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As Groundwater Depletes, Arid American West Is Moving East
February 14th, 2020
Via EurekAlert, an article on a new model predicting that loss of groundwater may accelerate drying trends in the eastern US: Even under modest climate warming scenarios, the continental United States faces a significant loss of groundwater – about 119 million cubic meters, or roughly enough to fill Lake Powell four times or one quarter […]
Read more »Declining Colorado River Supply
December 9th, 2019
Via Sustainable Waters, a report on the growing water crisis in the Colorado River Basin: Image: Lake Powell lost nearly half of its storage capacity during 2000-2018. It’s a bit hard to believe now, but back in 2012 there wasn’t a lot of talk about fresh water in the global dialogues on climate change. Yes, […]
Read more »The American West’s Water Shortage Is Fueled by Human Error
November 12th, 2019
Via Outside Magazine, commentary on how the inability of western states to track water usage is exacerbating the region’s drought crisis: Back in 2013, Zach Frankel, executive director of the Utah Rivers Council, an environmental advocacy group, asked Utah’s Division of Water Resources (DWR) for the data used to create a landmark study of the state’s […]
Read more »Great Lakes’ Biggest Worries Much Closer To Home Than Arid Southwest
October 3rd, 2019
Via Chicago Business, a look at how thirsty businesses and unsustainable groundwater use by agriculture pose the biggest threats to the Midwest’s water supply: A few years ago, a Michigan billboard—reading “Back off suckers: Water diversion . . . the last straw”—showed caricatures of Southwestern states with giant straws going into the Great Lakes. Is […]
Read more »U.S. States Face Water Crisis As Global Heating Increases Strain On Supplies
August 6th, 2019
Courtesy of The Guardian, a report on water stress in the United States where New Mexico tops the list of impacted states, followed by California, Arizona, Colorado and Nebraska as problems could intensify with global heating: A handful of US states – including New Mexico and California – are facing significant strains on their water supplies that will only intensify with global […]
Read more »Drilling Deeper: U.S. Groundwater Wells Race Towards Bottom
July 29th, 2019
Via Circle of Blue, an interesting look at how well depths are increasing across the United States: To locate sufficient supplies of fresh water, the nation’s groundwater wells are being drilled deeper and deeper, according to an analysis of more than 10 million well records since the 1950s. “No matter how you slice it, we’re […]
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