It’s surprising it’s taken this long.
The Colorado River has been shrinking for years. It’s all been a pretty massive mistake.
The federal government on Monday declared a water shortage on the Colorado River for the first time, triggering mandatory water consumption cuts for states in the Southwest, as climate change-fueled drought pushes the level in Lake Mead to unprecedented lows.
States in the Southwest include Arizona, where the population of Phoenix continues to grow at speed, which is ridiculous – criminally ridiculous. It’s too hot for human habitation, so air conditioning is everywhere, and air conditioning uses a lot of power. Also? Water. Phoenix shouldn’t exist, let alone be getting bigger and bigger.
Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the US by volume, has drained at an alarming rate this year. At around 1,067 feet above sea level and 35% full, the Colorado River reservoir is at its lowest since the lake was filled after the Hoover Dam was completed in the 1930s.
Lake Powell, which is also fed by the Colorado River and is the country’s second-largest reservoir, recently sank to a record low and is now 32% full.
This is not sustainable or desirable.
The significance of the reservoirs’ rapid decline cannot be overstated. The Colorado River supplies water to more than 40 million people living across seven US states and Mexico.
Lake Mead and Lake Powell provide a critical supply of drinking water, hydropower and irrigation for many communities across the region including rural farms and tribal nations.
No joke.
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6 responses to “Water disappearing”
“Phoenix” Arizona. Cute. Ironic.
When I moved to Phoenix I was conscious of every drop of water I used. Short showers, stopping the flow while I lathered, using the dishwasher instead of running water in the sink, etc. I didn’t observe that in other people. Most just took it for granted. And used the acne amount they used in the Midwestern states from which they came. In dry times on Central Avenue the ditches are overflowing from runoff.
It’s been very dry in Minnesota and the reservoirs are getting low. I just don’t feel like it’s important to water grass. Runoff.
Perhaps people need to think a bit further outside the square perhaps maybe.
As any chemistry student will tell you, all nitrates are highly soluble. Thus they only occur as natural ground deposits in very dry locations, eg ‘Chilean saltpetre’ from Chile.. But their commercial value made them worth mining, until ammonia synthesis using atmospheric nitrogen was invented. (The other gas required for the Haber Process is hydrogen, available most cheaply at present from natural gas wells; not an endless supply.)
Much of the southwest USA (and the world) has the two ingredients necessary for endless supply of solar-distilled fresh water: strong solar radiation, and a ready supply of sea water not too far away for pipeline supply.. Sea water could be laid on via plastic pipes to every dwelling, and fed into a solar still array installed on the roof. (That would also assist with thermal insulation in both summer and winter.)
A few well-publicised pilot schemes could do wonders.
https://solaqua.stores.yahoo.net/solwatdis1.html
So before long, the US is going to be dealing with millions of internal refugees, fleeing drought and depleted aquifers. Even if they could just take water from somewhere else (hello, Canada!), it still has to get there in usable volumes. Uninhabitable regions will just get bigger, and other places that might have been able to provide water in the past will no longer be able to spare it themselves. Lawns must be watered, you know.
[…] to home, Butterflies & Wheels notes that we’re running low on water. Culture Wars nothing, it’ll be Water Wars before you know […]
@4 Yes, we must have luxury golf courses in the middle of the desert, ffs. Insanity.