In the article “Upstream, Downstream” the author Jenna Craig tries to educate us on the drought in Texas. In this article Jenna Craig, states, “Since 2007, Texas has be experiencing one of the worst droughts in history”(Graig 1). It has effected the state in many ways. It has hurt rice farming drastically, which is important because rice farming is huge and Texas. It has also impacted people living on lakes or rivers because that’s the water they use for drinking.…
Water conservation is one of those resources to be seen as an aspect of extreme urgency. Often, the impacts on the environment and these natural resources like water, air, soil, and biodiversity are so intense that decrease future profitability for the exploitation of non-renewable resources. Two of the main priorities of water conservation are the management of watersheds and the control of environmental pollution. A healthy watershed protects water supplies, feed forests, plants and wildlife, and it also maintains fertile soil that supports community…
One consequence of human use of water is the wasted water resulted from inefficient irrigation. Less than half of the freshwater we use for irrigation is actually absorbed by crops. Wasteful practices like “flood and furrow” irrigation, which involve liberally flood fields with water, use up water unnecessarily because it may evaporate from standing pools in the field. This kind accounts for 90% of worldwide irrigation. Overirrigation leads to waterlogging and salinization, which ultimately affects 20% of worldwide farmland and loses $11 billion in farming income.…
Water scarcity is increasing worldwide and dramatically affecting first world nations such as Spain, Australia, and the United States. All nations are now starting to recognize that the world's water is a finite resource, and that resource is being drastically altered in both availability and quality by development, climate change and population growth. In the United States, the Colorado River is experiencing rapid declines in volume. Recent studies and data suggest that the changes in frequency, intensity, and timing of the availability of water will have substantial impact on the way we live our lives in the 21st century and beyond. As Letmathe Brakeck said, “I am confident that, under present conditions and with the way water is being managed, we will run out of water long before we run out of fuel.”…
As a result of a three year drought Lake Travis and Lake Buchanan, the two main reservoirs for central Texas ' water supply, are at an all time low at just 35% full (Central Texas Sustainability Indicators Project, 2009). Storms in central Texas during July 2013 brought 2 to 4 inches of rain to the majority of the Texas hill country and as much as 8 inches in certain spots yet rain fall is significantly below the typical averages (StateImpact, n.d.). Currently, Lake Travis and Lake Buchanan hold 702,157 acre feet of water versus their capacity of 2.01 million acre feet. In 2011 inflows were the lowest in history at about 10% of average, in 2012 inflows were the fifth lowest in history at about 32% of average, and in…
Water is scarce in the southwestern United States and water is essential for human survival. The Colorado River is the primary reason why the southwest can sustain the massive population in the region. Without this “lifeline” of freshwater, we must find another means of supplying water to millions. Desalinizing the water from the Pacific Ocean is not yet cost effective enough to handle the demand although about 8% to 10% of the water supplied to Southern California comes from desalinization plants.…
Residents of Montgomery County in southeast Texas are completely unaware of their depleting aquifers, thanks to the leaders they elected who have neglected the issue and continue on as if it is non-existent. The gulf coast aquifers that they obtain their water supply from are not able to produce enough water fast enough to meet the increasing demands from the county's growing population. When the regulations cap on pumping is reached other sources have been sought out including lake Conroe. However, pumping from other sources requires tests to be ran to check for cleanliness and the safety of the water. When the water is coming from somewhere other than an aquifer tests have to be run and filtering processes have to begin, which can become very costly.…
The more the population grows the more resources and water will be needed. So cities and counties need to become water conscientious and emulate the water policies of cities, like Las Vegas, have in place. They encourage residentsto have yards with plants that requireminimumwater and they highly regulate their golf courses where the excesswater goes back to the Colorado River. The leaders involved in the area need to review the Law of the River and ensure all the policies and laws reflect the needs of the people as well as to keep the best interestif the…
In recent years, nearly every desert United State has been facing a massive water shortage. In 2010, most of California entered a crisis described as an “extreme to exceptional drought,” a crisis has caused cities and towns to cut water use by as much as 36 percent. Laws have been put in place to limit the length of time and days during which citizens can water their lawns, and said citizens are encouraged to switch to fake-lawns and plant-life that require little water like cacti.…
Water is essential for life; it is an indispensable resource for the economy. Not only we human use it every day to survive, but every living organism needs it to live. Water is becoming a hot topic around the globe because of water waste and water pollution. A few states and cities are also having water wars. There are many states and cities with many issues of these water wars, but the issues with the tri-state water wars between Georgia, Alabama, and Florida caught my attention. For a long times, Georgia, Alabama and Florida has been fighting over the future supply of water from the Apalachicola Chattahoochee Flint (ACF) river basin and the Alabama Coosa Tallapoosa (ACT) River Basin. It is a battle between the population of Atlanta, the ecological interests of Florida, and the municipal, industrial, and power uses of Alabama. Each state has its own interest and issues about the suitable distribution of water.…
The Colorado River is drying out which is causing problems for the people and farmers who depend on it. Farmers need this water for vital crops that are supplying the whole nation, and out of the seven states depending on the water, people need it too. The river begins in the rocky mountains and flows south into the Gulf of California. For the past fifteen years though, the river becomes a trickle of water almost fifty miles North of the Gulf of California, this is blamed on population growth, climate change, and overuse of the water. Farmers are argueing. Farmers have water rights and they feel like they’re the target because they’re using the water for very vital crops for everyone and people don’t…
While putting off the farming, this cost and lose a great deal of money to the economy. However, there is another way of getting the water and it is from underground, this is where farmers use the method of digging deep under the soil to get the water. Here is another problem, when this method is used, it can be caused major destruction to the environment and leads to another issue. It is like a never-ending domino effect of one dilemma after another. In one of the Core reading assignment, farmers from the Valley discussed the usage of with the groundwater system. The article is called, “Farmers say, ‘No apologies,’ as well drilling hits record levels in San Joaquin Valley”, it explained some problems with property rights, the cost, and workers with the regulation of how the water should be in the agriculture with government. It first stated, “As farmers ramp up drilling and install larger, more powerful pumps, aquifers that had quietly flourished beneath the soil for thousands of years are dropping at dangerous rates” (Sabalow, Kasler, Reese, 2). The cost of pumping is low and there will is no loss of evaporation but the supply form groundwater is pollutants have a long residence time. The groundwater is renewable only if it has a…
Argument: There is a detrimental disconnect between science and policy regarding domestic water usage that encourages rampant misuse and exploitation. Glennon argues that the common property resource of groundwater urgently requires more regulation, and that groundwater cannot be seen as legally separate from surface water. Laws that were drafted in the 1800s certainly do not reflect the demands of modern society and legislation needs to evolve as society does. We have exerted relentless ingenuity in creating technological fixes to water scarcity when what really needs to occur is a change in policy and a change in the public mindset that water is free and abundant. Lawmakers and government officials need to step up and address this gap between law and science before it is too late.…
During times when the rains are plenty and the Edwards Aquifer is full, San Antonio aggressively pumps the water out and stores it forty miles away in a sand formation called the Carrizo. Nobody knows how much water the Carrizo could ultimately store, perhaps as much as sixty-five billion gallons. Now, in the midst of this devastating drought, the Carrizo’s massive pumps are sending this rainy day water back to the thirsty city from whence it came. I talked with Jeff, director of production, and he stated that he feels it’s a huge benefit and that it cuts down on the amount of water that San Antonio uses from the Edwards during a critical time , which is good for the entire region. San Antonio’s approach to its water has saved it in the past but like Wlliam Alley discusses in his essay, Tracking U.S. Groundwater, no one knows how much water is actually available. Its all estimates. Its almost impossible to keep record of and exact figure when it comes to water consumption. Alley goes to explain how the aquifer can be estimated more accurately than global ground water. So the Carrizo obtains most of its water from rain. If the rain don’t come, San Antonio and the rest of Texas are going to learn what the word “drought” really…
It enlarges surface runoff, by producing more impervious surfaces such as roadway and buildings that do not allow percolation of the water down through the soil to the aquifer. It is instead enforced directly into rivers or storm water runoff drains, where erosion and siltation can be major problems, even when flooding is not. Increased runoff decreases groundwater recharge, consequently lowering the water table and making droughts worse, particularly for farmers and others who depend on water…