population.
why is there climate change -- where did that come from? burning more coal, oil and gas. why burn more coal, oil and gas? a growing population.
yes, but it's just the natural cycle of drought. OK, that's what aquifers are for, water in the water bank. oh wait, we're draining those dry, one by one. why do that? a growing population.
the culprit here is not the sucking thirst of profit capitalism -- or climate change, or megadrought, or bad agriculture, or lack of conservation. you're being taught by the media to focus on the details rather than the basics. a continually growing population is at the root of every explanation.
open your eyes ... face the facts.
27
If one has too many human beings and not enough resources, one has two options.
The first option is, you can figure out how to better conserve and use those resources.
The second option is, you can stop denying that there is such as thing as too many human beings.
We tend to discuss mainly the former, because the latter is largely taboo. We may use resources as if we think we have a right to use as much as we want when we want. But that sense of entitlement pales in comparison to the degree to which we have a the right to make as many of us as we want, when we want.
Until the second problem is rationally confronted, our efforts on the first are largely just shuffling deck chairs around hoping to make more room in a ship that perhaps has long ago exceeded its safe passenger capacity.
The first option is, you can figure out how to better conserve and use those resources.
The second option is, you can stop denying that there is such as thing as too many human beings.
We tend to discuss mainly the former, because the latter is largely taboo. We may use resources as if we think we have a right to use as much as we want when we want. But that sense of entitlement pales in comparison to the degree to which we have a the right to make as many of us as we want, when we want.
Until the second problem is rationally confronted, our efforts on the first are largely just shuffling deck chairs around hoping to make more room in a ship that perhaps has long ago exceeded its safe passenger capacity.
30
Another 100 million people will be added to the U.S. population in less than 50 years under current laws - potentially much more with immigration 'reform.'
Corporations want immigration to keep wages low and population growing, and politicians do what corporations want - that's where the money is. How many people do corporations want? That's like asking how much money they want - they want more.
http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/immigration-projections-rebound-along...
' ... in 2015, the Census Bureau expects the U.S. to grow by about 1.24 million people from immigration alone. That’s up from the 2012 census projections for 2015, which had put the number at about 800,000....(the report expects 416 million people in the U.S. by 2060).'
Corporations want immigration to keep wages low and population growing, and politicians do what corporations want - that's where the money is. How many people do corporations want? That's like asking how much money they want - they want more.
http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/immigration-projections-rebound-along...
' ... in 2015, the Census Bureau expects the U.S. to grow by about 1.24 million people from immigration alone. That’s up from the 2012 census projections for 2015, which had put the number at about 800,000....(the report expects 416 million people in the U.S. by 2060).'
11
As a loyal Texan born and bred in the Lone Star State I am deeply concerned about the future of our water. Popping in wells left and right to supply the growing population is not going to cut it. We need to realize that depleting our aquifers is not sustainable - and will have devastating consequences in the not-so-distant future. The Brazos is the base flow contributor to Barton Springs. How does it get there? The hydrogeology of our area is not well enough understood to support policies allowing developers ($) to access aquifers that don't follow the county lines groundwater conservation districts are drawn by.
As for the masses moving to Texas, welcome. And you are welcome to contribute to conserving our environment by using less water, riding bicycles, living in high density buildings in the urban core. And on the weekend get out and see some nature - it's beautiful.
And for god's sake when it summer I shouldn't need a sweater! Common sense, people.
As for the masses moving to Texas, welcome. And you are welcome to contribute to conserving our environment by using less water, riding bicycles, living in high density buildings in the urban core. And on the weekend get out and see some nature - it's beautiful.
And for god's sake when it summer I shouldn't need a sweater! Common sense, people.
19
I am surprised the author did not mention it, but Cadillac Desert, by Marc Reisner, is a great read on this topic. Reisner discusses, among other things, how Los Angeles depleted the Owens Valley aquifer by hook and crook. Indeed, whether one buys into the more egregious projections of climate change or not, geological records indicate that droughts that would dwarf those of the last hundred years are quite possible and even likely, given the right set of conditions that affect solar input, ocean currents, and of course human activities.
While Vegas developers are building water parks in the desert, its water authorities are faced with adding more inputs at lower levels behind Hoover Dam as Lake Mead shrinks. The entire Colorado River water system is under duress from long term drought and overdevelopment. Robbing Peter to pay Paul only works when Peter has something to rob, and that will soon not be the case. Same with unsustainable pumping of aquifers that were last topped off during the Pleistocene.
While Vegas developers are building water parks in the desert, its water authorities are faced with adding more inputs at lower levels behind Hoover Dam as Lake Mead shrinks. The entire Colorado River water system is under duress from long term drought and overdevelopment. Robbing Peter to pay Paul only works when Peter has something to rob, and that will soon not be the case. Same with unsustainable pumping of aquifers that were last topped off during the Pleistocene.
26
Someone forgot to tell the people moving to the Southwest that deserts don't make good places to build cities of millions. Anyway, we are talking about some of the areas with the most anti-regulation, anti-conservation, and anti-everything else mentality, the author notwithstanding. Cliven Bundy anyone? By the way, I fully support Texas' movement for secession, and any other Southern/Midwestern state. It's not fair that the rest of the country should suffer from selfish irresponsible people. We can expect these places to demand federal dollars to alleviate their issues, just don't tax them. The "more perfect union" can only be achieved when some folks who aren't interested in unions are given their "freedom."
8
Cadillac Desert
3
The only thing you can do in Texas is get a big tank and pump the water out of the aquifers faster than the municipalities and whoever. Save it for a non-rainy day, or sell it once you get it into your own container. Good luck.
1
Anthropocene be danged.
We are living in the Malthusian Millennium. Nature will eventually solve our problems for us. The survivors will not like the results.
Population deniers will continue to proclaim the virtues of technology right up to the collapse of the human ecosystem.
How unfortunate.
We are living in the Malthusian Millennium. Nature will eventually solve our problems for us. The survivors will not like the results.
Population deniers will continue to proclaim the virtues of technology right up to the collapse of the human ecosystem.
How unfortunate.
9
Never miss an opportunity to quote the great Wendell Berry:
"Whether we and our politicians know it or not, Nature is party to all our deals and decisions, and she has more votes, a longer memory, and a sterner sense of justice than we do"
"Whether we and our politicians know it or not, Nature is party to all our deals and decisions, and she has more votes, a longer memory, and a sterner sense of justice than we do"
19
At some point in the not-too-distant future we will change our wasteful ways, hopefully while there's still something to save. But until we do -- individually and collectively, as a polity -- we will hurtle towards disaster. And decades of drought desiccating the American Heartland will probably be the least of it.
Our watchwords should be "recycle", "innovate" and "conserve". Unfortunately, they aren't, because we don't, because we won't. Far easier to blame others for our own malfeasance or simply turn a blind eye, pretend that it isn't happening. Easier still to think it doesn't matter because what we do individually is too insignificant to have real impact. And in thinking this way, we are encouraged by our political leaders. Far too many still find solace in Sen. Inhofe's antics the other day. Standing in the well of the United States Senate he cradled a big snowball scooped from the Capitol's steps and declared it proves Earth isn't heating at all. Actually, it proves that it is. But he ignores evidence that contradicts his faith, dismissing it as fraud, and is oblivious to risk and deaf to reason.
Materialism fueled by profit-driven overconsumption, at the heart of our civilization since the Industrial revolution began, is what ails us. Left unchecked it will ultimately destroy us. But without the profit motive to dominate us and inform our lives the purpose of living itself becomes ... what?
I suspect that riddle is our actual problem, the real barrier to change.
Our watchwords should be "recycle", "innovate" and "conserve". Unfortunately, they aren't, because we don't, because we won't. Far easier to blame others for our own malfeasance or simply turn a blind eye, pretend that it isn't happening. Easier still to think it doesn't matter because what we do individually is too insignificant to have real impact. And in thinking this way, we are encouraged by our political leaders. Far too many still find solace in Sen. Inhofe's antics the other day. Standing in the well of the United States Senate he cradled a big snowball scooped from the Capitol's steps and declared it proves Earth isn't heating at all. Actually, it proves that it is. But he ignores evidence that contradicts his faith, dismissing it as fraud, and is oblivious to risk and deaf to reason.
Materialism fueled by profit-driven overconsumption, at the heart of our civilization since the Industrial revolution began, is what ails us. Left unchecked it will ultimately destroy us. But without the profit motive to dominate us and inform our lives the purpose of living itself becomes ... what?
I suspect that riddle is our actual problem, the real barrier to change.
5
Fracking uses many million gallons of water for their wells that is not recoverable . A lot of fracking for natural gas goes on in Oklahoma and Texas, why are the people not protesting the use of their water for gas?
15
The problem is overpopulation ... we need to conserve on how many children we have.
16
When I moved to Austin in the early 70's, Lake Travis was beautiful, pristine and full. It is now completely surrounded by development and almost empty. It is a heartbreaking sight.
17
It's not just the Southwest. Remember a few years back when Atlanta was about 4 days from running out of water? Too much dependency on one river. The AJC was publishing tips like "don't use the toilet as a wastebasket" and "water your lawn on alternate days." Californians just laughed, being familiar with not running the water when you brush your teeth, and "if it's yellow let it mellow; if it's brown, flush it down."
Droughts affect the whole nation.
Droughts affect the whole nation.
7
In California the mega-drought is here, and our continuing quest for greater economic growth (unregulated markets) is in direct conflict with any solutions vis-a-vis man made climate change. Until we address the ravages of unregulated economic growth and start encouraging population reduction (thinking of our tax code here), things will only get worse. The solutions lie, of course, in the way we all live and consume the resources of our planet, and those solutions will be forced upon us if we don't adopt more radical ways to live in harmony with the earth. Sooner than later, I'm certain, this will have to happen. This is precisely why those who deny the science are in denial; they know it spells the end to business as usual.
13
What is it that makes man think that he can avoid the vicissitudes of nature or natural selection?
And why is it that the greedy are allowed to make life-altering decisions for those who want the peaceful, more rural life?
And why is it that the greedy are allowed to make life-altering decisions for those who want the peaceful, more rural life?
12
After ten years of drought, can we finally admit that the natural state of the region is desert?
16
You all can move to Michigan, we have plenty of water and housing is dirt cheap in Detroit. Eventually people will move towards water, might as well be first in line. Better yet, just stay down there and roast.
18
I was shocked on a recent visit to Austin that the brand new Hyatt Place downtown had not installed low flow devices for the bathroom. I took the shortest shower of my life as flood of water gushed out. There seems to be no real effort to curtail use except when watering yards.
10
At least this article acknowledges the role of "booming population". Overpopulation is the root cause of all environmental and resource problems, but it is rarely discussed in the media, and there is no political or religious leadership to address it.
12
So we move into the sad endgame of I I me me mine. Your electronic toys dispense illusion and will not give you one drop of nutrition. Unless and until we learn that we are members of one family of humankind and start to care for each other, we will not survive the coming difficulties.
That is what religion is supposed to be about, not hating otherness and justifying hoarding. The God we made in our own image doesn't exist, and your good luck is not a sign of favor. The best of the world's religions teach this, but all too often we limit our senses to that which we can own. There is a limit to all this. Other planets are still expensive and difficult, there is no "escape".
Virtual reality, the evanescence of imitation, fostered by the media of makeup, Roman circuses for us all to avoid the solid earth that is our home, will not give anyone a drop of water. We are crowding our sense while dumping toxic waste of all kinds into our air, water, and earth, exploiting until there is no more.
Politics is not real. The earth is real. It is finite, and no "vote" against reality will move one atom, except perhaps the evanescent hot air that shuts out our good and common sense. These emerging dangers can only be averted by communities acting for all, not just the few.
That is what religion is supposed to be about, not hating otherness and justifying hoarding. The God we made in our own image doesn't exist, and your good luck is not a sign of favor. The best of the world's religions teach this, but all too often we limit our senses to that which we can own. There is a limit to all this. Other planets are still expensive and difficult, there is no "escape".
Virtual reality, the evanescence of imitation, fostered by the media of makeup, Roman circuses for us all to avoid the solid earth that is our home, will not give anyone a drop of water. We are crowding our sense while dumping toxic waste of all kinds into our air, water, and earth, exploiting until there is no more.
Politics is not real. The earth is real. It is finite, and no "vote" against reality will move one atom, except perhaps the evanescent hot air that shuts out our good and common sense. These emerging dangers can only be averted by communities acting for all, not just the few.
4
I would like to recommend a book written by two women scientists, but unfortunately I do not remember their names. The book is: "The West Without Water". It has a lot of water histroy of everything west of the Mississippi.
5
Here you go:
The West without Water: What Past Floods, Droughts, and Other Climatic Clues Tell Us about Tomorrow Hardcover – August 1, 2013
B. Lynn Ingram (Author), Frances Malamud-Roam (Author)
The West without Water: What Past Floods, Droughts, and Other Climatic Clues Tell Us about Tomorrow Hardcover – August 1, 2013
B. Lynn Ingram (Author), Frances Malamud-Roam (Author)
Amazon, another greedy but convenient giant, provided the title, but the "suggestions" looked pretty good if the topic interests. There appear to be some geared to solutions, not a bad idea.
Thanks for the reference. A Google Books search found the details.[1] The authors describe some of the scientific evidence for droughts and floods in the past.
[1] The West without Water: What Past Floods, Droughts, and Other Climatic Clues Tell Us about Tomorrow
By B. Lynn Ingram, Frances Malamud-Roam
University of California Press, Jul 2, 2013
[1] The West without Water: What Past Floods, Droughts, and Other Climatic Clues Tell Us about Tomorrow
By B. Lynn Ingram, Frances Malamud-Roam
University of California Press, Jul 2, 2013
A comment made by William Mulholland (LA's great savior by finding enough water to allow it to grow) after visiting Yosemite valley, "said if he were in charge, he would send photographers into the valley to shoot pictures day and night for an entire year. He would publish the photos in books and send them to every library in the world. Then, Mulholland said, "I would build a great dam and stop all the goddamn waste."
Yup, we all see the world differently.
Yup, we all see the world differently.
9
I have a simple solution. The population and industries could move to the Great Lakes area. We have plenty of water, but when the water disappears in the Southwest, don't get any ideas of syphoning water from the Great Lakes to your region. That simply won't happen.
9
It will if there's enough money in it.
9
I've thought about leaving Michigan and the Great Lakes for some other state, one that's warm in the winter. On second thought, nah, I'll keep my stake here. It's a safe bet.
12
And yet every spring (or so it seems) there are floods in the Midwest due to snow melt from the Rockies coming down the Mississippi system. How about building canals to move some of that water to the Southwest? Or repurposing that controversial oil pipeline?
3
That water is needed to move sediment critical to wetlands in the Gulf, that protect the coast from storm surges.
5
The basic problem is over-population in a semi-arid zone of the continent. And it is compounded by that same population using water like drunken sailors....from golf courses to water parks to industrial scale farming,etc...they conduct their lives as if water was of no consequence. They're too insular...far too removed from the impact of the abuses they instigate. So by the time they realize the extent of the impact it'll be far too late to do anything other than...move. Wonder how Northeasterners, who are having right now the opposite problem, are gonna feel about an influx of reverse migrants?
So it goes I suppose...
Highlow
American Net'Zen
So it goes I suppose...
Highlow
American Net'Zen
15
Anyone who visits Arizona or Texas regularly can see how low all the lakes are from the air, yet It seems every time I visit Phoenix there are more golf courses, more houses with irrigated lawns, more pools, it's crazy. Has anyone told them there's a drought?
22
I am a resident of the Phoenix area and what you claim simply is not true. Our per capita water use has gone down by 30 percent plus. Irrigated turf in single family residential areas is way down. Even golf is losing popularity.
2
Wimberley is the single most-beautiful town I have ever visited. One summer evening while staying at a small roadside inn overlooking the town, I went for a run along the river. Halfway in I noticed a family (mom, grandma, and two kids) sitting in their back yard next to the water. They invited me over for a glass of tea and to dip my feet into the water in peaceful shade. Can you imagine? Invite a complete stranger into your back yard? Who does that anymore? Idyllic.
I hope to go back someday. Maybe I'll stay a little (a lot) longer. In the meantime, I hope you can keep Austin and SA from draining that water and dessicating Wimberley's beauty.
I hope to go back someday. Maybe I'll stay a little (a lot) longer. In the meantime, I hope you can keep Austin and SA from draining that water and dessicating Wimberley's beauty.
8
The glutton genie has been let out of the bottle in all of America and water consumption is part of the trend. Looking at water in California, huge amounts are exported via agricultural products. Those agricultural products generate perhaps a a billion dollars in profit and wages for the farmers and food processors and workers involved. This is in an economy that is about 1.8 trillion in size. For the princely sum of, say, $25 per person, Californians can simply give all those people their profit and wages without them going to the trouble of growing all those nuts and alfalfa for export and make available perhaps 25% of the state's water for other uses.
Articles like these point out that business as usual is a failing business. Yet changes can be made that effect relatively few people that will solve the problem. The difficulty is the political lift necessary to get there. The people have the votes, but the growers have the money. Who wins today? Money.
Articles like these point out that business as usual is a failing business. Yet changes can be made that effect relatively few people that will solve the problem. The difficulty is the political lift necessary to get there. The people have the votes, but the growers have the money. Who wins today? Money.
11
While the article notes that desalinating water is an expensive process, I believe this will ultimately be required on a large scale to deal with this problem. Cities like El Paso, Texas are already desalinating brackish water from acquifers. Hopefully, this problem will lead to cheaper more efficient methods for desalinating water and an extensive pipeline system from the west coast to places inland. We are not going to stop people moving to the West, but Western states, counties, and cities should start limiting the amount of water used by individuals and businesses.
3
Desalinating water would be a lot less expensive if nuclear power plants didn't have to spend a billion dollars before the thing is even built just to get rid of the nuisance law suits that the have to defend against.
2
We drove through the Central California agricultural area last summer. There were signs posted everywhere beside the now dead fields blaming the government for the lack of water and urging people to write their congressmen. Miles of devastated fields. But then we drove into Bakersfield. Justy outside of the city, we saw crops being sprayed (not irrigated even) at 4:00 and later in the hot afternoon. Then we entered the town where we saw an amazing number of new subdivisions, all of the ones we saw with grassy parks and lawns, and of course, artificial lakes. When we asked how they could do this when their neighbors were losing their crops, most simply shurgged. We also read Bakersfield has no water meters so these people don't even know how much water they are usiing.
Still we hear how California is cracking down on water usage. No lawns ought to be the first order of the day with water meters (which it was claimed were too expensive).
Still we hear how California is cracking down on water usage. No lawns ought to be the first order of the day with water meters (which it was claimed were too expensive).
39
EXACTLY! There's a real story going on in the Central Valleys of California, and it has to do with money and power of Big Ag. No water meters indeed! It true and it's time we start reading about this story in the New York Times. I live in the desert as people always have, and we have our issues to be sure. But our water is metered for heaven's sake.
3
Oh come on now, I see every golf course I go buy with lush green grass and sprinklers running for hours. I see every up scale homes using water for their lush green yards. History wonders what happened to all those lost cities around the world. Most ran out of water.
18
Your writer left out one very important fact. Drillers would not be able to tap aquifers and take water indiscriminately if it were not for a Texas Supreme Court Decision in the late 1950s, Pecos County Water Control District #1 vs. Clayton Williams et al, that established the right for a landowner to pump as much water as he wished, even if it dries up his neighbors well. This decision allowed Clayton Williams, Sr. (father of the former Texas gubernatorial candidate) to dry up Comanche Springs in Fort Stockton. A sense of how we got to this insane policy is missing from this piece. You can do better.
62
"Water... water everywhere and not a drop to drink". " The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
Although the Earth's surface is 70% covered by water, only 3% of the planet's water is fresh water. And nearly 70% of that fresh water is frozen with 90% of that in Antarctica. There is no major land mass at the Arctic. By either divine providence or natural order the Southwestern part of the United States is supposed to be all or semi-desert.
About a billion human beings lack access to clean fresh drinking water. Another billion persons do not have sanitary sewer and waste disposal.
Too bad that the tensions being produced in Texas over the lingering drought are under the "guidance" of the ignorant intemperate misled politically partisan tomfoolery of the likes of Cruz, Perry, Abbott, Cornyn, Gohmert, Hensarling and Barton.
Although the Earth's surface is 70% covered by water, only 3% of the planet's water is fresh water. And nearly 70% of that fresh water is frozen with 90% of that in Antarctica. There is no major land mass at the Arctic. By either divine providence or natural order the Southwestern part of the United States is supposed to be all or semi-desert.
About a billion human beings lack access to clean fresh drinking water. Another billion persons do not have sanitary sewer and waste disposal.
Too bad that the tensions being produced in Texas over the lingering drought are under the "guidance" of the ignorant intemperate misled politically partisan tomfoolery of the likes of Cruz, Perry, Abbott, Cornyn, Gohmert, Hensarling and Barton.
30
Interesting that the comments are overwhelmingly from people who do not live in the Southwest, but seem to know exactly what to do.
5
That's perhaps we have found the balance between use and replenishment.
Where I live in the east, fresh water is a yearly issue that has to be dealt with, and sensible, effective conservation has been the way that the effects of water shortage have been minimized.
Where I live in the east, fresh water is a yearly issue that has to be dealt with, and sensible, effective conservation has been the way that the effects of water shortage have been minimized.
4
Why should that surprise you? The people living in the Southwest are the cause the problem.
8
David,
There is too much humanity where there are not the conditions to maintain said humanity. The answer is simple but it might be hard for one with a vested interest to see it - reduce unsustainable populations through migration or let nature take it's course and slowly dry them out! In the end there will only be as many people as can be supported by the water of the region.
There is too much humanity where there are not the conditions to maintain said humanity. The answer is simple but it might be hard for one with a vested interest to see it - reduce unsustainable populations through migration or let nature take it's course and slowly dry them out! In the end there will only be as many people as can be supported by the water of the region.
4
The GOP administration in Florida banned the use of the terms "climate change" and "global warming." Will the GOP administration in Texas ban the word "drought?"
32
Time for Texas Gov. Rick "Oops" Perry to do another "Days of Prayers for Rain" like he did in 2011.
By the way - it didn't work.
By the way - it didn't work.
7
Some things never change. General Philip Sheridan:“If I owned Texas and Hell, I would rent out Texas and live in Hell.” And I agree with the general 110%.
"The American Southwest is undergoing long-term climate change."
The vast majority of humans, even educated one, can see no farther than 20 meter in front of them (most Americans don't even know how far that is) and most can understand nothing that did not, or will not happen a few days in the past, or in the future, respectively.
For most parts, we humans are like sheep who have learned to build supercomputer and drive cars and fly planes. But we are still mostly just glorified sheep. When Jesus used the sheep as a metaphor to describe righteous godly behavior, he knew his audience well.
"The American Southwest is undergoing long-term climate change."
The vast majority of humans, even educated one, can see no farther than 20 meter in front of them (most Americans don't even know how far that is) and most can understand nothing that did not, or will not happen a few days in the past, or in the future, respectively.
For most parts, we humans are like sheep who have learned to build supercomputer and drive cars and fly planes. But we are still mostly just glorified sheep. When Jesus used the sheep as a metaphor to describe righteous godly behavior, he knew his audience well.
15
A shallow piece. Didn't mention California's use of Colorado River, nor different conservation practices in Southwestern cities. Tucson leads; Phoenix and Las Vegas lag. The elephant in the room is the looming declaration of water shortage on the Colorado. Probably within 2 years. The piece makes it sound as if Virga is a new thing. Nope. It's always been. And, it's beautiful in late afternoon sun.
7
As global warming intensifies, the northern tier of states will be pressured to supply water from our great watersheds to the arid southerly regions. The pressures around present deliveries now will pale in comparison to the corporate monied interests probable success in building gigantic pipelines to accomplish provision.
Any leakages along these massive aqueducts pushing life southward will, rather than the present life threatening oil spills, become welcomed oases to the drought ravaged inhabitants remaining in the empty landscapes.
This scenario will not play well to those of us in God's Country.
Any leakages along these massive aqueducts pushing life southward will, rather than the present life threatening oil spills, become welcomed oases to the drought ravaged inhabitants remaining in the empty landscapes.
This scenario will not play well to those of us in God's Country.
5
So we drain the Great Lakes, causing a push of the damage of overpopulation northwards, where the winters and natural grass have worked to minimize the water usage. There are times when there are watering bans even where water isn't too far away.
To think of piping northern water to those in the SW who took their northern habits with them is unthinkable, even if doable.
To think of piping northern water to those in the SW who took their northern habits with them is unthinkable, even if doable.
11
Take a look at any even 15 year old environmental textbook and every bit of this was predicted. We have allowed this country to be taken over and run by politicians who only see short term...to the next election....and have neither ther will or desire to make choices that will safeguard our future.
I see it it as a matter of two key changes we must make to our political system. Term limits for all elected officials and getting corporate money out of politics. Until both of these happen our elected officials will continue to make bad decisions for the long term health of our country.
I see it it as a matter of two key changes we must make to our political system. Term limits for all elected officials and getting corporate money out of politics. Until both of these happen our elected officials will continue to make bad decisions for the long term health of our country.
14
The American Southwest is undergoing long-term climate change. Rainfall in the region is generally decreasing, but the most critical change is the reduction of snow cover in the mountains throughout the region. Much of the agricultural and other users of water depend on the gradual melt of snow to provide water during the warm season, when rainfall is inadequate for growing crops and watering pasture lands. California is the state most severely affected by the trend toward warmer and drier conditions, but so some extent all the states eastward to Colorado and Texas and northward to Washington and Montana are affected.
The 2014-15 winter (Dec-Feb) was the warmest on record at many locations in California, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, and Arizona. In Oregon, Crater Lake has the lowest snowfall on record, and 45 percent of locations where snow depth is routinely measured have no snow at all. The situation is even more dire in California, where severe water restrictions are in the offing. Is this a result of long-term global warming, or just a decadal fluctuation that will be reversed? Time will tell, but it's becoming increasingly likely that the American Southwest has become a victim of global warming.
The 2014-15 winter (Dec-Feb) was the warmest on record at many locations in California, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, and Arizona. In Oregon, Crater Lake has the lowest snowfall on record, and 45 percent of locations where snow depth is routinely measured have no snow at all. The situation is even more dire in California, where severe water restrictions are in the offing. Is this a result of long-term global warming, or just a decadal fluctuation that will be reversed? Time will tell, but it's becoming increasingly likely that the American Southwest has become a victim of global warming.
78
You're in for megadroughts even as the anti-science idiots proliferate and the motto of Texas become "Drill, baby, drill, drain the aquifers."
17
A joke in Phoenix, where I spend half my time, is people who say "we love the desert!" and then landscape their homes to look like the Midwest. In my neighborhood, which has two grassy parks, any mention of replacing some of the grass with native plants results in screaming matches. People need to wake up to the reality of drought and take conservation measures.
21
the author neglected to mention Governor Rick Perry's call for Texans to gather and pray for rain. I believe only Christians were invited, no invoking Allah, Buddha, Krishna. Not sure if they excluded certain denominations.
Shockingly, the governor's strategy didn't alleviate the drought.
Maybe they should have had the Indians do rain dances, and leave Jesus out of the equation.
and this guy qualified for entry into the Republican clown car (well now it's been enlarged into a stretch limo) for presidential candidates.
Shockingly, the governor's strategy didn't alleviate the drought.
Maybe they should have had the Indians do rain dances, and leave Jesus out of the equation.
and this guy qualified for entry into the Republican clown car (well now it's been enlarged into a stretch limo) for presidential candidates.
29
You should assume that agriculture will basically be banned in the Southwest and the West Coast, and figure out where the replacement crops will come from to feed the growing population. Water-thirsty crops like cotton will disappear all over the world. When the snow disappears from the Sierras there will also be little drinking and washing water for SF, LA and all points in between. Arizona will be like Saudi Arabia and California will be like Arizona. Social strife will be high as the water disappears. Your rulers will continue to rule and will have plenty of water; your water, what is left of it, will be delivered to those in favor while you are once again on the outside looking in. None of this has anything to do with the numerous increases in petty and income taxes that will be visited upon you as the years pass, while the tax structure continues to favor old-money and capital and you earned-income slaves are milked.
12
You say that the average American uses 100 gallons of water per day, but that is ignoring the heaviest usage:
"But it takes more than 1,000 gallons of water a day per person to produce the food (and drinks) in the average U.S. diet"
"1 pound of beef requires 1,799 gallons of water"
"1 pound of soybeans requires 216 gallons of water"
http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-gallons-of-water-to-make-a-b...
Eat plants. Problem solved.
"But it takes more than 1,000 gallons of water a day per person to produce the food (and drinks) in the average U.S. diet"
"1 pound of beef requires 1,799 gallons of water"
"1 pound of soybeans requires 216 gallons of water"
http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-gallons-of-water-to-make-a-b...
Eat plants. Problem solved.
7
Eat and drink only what you personally grow. No trips to the market. That solves the problem.
2
The Southwest is a beautiful place (I lived in New Mexico for a number of years), but it cannot sustain this much population or economic activity. Engineering can compensate only so much. And with climate change aggravating the situation even more, there is sure to be a reckoning in the not-too-distant future.
4
Keep plantin' those lawns and see where it gets you!!!
5
You mean Rick Perry's prayer meeting in a football stadium wasn't a permanent solution to the Texas drought problem? Maybe he needs to stage another one.
Then again, what happens to the waste water from fracking? Maybe Texans could learn to develop a taste for that.
Then again, what happens to the waste water from fracking? Maybe Texans could learn to develop a taste for that.
13
It would be comforting to imagine that the southwesterners would come to their senses and address the problems of over-population and profligacy.( Some people will alternatively find comfort in Santa Claus of the Eater Bunny).
It is more likely, I fear, that they will look ravenously at our Great Lakes. Prompted by our corporate government, they might then decide to move the water rather than themselves. If that happens, I pray that our leaders here will be ready to provoke the greatest constitutional crisis since the Civil War.
It is more likely, I fear, that they will look ravenously at our Great Lakes. Prompted by our corporate government, they might then decide to move the water rather than themselves. If that happens, I pray that our leaders here will be ready to provoke the greatest constitutional crisis since the Civil War.
7
There is no logical reason for Las Vegas (The Mistake By The Lake) to exist. Yet they continue to use much more water than they have, and are going to great lengths to create another Owens Valley situation in Northern Nevada. It appears that, like our Congress, children are now in charge, and seem incapable of making decisions that are thoughtful and will benefit the greater good.
12
These "water wars" are nothing new. I grew up in Southern California a long time ago, and have lived there several times since. When it comes to water, there is, simply, not enough. The number of "water needlers" keeps growing, but the simply of water does not. I think nature will be the only solution....and we cannot control that. Tough times ahead.......
8
Solar thermal desalination is the answer.
1
Droughts will come and go, as the author notes. Even CO2 induced climate change may not be much of a factor. After all there was major climate change around 1200 that I don't think anyone attributes to increasing CO2.
What has changed is population. Air conditioning made living in the desert southwest tolerable and the population has grown faster than the country as a whole. Without addressing the population issue, everything else is just a waste of time and effort.
What has changed is population. Air conditioning made living in the desert southwest tolerable and the population has grown faster than the country as a whole. Without addressing the population issue, everything else is just a waste of time and effort.
7
People continue to have lawns that require water. There is grand talk of three new golf courses around austin. People are just plain stupid. ex gov goodhair claims it is a miracle.
8
Lack of water, rainforest vanishing, ocean fish depleted, pollution, urban sprawl. The 800 pound gorilla in the room is the simple fact that there are too many people on this planet. Until population is stabilized or hopefully declines, the problems will only get worse.
32
Once upon a time limiting population growth was part and parcel of the environmentalist's dogma. At some point it was shouted down as un-PC so the issue was dropped. Mores the pity!
Now, without pressing for ZPG, environmentalists can at best hope for a one-step-forward-two-steps-back scenario to play itself out. And here, at a point in history where raising worldwide living standards has become a priority of the industrialized world!!
Now, without pressing for ZPG, environmentalists can at best hope for a one-step-forward-two-steps-back scenario to play itself out. And here, at a point in history where raising worldwide living standards has become a priority of the industrialized world!!
4
As cruel as this may sound when Texas says that they never actually became a part of this nation, maybe the time has come to let them deal with this drought on their own. Let them pay for it and the repairs to creeks rivers and lakes or are they too cheap to use all of that Oil Money to fix their own states problems!
12
Really? Last time I checked, Colorado had lots of oil and not much water. People who live in glass houses . . .
2
The Southwest has called out to all of us for generations. The landscape is magical, the weather superb. People want to live here and have come in huge numbers. We will figure it out or move on.
9
Move on to where? The Southwest does not exist in a vacuum...
1
Or die out.
1
Move on to where? The Southwest is not alone...
1
We will eventually either have to reduce population growth or perfect ocean water desalination techniques.
1
The widespread adoption of air conditioning triggered a mass migration of people from northern climes to Texas, Arizona, and Nevada, Maybe lack of water will stop or even reverse it.
9
"...desalinating water from the Pacific Ocean."
Desalination uses an order of magnitude more energy than any other method of obtaining water. If they are used at any kind of scale, and with existing technology, desalination plants are only going to help drive global warming through the roof, resulting in worse droughts, with more need for desalination...
We need to go back to an 1850s economy/population.
Desalination uses an order of magnitude more energy than any other method of obtaining water. If they are used at any kind of scale, and with existing technology, desalination plants are only going to help drive global warming through the roof, resulting in worse droughts, with more need for desalination...
We need to go back to an 1850s economy/population.
9
People are living where they should not be living. That's the American way. Ignore nature's laws to your own peril. But don't go crying to the federal government and the taxpayers to bail you out when drought threatens your water supply or forest fires threaten your home. You made a choice, now pay the price. The rest of us are tired of hearing you complain and demand help for what amounts to your own bad life decisions.
11
I suppose I should be living in White Plains.
2
White Plains is far too crowded, and the whole New York City area is looking for more water. Might I suggest Michigan? It is much less crowded than New York City and it is nearly surrounded by water.
3
Perhaps we should start growing crops in the southwest which do not require so much water. Give up rice and cotton. We should also institute drip irrigation as the Israelis do. We might look into taxing golf courses. Big Agriculture has gotten fat on government subsidized water.
7
Don't worry, perhaps Texans can evolve to drink, bathe, and grow crops in crude oil -- if only they believed in evolution!
4
And they keep electing tea partiers who don't believe in any type of planning. God will take care of them.
14
I'd be interested to know what the agricultural practices are by and large throughout Texas, and what changes could be made aimed at water conservation. Unless I've heard incorrectly, agriculture is the number one consumer of water in America. Practices such as no-till farming (there was an article on it in the Times two or three days ago) and mob grazing of cattle have been known to improve soil and conserve water. Perhaps these can offer at least a partial solution.
2
Maybe unlimited immigration,even though it's beneficial to Democrat politicians,isn't a positive for the country.
13
Yup. Those darn immigrants are the ones building mega casinos in Vegas sucking up all the water.
Right.
Right.
16
Do you really believe that illegal immigrants are the majority of people who have driven the population increases in the growing cities of the southwest? Really?
Incredible.
Incredible.
4
First law of water- Water flows uphill towards money.
139
Great article that highlights the inevitable as my geologist father said from the big drought in the '40s-50s...west Texas where I lived the edge of the desert, the next big play will be water: here we are. Golf courses, lawns like those in green England/New England or places where rain a regular occurrence through centuries, not viable here in Texas, or many places throughout the southwest. Hard to believe that people ignore Dust Bowl days, or "the time it never rained," as Elmer Kelton called the earlier drought, or water shortages in California and elsewhere and continue w/practices that are foolish and more.
21
Not to discount Texas' water problems, but no mention was made of the Salton Sea drying up and the ecological disaster that will result to humans and birds. San Diego and Palm Springs recently cut a political deal to divert even more water away from the Salton Sea, which will make it dry up even more.
These water district commissioners should be ashamed of themselves for such parochial interests - to water golf courses - while residents around the Salton Sea experience more asthma and millions of birds will have no place to feed and rest on their way north and south each year.
These water district commissioners should be ashamed of themselves for such parochial interests - to water golf courses - while residents around the Salton Sea experience more asthma and millions of birds will have no place to feed and rest on their way north and south each year.
25
The Salton sea is nothing more than an agricultural waste dump for the drain water of the Imperial valley farming industry. Its also the terminus of Mexicali's untreated sewer system via the the New River which is a sewer canal that flows under interstate 8 on its way to the "sea". Lets remember the Salton Sea was created by the Imperial valley farmers who, in an attempt to cut an irrigation canal from the Colorado river, were overwhelmed by said river during a Spring flood in the early 20th century. The river cut a new course through the desert and began filling the the desert depression which was called the Salton sink. The whole system is an artificial artifact of man.
Of course, the Salton Sea was a dry lake bed until 110 years ago when canal builders made a little mistake.
1
The Salton Sea was (accidentally) man made in 1905. Just sayin'.
1
How many people for how long and in what life style? Only three variables exist and yet we are confused and confounded by the reality of the statement.
14
We live in Kyle, in Plum Creek, a New Urbanist, environmentally aware community that dates from the '90s. The homeowners'association emphasizes water conservation, encouraging xeriscaping of our relatively small yards, allowing rain barrels, and providing a list of drought-tolerant native plants from which to choose landscaping options. Local water use restrictions and rebates on water-conserving household devices, as well as the cost of water, help keep the issue in the forefront.
However, the ruling party at all levels in Texas is regulation-averse and corporation-friendly. Not only is there no coverage by a water district in the drilling area; the problem is compounded by the rule of capture, which allows oil, gas, and groundwater to be pumped out from under a landowner by the owner of a neighboring property--in this case, the drilling company. Developments are popping up like mushrooms in every pasture here, seemingly without regard to the enormous amounts of water that will be required, and the folks in Wimberly and other towns west of I35 will have their water schlucked right out from under them, also draining the surface water that springs from the Trinity and other aquifers. Long-term planning and regulation will be required to keep short-term avarice not just from spoiling the natural beauty of the Hill Country--but making it uninhabitable.
However, the ruling party at all levels in Texas is regulation-averse and corporation-friendly. Not only is there no coverage by a water district in the drilling area; the problem is compounded by the rule of capture, which allows oil, gas, and groundwater to be pumped out from under a landowner by the owner of a neighboring property--in this case, the drilling company. Developments are popping up like mushrooms in every pasture here, seemingly without regard to the enormous amounts of water that will be required, and the folks in Wimberly and other towns west of I35 will have their water schlucked right out from under them, also draining the surface water that springs from the Trinity and other aquifers. Long-term planning and regulation will be required to keep short-term avarice not just from spoiling the natural beauty of the Hill Country--but making it uninhabitable.
30
Climate change will bring a change to the G.O.P. : they'll begin to modify their ideas about individual rights trumping the rights of society. Future generations will look at the folly of the G.O.P. statements in the Congressional record denying climate change as we do reading the statements about slavery in the 1850's. Things are going to get bad, folks, and I have confidence my G.O.P. friends will soon wake up and smell the coffee ... if they have enough water to make it, LOL.
8
This is typical human need for survival. It's comical to watch humans fight over a shared resource because in the end and as history proves Mother Nature will come out on top.
8
I spend time in California and have numerous stories about people whose attitude to the drought and water consumption is simple: I pay for it so i'll use what I like.
They have no consideration for others or the future of the water supply. That it seems is somebody else's problem. There was almost a fight in a gym I frequent when somebody asked one of these inconsiderates to not leave the tap running while he shaved. You would have thought his human rights were being taken away. If Americans in drought areas are not educated about the problems they cause without thinking it will not change and disaster looms.
They have no consideration for others or the future of the water supply. That it seems is somebody else's problem. There was almost a fight in a gym I frequent when somebody asked one of these inconsiderates to not leave the tap running while he shaved. You would have thought his human rights were being taken away. If Americans in drought areas are not educated about the problems they cause without thinking it will not change and disaster looms.
44
In a Hill Country church a few years ago, I was scolded by a fellow parishioner at coffee hour for constantly closing the door to the outside after people who came and went without closing it on a typical Texas summer midday. Of course the air conditioner was running full blast. I pointed out that we were wasting resources and costing the church money, and opined that we shouldn't do this at home, either. The reply was that the door was open for the convenience of the congregants, and that moreover, this parishioner would do what she durn well liked at home because she had the money and could pay for it. So much for pledges to the church, right then and there. The philosophy of conspicuous consumption and mindless waste in our country applies not just to water, but also to other forms of energy (78 in winter, 68 in summer, anyone?) and to food and other consumables.
128
T. Boone Pickens divested and/or restricted his oil lease portfolio in the early 1990's and started gathering up water rights. He said at the time water will in the near future be more valuable than oil. Makes more sense all the time - we can restrict driving and other wasteful oil consumption, but we have to drink water and grow food. Yes, we are wasteful with water, but cannot eliminate use. Mr. Pickens was very rich for very good reasons - being prescient and matter-of-fact smart goes a long way in being successful.
6
Water "rights" such as those purchased by Pickens and the Bushes will be meaningless when push comes to shove. Their "rights" to a resource essential to life will simply be taken from them.
3
We can live without OIL yet we cannot Live without Clean Water!
Maybe we should work out a deal with the Canadians concerning Keystone - yeah, we'll build the oil pipeline to Houston, but you have to supply us with fresh water for a canal to Texas (or the Colorado River). Might as well get something more valuable than oil out of this deal....
3
"All you need is water" john lennon
1
Fascinating article and great history lesson. Thank you Mr. Parker.
Here along the shores of the Great Lakes we are subject to ferocious storms and extreme temperatures. Many of our once gleaming cities are now called "The Rust Belt". But one resource we have in abundance is fresh water. The Great Lakes comprise 84% of North America's fresh water and we need to protect this most precious resource. Last summer the residents of Toledo, Ohio couldn't drink their tap water after it became polluted with toxic algae blooms. Sen. Sherrod Brown recently introduced a bill to protect the lakes. Let us hope that even in today's polarized political environment Congress can pass a law to protect one of North America's greatest resources.
Here along the shores of the Great Lakes we are subject to ferocious storms and extreme temperatures. Many of our once gleaming cities are now called "The Rust Belt". But one resource we have in abundance is fresh water. The Great Lakes comprise 84% of North America's fresh water and we need to protect this most precious resource. Last summer the residents of Toledo, Ohio couldn't drink their tap water after it became polluted with toxic algae blooms. Sen. Sherrod Brown recently introduced a bill to protect the lakes. Let us hope that even in today's polarized political environment Congress can pass a law to protect one of North America's greatest resources.
19
remove all golf courses from that part of the nation as they serve not a single purpose and just waste water and room
33
AGREED!
2
Evidently it's not practical to send the East Coast's excess--those piles of snow you've had to contend with in recent weeks--across the country to parched California. (And I'll be impressed with modern technology when somebody figures a way to do just that. Everybody wins!) So how about splitting the difference and shipping some to Texas? If it were oil, there are people who would do it in a New York minute. Well, water's about to become as valuable and a lot scarcer.
5
The majority of freshwater that is consumed -70%- is consumed by animals. For example, it takes 660 gallons of water to produce a single hamburger. Any serious discussion of drought requires that we mention animal agriculture.
We don't have a water problem as much as we have a cattle problem.
We don't have a water problem as much as we have a cattle problem.
126
Whenever I mention this people get really, really upset but the most environmentally friendly thing you can do is decrease your meat intake or cut it out all together!
5
The "Great American Desert" was removed from maps of the North American continent two generations ago - no doubt, because the great brown oval noted in the Southwest of the United States was not conducive to land development, and the great river dams of the West would turn the great brown oval green.
The "Great American Desert" is sill there, though.
The "Great American Desert" is sill there, though.
4
My home is a mere 15 miles from Wimberley and in spite of the 5-year drought, I have plenty of water. How? My home and property depend entirely, 100%, on rainwater which flows from the roof of my house and garage through pipes into two storage cisterns and then is purified before flowing into the house. But what about the drought, you might ask. Every inch of rain produces 550 gallons of water for every 1000 sq. ft. of rooftop collection. My combined house and garage rooftop measure approximately 2,000 sq. ft., meaning one inch of rain yields 1,100 gallons. With careful daily water management, I use 25 gallons/day per person rather than the national average of 100 gallons. Moreover, on the three occasions when I have run out of water in the last nine years, I call a water purveyor who delivers 2,000 gallons by truck into the cisterns at a cost of $92 -- $85 for the truck and driver, $7 for the water. Until water is more expensive, we as consumers will never conserve it. But to look for other sources, rainwater is clearly a cheaper answer than desalination and offers personal control of one's water supply which for many American homeowners aligns with a strain of our national ethos.
35
Traditional values and economic dogma prohibit real consideration of the only effective solution: stopping human population growth and then reducing the actual size of the human population.
17
Finally, the crux of the issue.
6
Water problem, what water problem? Drive across Texas (in a big gas guzzler, of course) and what you will see are huge, green lawns of water-hungry non-native grass and backyard swimming pools all throughout Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Fort Worth, Austin and every other city and town, from Waco to Wichita Falls.
15
Worth noting that most of the commenters live far, far away from the American Southwest but they all have the answer. This time of year a lot of their neighbors indulge in winter visiting to enjoy the desert. Unfortunately, many of them want to play golf on nice green courses and enjoy lushly planted resort areas. As long as the price of water is held artificially low, people will use all they can get. And too much of that goes to encourage the growth of the kind of plants that people like to see "back home" (green grass, leafy trees, rose bushes) in an attempt to recreate Iowa in the desert. And lots of fountains! Both here and in Las Vegas I've seen water running down the gutter from over-irrigation of parks and green belts. Until we have a rational regional water policy (not in my lifetime) there will be fights over water. Agriculture vs ranching vs tourism etc. Everyone wants priority. Just FYI, I have a lovely xeriscaped property with non-irrigated desert trees. The similarly non-irrigated desert wildflowers are currently in bloom. My household also uses far far less than the cited 100 gallons a day per person.
24
Just to mention it, I have a lawn - and the only water on it, ever, is whatever Mother Nature puts on it in the form of rain. I don't even own a sprinkler. I do, sometimes, water a small flower garden with Miracle-Gro; but generally, again, I depend on rain.
3
As New York plans to use the water from Lake Champlain and the Hudson River. Texas and the South West don't have the option of tapping into near by waterways. Washington, Oregon and Louisiana seem to have a surplus of water. Can water be collected and distributed from those places? Or from the Great Lakes and Canada? What's being planned? Lets not forget the politics involved in large civil projects. And ecologist.
1
Dont even think it, pardner. Oregon and Washington are experiencing one of its driest winters on record. What little snow we have in our mountains are melting fast. We will manage our own resources, you folks need to manage yours.
7
Instead of considering the redistribution of water from other areas, how about learning how to conserve and do more with less? This applies to Texas as much as it does to other drought-stricken and drought-prone areas like CA, AZ, NM & NV.
12
This sounds very familiar. Look at how Los Angeles tapped the water sources of the Owens Valley in the 1920's and 1930's.
8
"Maybe engineering will, indeed, save us."
How do we engineer our way out of the stupid short sighted greed of the 1% and the Government they control? Greed is stupid and you can't fix stupid. So our only option is to take our government back from the Rich an reinstall Democracy.
Water projects, no matter how simple or complex, succeed or fail based on how the water is used, not how it is moved around. For who's benefit is the water moved and used? If it's for everybody: Do it. If it's just for the Rich Stupid : Don't do it.
How do we engineer our way out of the stupid short sighted greed of the 1% and the Government they control? Greed is stupid and you can't fix stupid. So our only option is to take our government back from the Rich an reinstall Democracy.
Water projects, no matter how simple or complex, succeed or fail based on how the water is used, not how it is moved around. For who's benefit is the water moved and used? If it's for everybody: Do it. If it's just for the Rich Stupid : Don't do it.
9
Waste of water is not a problem limited to (or caused exclusively by) the top 1% of the wealthy - just take a look around you: greed is everywhere, as is the zealous worship of "anti-regulation" as a religion.
7
Reality denying Americans moving in droves to drought affected regions of the US. Lemmings all. Soon to be worthless real estate. Climate change denying administrations in Florida and throughout the GOP. I'm finally getting a grasp on what American exceptionalism is, exceptionally stupid.
29
It's the height of human hubris to continue to think that we can squeeze blood from this stone. People were not meant to live in great numbers in these places, it's unsustainable and there will eventually be a price to be paid for all of this.
16
When we lived in Phoenix temporarily a couple of years ago, I was amazed at the artificial waterfalls and lakes and other "water features", along with acres of green lawns that exist in and around all the suburban housing developments. I would look around and say "but I thought this was a desert climate???" You don't see these water-wasting features in Albuquerque (and the city offers strong incentives for xeriscaping).
Some people who live in desert climates may need to be reminded of this fact.
Some people who live in desert climates may need to be reminded of this fact.
167
I am surprised that there is no mention of water conservation. Any new development should be required to conserve rain water, recycle grey water by changing plumbing in houses, change landscaping so it does not need too much water, disallow individual swimming pools, etc.
If people who want to move to an area behave responsibly, there would be far less anger against them.
After all, people don't just move on a whim; they move where the jobs are and often have no choice but to do so.
If people who want to move to an area behave responsibly, there would be far less anger against them.
After all, people don't just move on a whim; they move where the jobs are and often have no choice but to do so.
70
Just one more example of how capitalism works to the benefit of very few at the top.
The rest of us are free to become like the Anasazi - extinct.
The rest of us are free to become like the Anasazi - extinct.
16
In a few words and in Simple English: The fracker who extracts fossil fuel and the pumper intent on draining an aquifer just out of reach of the law guarantee worse crises more difficult to manage in the future.
The fracker and the pumper share a common blind spot, the inability to understand that renewable energy and more efficient use of water will ultimately be the only solutions.
Unless every column similar to this one is matched by a column on renewable energy technologies ordinarily unmentionable here or a column on paying the right price for water/better use efficiency then why read?
Of course if the US government comes to be run by people who neither believe in evolution or the "anthropocene" (the geologic period during which we, simply minded human beings make things worse, then it will be survival of the richest.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
The fracker and the pumper share a common blind spot, the inability to understand that renewable energy and more efficient use of water will ultimately be the only solutions.
Unless every column similar to this one is matched by a column on renewable energy technologies ordinarily unmentionable here or a column on paying the right price for water/better use efficiency then why read?
Of course if the US government comes to be run by people who neither believe in evolution or the "anthropocene" (the geologic period during which we, simply minded human beings make things worse, then it will be survival of the richest.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
11
When will the leaders of southwest municipalities realize that unending growth isn't sustainable? Planned growth should only be allowed when there are resources to sustain it. If there isn't enough water to support the population, while taking into account downstream needs - no growth.
8
San Antonio's massive water import project is designed to give the city "abundant water" -- which means lush green lawns in an arid region. Moderate conservation would make it unnecessary. SAWS has some conservation measures, none of them cutting-edge. Middle-class and poor people will be paying to expand the city's water capacity, so the rich can live well. As the writer notes, the rural people who will lose their water, community activists, and the Sierra Club all fought this, to no avail.
13
How are we going to change the attitude that the supply of water is infinite? It boggles the mind that we try to find new sources for water without massive, society-wide restraints on non-essential, trivial use. Which would we rather save, Las Vegas or our lives?
9
Welcome, Texans, to the Owens Valley in eastern California, a beautiful place destroyed by water thefts by the Los Angeles Water District in the last century. Maybe the next Chinatown will be filmed in Austin.
4
Texas embraces fracking, which creates millions of gallons of toxic water. It also rejects climate change, "job killing" regulations, evolution, etc. Perhaps Gov. Perry can add a rain dance to his prayer for rain. His nifty new glasses show that he is a true intellectual.
26
Yeah, this is what happens when you eliminate government and bring in corporations to run everything. No income taxes, though!
24
Sounds like Texans could use some critical thinking on this dilemma.
Oh, that's right, the Texas Republican Party wants to bar critical thinking in the schools.
Maybe Governor Rick Perry can rent out another stadium and hold another pray-for-rain vigil.
Good luck!
Oh, that's right, the Texas Republican Party wants to bar critical thinking in the schools.
Maybe Governor Rick Perry can rent out another stadium and hold another pray-for-rain vigil.
Good luck!
25
I think you mean Governor Greg Abbott. Perry is history.
1
The water wars will not only pit urban v rural, but county v county, and state v state. This is going to have enormous socio-economic impact. Texas whole-heartedly embraced fracking, which contaminates huge amounts of water, until they got thirsty.
13
Don't leave out the impact that fracking has on the water supply, it uses millions of gallons and it also pollutes millions more.
6
In our market system, shortages don't just create tensions, they drive change. It is responsive, even if reluctantly with bitter resistance.
There is much scope for change, and on both sides. Despite the tensions, change will come, and it will be a good thing.
In the country, there is much room to improve the health of the land in ways that also reduce water use. No-till agriculture and different varieties of forage are examples. There are many, and the great agricultural colleges are leading the way, as they have for 150 years of improvements in US agriculture.
In the city, total water use is in the range of 10% of the countryside, but there is still room for improvement. Many urban areas use much less water than in the US, with good quality of life. It ranges from replacing grass lawns to improved plumbing. Already many such changes have been made in some places here, and more can be.
The water shortage is not really "tensions." It is a responsive market economy, our way of life working as it should. People don't like to change, but they will when it is their money on the line.
There is much scope for change, and on both sides. Despite the tensions, change will come, and it will be a good thing.
In the country, there is much room to improve the health of the land in ways that also reduce water use. No-till agriculture and different varieties of forage are examples. There are many, and the great agricultural colleges are leading the way, as they have for 150 years of improvements in US agriculture.
In the city, total water use is in the range of 10% of the countryside, but there is still room for improvement. Many urban areas use much less water than in the US, with good quality of life. It ranges from replacing grass lawns to improved plumbing. Already many such changes have been made in some places here, and more can be.
The water shortage is not really "tensions." It is a responsive market economy, our way of life working as it should. People don't like to change, but they will when it is their money on the line.
8
Your assumption that change will be a good thing is unwarranted. Change, especially market driven change, could be very damaging to agriculture. Government driven change could favor special interests ahead of public good. While this article speaks broadly of the "Southwest," each state has its own system of water law and its own set of problems. In California much of the water is controlled by two big water "projects" - one state run the other federally run.
2
Pure dribble, the market of which you speak is not a free market. Suppose we're both sitting in a bathtub and I decide to drain my half, where does that leave you? You want your taxes to help pay for a 14th aircraft carrier and I think anything more than 8 is overkill. We live in a society where there is a common good that requires shared sacrifice which hardly ever is equitable. The folks in Hays county are no less important users of water than far away San Antonio.
2
The word you're looking for is drivel, not dribble.
1
Many Navajo people haul water for basic needs. I remember hauling water by water by wagon; nowadays my father hauls water by a pickup truck. We harvested rainwater that collected in hollowed rocks for washing clothes and wool (before using it for weaving).
Why is it so difficult to grasp the concept of 'running out of water,' yet they can grasp the meaning of 'running out of gas' so clearly?
Why is it so difficult to grasp the concept of 'running out of water,' yet they can grasp the meaning of 'running out of gas' so clearly?
330
It has been predicted that water will be to the coming century what oil was to this one and gold and diamonds were to the 19th - the stuff people would kill for.
5
With all the water problems Texas faces they still send conservative, non-science believing representatives to Washington to help the reactionary Republicans deny climate change. They deserve what they get but unfortunately we all will suffer from their educational, scientific, intellectual draught.
229
Texans need not worry. I'm sure Senator Inhofe will arrive in the nick of time with a truck-load of snowballs.
13
Return Texas to Mexico.
5
It might be the most expensive but I think desalination is the way to go. The Israelis have made great strides with this and we could work with them. Maybe get the cost down and have a big public works project building plants and water lines all along the Pacific and The Gulf of Mexico. Even if the water is not the purest it could be used for fracking which takes great amounts. And also irrigation. The fighting over water could become drastic and widespread because it is starting to happen already.
15
Combine desalination with nuclear power plants.
1
No need to ask the Israels, the Carribean has used this method for years, and the water is perfect. We don't need to use water for fracking, because fracking is part of the water problem.
1
Why would there be a need to desalinate water for use in fracking. Since there are so many chemicals used in the process, would the sea salt be an obstruction?
According to the geniuses of central California, all we have to do is elect Republicans and the rain will come:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4109/5083870593_8dbea7eeb6.jpg
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4109/5083870593_8dbea7eeb6.jpg
63
When California voted Republican there was enough water for the population.
The rise and the subsequent thriving of homo sapiens on the earth depended on one key element - intelligence. In groups, intelligence must be exercised through leadership. Decisions must be made judiciously in order to insure group survival, and this occurs when an organizational system exists and intelligence is brought to bear on key, critical situations. All available scientific knowledge about the subject under consideration must be found, evaluated, and a careful decision made.
But in Texas? You must be kidding.
But in Texas? You must be kidding.
111
What small things we do at home, while worthy, don't add up to much savings - too few people conserve, even when asked to. Yes, large scale changes need to be made at the municipal and industrial level, but more importantly, we cannot continue to reproduce ourselves at the going rate.
42
While a bit dated, reading The Cadillac Desert shows that this is not a new problem. I highly recommend it, not for comfort but for awareness.
28
Cadillac Desert is an excellent book, which ironically is sold at most tourist gift shops at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
I lived and worked at Grand Canyon for three years (2000-03) and these issues are not new. The South Rim at 7,000' does not have readily accesible ground water and receives its water by pipe from the North Rim at 8,000' .
Although there is a serious water shortage at South Rim, developers have strived for years to build a golf course and luxury homes there. Besides being an insult to the natural beauty of Grand Canyon, most private property owners between Williams 75 miles south and Tusayan-South Rim truck water to their property, there being no accesible groundwater.
As a side note, after the voters of Coconino County voted in 2000 to ban the proposed development atrocity at South Rim, the developers obtained an exemption from the bought Arizona legislature to incorporate tiny Tusayan, 7 miles south of the entrance to Grand Canyon and to bribe its way through the unsophisticatd and avaricious Tusayan government for approval of this monstrosity despite the negative impact and lack of water. This is crony capitalism- land scams Arizona style.
I lived and worked at Grand Canyon for three years (2000-03) and these issues are not new. The South Rim at 7,000' does not have readily accesible ground water and receives its water by pipe from the North Rim at 8,000' .
Although there is a serious water shortage at South Rim, developers have strived for years to build a golf course and luxury homes there. Besides being an insult to the natural beauty of Grand Canyon, most private property owners between Williams 75 miles south and Tusayan-South Rim truck water to their property, there being no accesible groundwater.
As a side note, after the voters of Coconino County voted in 2000 to ban the proposed development atrocity at South Rim, the developers obtained an exemption from the bought Arizona legislature to incorporate tiny Tusayan, 7 miles south of the entrance to Grand Canyon and to bribe its way through the unsophisticatd and avaricious Tusayan government for approval of this monstrosity despite the negative impact and lack of water. This is crony capitalism- land scams Arizona style.
10
I whole-heartedly endorse this recommendation. There's a second edition, but the original version is perfectly fine. Available used through abebooks.com. Sorry to endorse a business in a comment, but don't know any other way for people to obtain this book. Cadillac Desert by Marc Reisner, phenomenal book.
2
Actually lengthy droughts are quite normal for the American west. Has less to do with human-induced climate change. What's not normal, simply, is the demand for water from growing urbanization and the usual culprit, agriculture.
24
Specifically animal agriculture.
3
You are naive. This is the beginning of civic decay, and local and world wide struggles over water and eventually food.
Yes we have too many people, but the effects of climate change are coming faster than anyone predicted.
Why do climate deniers insist on putting their heads in the sand? So what if we (humans) choose to take action against climate change and are wrong?
The alternatives are far worse. What kind of world do you want to leave your children?
Yes we have too many people, but the effects of climate change are coming faster than anyone predicted.
Why do climate deniers insist on putting their heads in the sand? So what if we (humans) choose to take action against climate change and are wrong?
The alternatives are far worse. What kind of world do you want to leave your children?
109
@mwr: Droughts are cyclical, the author repeatedly says as much. What is different now is the human-induced/exacerbated global warming that magnifies and intensifies the impact of a particular drought cycle...increased temperatures along with reduced ability to generate even what little water that may occur during the drought period.
This is scientific fact, but does not demand brain surgery-level intelligence to understand.
This is scientific fact, but does not demand brain surgery-level intelligence to understand.
16
There is an obvious answer: move people and industry BACK TO THE RUST BELT where there is plenty of water.
110
We should build the impenetrable border fence the Republicans want ... somewhere north of Texas. It's time to return the lands wrongly taken from Mexico, now that Texans have had their way with them.
8
Or invest in transcontinental water pipelines instead of more oil pipelines. If it becomes cost-effective to move water from the oft-flooded Mississippi Basin to the arid West, it would seem to be a plausible scheme.
After all, California has for decades pumped water up the San Joaquin Valley and over the Tehachapi Mountains to Los Angeles.
After all, California has for decades pumped water up the San Joaquin Valley and over the Tehachapi Mountains to Los Angeles.
1
It would seem that the Southwest should ban all grasswatering, tree watering, etc, and let natural plant life take over. Farming, humans, animals need water, grass and an artificial environment don't. Similarly Las Vegas should not be running fountains all the time.
94
Good idea, but honestly I'd love to see us quit clearing beautiful wooded areas for "progress". Do we really need another box store, mega church, cookie cutter subdivision? I know we need jobs, but let's find a better way.
1
How about we ban the use of water for fracking instead?
6
Agree about the fountains but: 1. The 'natural' plant life of the SW is pretty much gone, moved out by the species' that replaced it when grazing & farming was done; 2. That fountain water is pretty much recycled over & over.
2
No mention of climate change? How curious that this situation as magnified over the last ten years.
23
Climate change is in there. Second to last paragraph.
1
" Maybe engineering will, indeed, save us. But can we overcome a megadrought? Scientists believe the megadroughts of the Medieval Era are likely to return to the South Plains and the Southwest soon — in this century, according to a recent NASA study. This time, though, the natural drought will be compounded by climate change — a hotter, drier atmosphere that evaporates rain before a drop strikes the ground."
Guess you didn't read the entire article.
Guess you didn't read the entire article.
1
Climate change is mentioned in the fourth and penultimate paragraphs.
3
These water grabs are nothing more than the "Let's kick the can down the road" approach our society has adopted for any number of problems. Need water? Drain the aquifers. Need sewers and streets and bridges? Fix the leaks as they occur and slap on a few patches. Schools and teachers? Recycle existing facilities and keep hiring cheap, ill-trained teachers. Raise taxes to pay for services only the government can provide? OMG, I need the money, not the cops and firefighters and teachers and military. Unsaid in these examples, as with many others, is "Let them figure out what to do 20 or 30 or 50 years from now (when we're not here to worry about)".
80
Didn't Governor Oops have a great big "prayer day" recently to fix all the drought problems? Prayer month, whatever.
3
Only in America. If we were not so beholden to our myths we would have a solution to this problem based on the common good. But our worship of capitalism and individualism preclude any long term solution based on science and the general welfare. Texas brags about its growth and wild west heritage and now cannot address a conflict between the two.
An adage I once heard applies here "the answer is money, what's the question?"
An adage I once heard applies here "the answer is money, what's the question?"
157
Say, do they frack for oil in Texas? That process uses hundreds and thousands of gallons of water which, contaminated with fracking chemicals, must then be processed somehow to clean it. How do they do that -- anywhere?
6
Great piece by Richard Parker on the Southwest's water wars. Drought. And will the drought cause the great cultures of today's Southwest to disappear as it did the ancient civilizations of the Southwest during the 1200s? Climate deniers, frackers stealing water from the aquifers, all are the thin edge of the water wars edge, already beginning in AZ, NV, CA, where people have no idea that quantities of water will no longer be coming out of their taps. And the idea of desalinizing the Pacific Ocean to provide for lawn-watering and irrigating the Southwestern's great rise in population is scary. The Pacific Ocean is filled with gyres of dead zones made up of plastic and trash - no support for sea or human life in those areas - we are not crying wolf, as the climate-deniers insist. Climate change is real and here now, and the deniers will be rasping out their denials while praying for drops to drink.
55
The water situation in the Colorado basin states is so complex that I could not begin to detail it in the space allocated here. The frightening thing is that Phoenix, with a metropolitan population of over 4 million situated in the mddle of a desert, has sufficient water allocated from the early 20th century Colorado River Compact to add another 4 million people assuming the Colorado water is accesible. This water is brought to.Phoenix by the 300 mile open air canal (CAP aquaduct) a giant multi- billion dollar boondogle which was finally built after decades of effort by Arizona's congressional.delegation.
Absent the Colorado River alotment (and the earlier SRP canals bringng water from resovoirs north of Phoenix) a sustainable population is around 50,000. The SRP dams were built for agriculture which still uses most of the available water. The wild card is Indian nation water rights. This was all brilliantly brought out in the classic Cadillac Desert mentioned in these comments.
Absent the Colorado River alotment (and the earlier SRP canals bringng water from resovoirs north of Phoenix) a sustainable population is around 50,000. The SRP dams were built for agriculture which still uses most of the available water. The wild card is Indian nation water rights. This was all brilliantly brought out in the classic Cadillac Desert mentioned in these comments.
2
There will be no solution to any of this until we start to acknowledge and deal with the fact that there are too many people on the planet. If we don't start getting serious about drastically reducing the birth rate, then wars over water and territory and food, and then ultimately climate change will be the end of us all. We're missing the big discussion.
3
I fully expect that someday a majority of the cities in the West will dry up and just blow away, visited mostly by tourists who like to see ruins. I decided this was the only possible outcome when I read that Vegas was allowing a developer to build a water park (in the desert!) and use fossilized water from the aquifer to run it. Anyplace that allow one person to waste their non-renewable resource so he can make a buck cannot last. Natural punishes stupidity.
458
Meanwhile, in Wisconsin, in the Dells where the river flows, there is a WATER park called, apparently without intended irony, The Kalahari.
3
And limit home swimming pools. Plenty of homes in the Southwest have pools. Except for the summertime, they are probably used infrequently by most homes and becomes more decorative than anything else.
Despite the water park (they're building a second one btw) and the hotel fountains the city does a fairly good job with water conservation. But people continue to move here so the water bill will continue to rise and Lake Mead will continue to become depleted.
Despite the water park (they're building a second one btw) and the hotel fountains the city does a fairly good job with water conservation. But people continue to move here so the water bill will continue to rise and Lake Mead will continue to become depleted.
4
If only nature could punish stupidity a little faster, so that we wouldn't all have to live with the eventual consequences of bone-headed development and land-use decisions being made today to continue to waste water...
8
While TX politicians argue about the existence of climate change so that their oil wells can continue pumping. Meanwhile… someone, somewhere is stocking up on water and when the virga comes this time those folks will be like the Saudi princes are today… My advice to my children: buy water futures!
14
Water futures? Why not water sources, or does that require labor?
Saying in Old West: "Whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting."
36
This should be credited to Mark Twain.
2
It sounds as though the water wars which erupted in California when the City of Los Angeles purchased water rights from a few landowners in the Owens Valley, and then pumped the valley dry, is about to be replayed in Texas. Rent the movie "Chinatown", or read the New York Times article from January 20,2015: Century Later, the ‘Chinatown’ Water Feud Ebbs:
"The war began in the early 1900s, when agents working for Los Angeles, posing as farmers or ranchers, bought up much of the valley in search of water to meet the needs of a metropolis that was rapidly growing — and wanted to grow more. The city began diverting water from the Owens River into aqueducts leading to Los Angeles in 1913. Within 10 years Owens Lake, which was fed by the river, went dry."
The First Law of Thermodynamics strikes again. There's only so much water on the planet, of which only a small percentage is drinkable by humans without desalination (or similar treatment). Water scarcity means desperation, and desperate people fight over the increasingly scarce resources they need to survive. This story is playing out over more and more of the world every day - and will reach your neighborhood sooner or later as well.
"The war began in the early 1900s, when agents working for Los Angeles, posing as farmers or ranchers, bought up much of the valley in search of water to meet the needs of a metropolis that was rapidly growing — and wanted to grow more. The city began diverting water from the Owens River into aqueducts leading to Los Angeles in 1913. Within 10 years Owens Lake, which was fed by the river, went dry."
The First Law of Thermodynamics strikes again. There's only so much water on the planet, of which only a small percentage is drinkable by humans without desalination (or similar treatment). Water scarcity means desperation, and desperate people fight over the increasingly scarce resources they need to survive. This story is playing out over more and more of the world every day - and will reach your neighborhood sooner or later as well.
110
"the great cultures of the American Southwest" ,an, talk about hurbris...
besides which...author forgot to mention the effects of fracking in Texas..
but this is only the begining -- by the 2020's expect wars all over the world to start being about water
if this is news to you -- you can start at
http://www.princeton.edu/~ina/images/infographics/water_big.jpg
reed it and weep -- but dont waste that water
besides which...author forgot to mention the effects of fracking in Texas..
but this is only the begining -- by the 2020's expect wars all over the world to start being about water
if this is news to you -- you can start at
http://www.princeton.edu/~ina/images/infographics/water_big.jpg
reed it and weep -- but dont waste that water
107
The origin of the Syrian war was ultimately in drought. Water wars are just beginning.
1
I live in Texas and have some familiarity with the particulars of this issue but I found this article confusing. Mr. Parker says "the race to engineer a new solution is underway" but everything I read was about the ongoing race to claim and drain aquifers etc. So how will "engineering, indeed, save us"? The real question is why are the developers or farmers/ranchers in ANY drought stricken area (including Arizona, Nevada and California, which are are in even worse shape) allowed to just siphon off groundwater as they please and continue building with no regard for reality?
276
Engineering is only part of the solution. The engineered solutions are eventually over-exploited.
Limited and contested resources, such as water resources, need stronger regulation.
In South Africa water resource management is a national matter. It appears to me that the powers of the federal government and the states and counties in the United States have the potential for conflict and less effective regulation.
Limited and contested resources, such as water resources, need stronger regulation.
In South Africa water resource management is a national matter. It appears to me that the powers of the federal government and the states and counties in the United States have the potential for conflict and less effective regulation.
19
TO Wessexmom
"Why are the developers or farmers/ranchers in ANY drought stricken area allowed to just siphon off groundwater as they please...?"
Is there a Senator or Congressman who will sponsor a bill to preserve our national water resources? A law that makes aquifers a national resource but NOT A COMMODITY? A law which cannot be undermined by a treaty such as the TransPacificPartnership would?
"Why are the developers or farmers/ranchers in ANY drought stricken area allowed to just siphon off groundwater as they please...?"
Is there a Senator or Congressman who will sponsor a bill to preserve our national water resources? A law that makes aquifers a national resource but NOT A COMMODITY? A law which cannot be undermined by a treaty such as the TransPacificPartnership would?
56
The rule of capture says that the landowner owns the groundwater beneth his property--and that he can withdraw it without regard for what happens to his neighbor's well. Me first, I got mine, too bad, so sad for you. A consequence of the American glorification and myth of the rugged individual.
17
The SouthWest is just a hint of what is to come for large parts of the US if not the world. We need to drastically reduce our water use from long daily showers to low water toilets to low evaporation methods in farming. How? Maybe government incentives or high water prices and new water zoning laws.
In case readers here did not know: the Bush family (after officially objecting to climate change concerns) in the meantime bought water rights on a huge parcel of land in Equador.
That shows how honest Bush was with the American people.
That also should show the last of us not to trust the 'professional' climate deniers.
In case readers here did not know: the Bush family (after officially objecting to climate change concerns) in the meantime bought water rights on a huge parcel of land in Equador.
That shows how honest Bush was with the American people.
That also should show the last of us not to trust the 'professional' climate deniers.
251
This is a new thing in the west (and in the US), but this is going on in the Middle East for over a thousand years. If you think that the Israeli war is over territories only, you are mistaking. Read up on the history of the region and you will find that more often than not, it is over water.
2
How about Government investment in sustainable agriculture and City Planning ?
If you use solar water heating and use the "Gray Water" from your shower to water your garden, taking a nice hot shower will help your tomatoes grow.
If you use solar water heating and use the "Gray Water" from your shower to water your garden, taking a nice hot shower will help your tomatoes grow.
If true, this needs to be reported loud and clear and exposed by the NYTimes as well as every other newspaper in the country.
1
Wouldn't it make more sense to grow the population where there is already an adequate water supply?
90
Just kicking the can down the road. It would make more sense to stop growing the population.
31
If you are talking about the Northeast most of us would prefer the droughts.
6
Sure, like Upstate NY. "Come up for the fresh abundant water! Don't forget to bring your job with you, we're fresh out."
32
"In Arizona, for example, 7.85 gallons of water are lost to evaporation per kWh consumed." - EPA
That's nearly eight gallons of water lost per dime of electricity on an Arizona homeowner's bill. Put another way, each old-style incandescent 60 watt light bulb installed in Arizona will squander 1,200 gallons of fresh water over its short lifespan. Installing an LED instead will save nearly 1,100 gallons over the same period (and pay for itself in just months!)