Southwest Must Face Harsh Water Shortage Realities

Does it make sense to transport massive quantities of water to a desert, so that people can replicate the lifestyle of a lush, wet climate? Hardly, but that is what Southwestern states have been doing for years, relying on Nevada’s Lake Mead to support millions of people – and unnecessary things like green lawns and golf courses.

But soon, they’ll have to find another way. Lake Mead has dropped 28 feet in the past two years, and experts say it might be bone-dry by 2021.

From The Good Human:

While places like Las Vegas are giving money to residents to “de-grass” their lawns (which I think is a fantastic idea – who thinks its a good idea to use fresh water just to have a green yard?), replacing them with cactus and other drought-resistant plants, I don’t think it goes far enough. Seems that politicians don’t actually want to make any substantial changes to their water policies because they are afraid of the political repercussions – something I am getting very tired of seeing.

In L.A. for example, under a severe drought warning, the Mayor asked people to water their lawns “only” 2 times a week…I am not sure if the Mayor knows that L.A. is actually in the middle of a desert and maybe there shouldn’t be grass growing there anyway! We need real, heavy-duty water restrictions put in place everywhere in the Southwest that feeds off the Colorado River if we want to have water flowing out here in the next 50 years. If we don’t, we are going to look back with amazement at how we stupidly ignored all the signs pointing to a severe drought in the area.

So, does this mean that everyone living in these dry states should pack up and move? Not necessarily, but smarter water consumption is certainly in order, and people are definitely going to have to make some sacrifices. You live in a desert – deal with it.

The Good Human suggests a number of things that could help including allowing every citizen to harvest rainwater, limiting the watering of parks an golf courses, and allowing the use of graywater in every new residential building.

We can’t keep acting like fresh potable water is an unlimited, easy-to-access resource.

Link [The Good Human]
Photo credit: Marla Miller

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