Water, the threat on the horizon

Water eh, in the UK we had to much this summer and in the US you had to little. While reading about the accelerated corn harvest something caught my eye. A lot was being said about water shortage and how it was affecting farming.

Looking further brought up some interesting snipets. www.epa.gov...

With water use in the United States increasing every year, many regions are starting to feel the pressure. In the last five years, nearly every region of the country has experienced water shortages. At least 36 states are anticipating local, regional, or statewide water shortages by 2013, even under non-drought conditions.

The following article www.marketoracle.co.uk... has some more interesting claims

In three leading grain producing states - Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas - the underground water table has dropped by more than 30 meters.

Ask the 94,000 people of San Angelo, Texas, who are running out of water. Fast.

The city -- once known as "the oasis" of dry west Texas -- now says it only has enough water supplies to last one more year. On Oct. 16, it will enforce its highest level of emergency measures to save its water supply.

Seeing as nearly all energy production in the US is thermal based a shortage of water/increased heat levels has already caused numerous shut-downs due to lack of cooling.

A massive amount of water is diverted for irrigation, taking water away from its natural path and depositing it in areas that have been modified for crop growth.

I tend to look to political/economic issues that garner unrest. Have I been looking to far. Will the upcoming, inevitable unrest be due to something more prosaic.

Water, without we are nothing.

Two pages that break down the 2005 fresh water study.

For thermoelectric use ga.water.usgs.gov...

Water for thermoelectric power is used in generating electricity with steam-driven turbine generators. In 2005, about 201,000 million gallons of water each day (Mgal/d) were used to produce electricity (excluding hydroelectric power). Surface water was the source for more than 99 percent of total thermoelectric-power withdrawals.

For irrigation use ga.water.usgs.gov...

For 2005, total irrigation withdrawals were about 128,000 million gallons per day (Mgal/d), or 144,000 thousand acre-feet per year. (All 2005 water use information is from the report Estimated use of water in the United States in 2005.) Irrigation withdrawals were 37 percent of total freshwater withdrawals and 62 percent of total freshwater withdrawals for all categories, when excluding thermoelectric power. Surface water accounted for 58 percent of the total irrigation withdrawals. About 61.1 million acres were irrigated in 2005

The next water study is being prepared on information gathered in 2010 but has been delayed and will be out in 2014.

Very Important stuff to think about. Here's a great film to watch re: water and what we are facing. It is just about 1 1/2 hours long but worth it for those interested.

reply to post by murch


any fracking fracking sites round them parts? just considering a possible part of the equation.
interesting post sandf
f.

I'm impressed, something truly important amidst 1,000 useless threads about Obama and Romney. Thanks for bringing this topic to light. People in the USA just don't understand how near the edge of a major water crisis we are. It is being brought closer and closer by practices like natural gas fracking and coal mining runoff, nuclear plant cooling, etc. Several of America's greatest rivers barely reach the ocean now because they are being diverted to so many places.

It is frightening that topics like this are not discussed in presidential debates, because they are far more relevant to the quality of life in this country than 99% of what our illustrious candidates discuss as key issues.

reply to post by murch

Heya OP.. Great catch. I'd like to add just a couple things if I may. First, the drought people tend to talk about using past tense terms ..I assume because it's moving into Winter now...is still VERY much ongoing and at record critical levels in the worst places it could be for the United States. Our breadbasket 'Heartland' states are still a parched wasteland ...in many ways.

U.S. Drought Monitor - Recent Data

Second though...since we're on the water topic...is what scared me out of my chair a couple days ago. I've read all about the great depression..and living miles from where it all started for geography heading West, I've read all about the crippling natural drought that triggered the Dust Bowl years. (along with some human factors.)

Interestate 35 shut down for Dust Storm in Oklahoma

Now there are definitely places I expect that kind of thing. As a trucker most of my life, I'd be rich if I had a nickle for every dust storm I've been in or near...and Phoenix would laugh at calling this a major blow compared to what THEY get for instance.

However....I'm used to seeing that in OTHER places around the nation. I am NOT used to seeing dust storms severe enough to close interstates and wreck traffic north of Oklahoma City in the Southern Plain grasslands. It's not supposed to happen there...not that way.

.....and I hadn't seen that before...outside of a book with pictures from about 80 years ago.

The biggest water wasters are industry of coarse, which is sad because people will end up trying so hard to save water and it can all be undone in an hour by some company, somewhere.

I think especially we need to teach the kids that is acceptable to have a shower every other day, because the majority of citizens in the West, say they shower everyday.
Think of all the saved water if people could wait another 12-24 hours before showering and not feel judged or gross.
Oh, there will be backlash- "But I can SMELL myself".... "I NEED a shower after working all day.." "Eww"...

It starts in the schools- no more forced showers after gym class... Once the sweat dries, a change of clothes is fine if you have a suitable anti-perspirant.
In fact, in my school, no one showered after gym. None of us stank. (Except for the kid who never showered anyways.)

There are other ways too.. only flushing every other pee, etc... some seem gross, but it will be the reality of tomorrow.

Anyways...

Solar desalinization plants, power and clean water all in one, are part of the answer, not all of it though.

We simply need to be smarter with our resources, and a little less greedy.

Heaven forbid perhaps even a socialism approach to staple goods, water, electricity, food...

Oh right that will never happen, guess we are all screwed.

Almost 70% of this planets surface are covered with water.

Given you just need to remove the salt, which can be achieved without complex machinery, I don't see how we could ever run out of it.

In my opinion it is just another scheme to sell us something which is present in overabundance for a lot of money.

Here in the U.S. I know that the states of the Great Lakes region are already getting thirsty inquiries from drier western states. In all seriousness kids, water management will be a growing field in the very near future. De-salinization plants will become a reality despite power requirements and brine dumping issues. We've lived without oil, we've lived without shipping every variety of food imaginable all over the planet, we've even *gasp* lived without fiat currency as a medium of exchange. We have never lived without water. Once it gets scarce, everything else falls by the wayside and it is acquired with all speed. That Great Lakes region of US-Canada is a future source of great wealth, which will get tapped eventually.

Perhaps going back to Roman baths is the answer? and more re-cycling? water meters that cut off after so many gallons? more rain water catchment? (in those states that allow it).

reply to post by pikestaff


This is a huge threat to the poor and middle class but I can assure you that fresh water is a major problem and will run out someday as we consume way to much, but the United States government has ways to take ocean water and use it for things you can't imagine. Certain people will be fine, you and I will not.

Yes, 70% of the earth is covered in water. About 3% of this is fresh and only about 1 % is usable.

The rest is locked up in ice packs etc. Desalination would consume too much energy to make it worthwhile.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


i live in south central kansas and the dust storm here wasn't that bad.. yes there was lots of dust in the air but visibility wasn't as bad as all that.. it was just a crappy day.. think LA smog.

reply to post by murch


Their is no such thing as a water shortage. Unless you physically take water off the planet, its always still here. What needs to be done, is water management and recycling. We squander our supplies and do not let it replenish. Recycling can solve that as well as managing our supplies..

Originally posted by VI0811
reply to post by murch

 

Their is no such thing as a water shortage. Unless you physically take water off the planet, its always still here. What needs to be done, is water management and recycling. We squander our supplies and do not let it replenish. Recycling can solve that as well as managing our supplies..

I don't think it is quite that easy. We have built major cities in places in this country that do not currently have the natural resources to support them without human interaction and it is only going to get worse as it will become extremely expensive to build the infrastructure required to get the water to the people and farms. Since we can't even fix our bridges and roads I don't have much faith our government will take the necessary steps to prevent this. The Colorado river is starting to have some serious issues and there are articles all over the web discussing them the whole story about how the States hot together and divyed up the water is pretty interesting and now with them needing to cut back none of them seem wiiling to do so. Will be an interesting decade out there. Here's a link to a recent NPR story on it www.npr.org...

It only shows how innovation made an impact in our environment, people should be more careful next time. Is this the kind of practice we want to show our children? Of course not, we should not let them do the same thing. That is why environmental workshops and seminars should be implemented. Or, to make things simple, we can at least engage them to educational apps that teaches environmental awareness and so. Maddie and Matt's Happy Earth is an example of a free kiddie app for android and iPad that educate children different environmental problems and solutions. It also contains mini games that will train them to value and save our planet. We should start doing changes for the betterment of the world now.