Where’s the water?
Water is becoming a scarce commodity in many areas of the southern U.S. A continuing drought, climate change, and overuse are causing many of the traditional sources of water to decline. On the heels of a 10-year drought, Lake Mead, Lake Powell, and Lake Okeechobee in Florida, are all in decline. Even mighty Lake Superior in the north is dropping. At the rate of current decline, Lake Mead could be dry by 2021 according to a recent study by USGS researchers. There’s even a 10% chance that Mead could be dry by 2014 and a 50-50 chance that the 2,078 MW of hydroelectric power from the Hoover dam could be cut off by 2017. Despite these warnings, development continues unabated, few alternate sources are being developed, and conservation is mostly ignored.
Californians have been battling for years now about how to upgrade their water system to support their growing population. The potential of a declining snowpack—their traditional water source—due to climate change is becoming a concern. Despite their continuing budget deficits, Gov. Schwarzenegger wants to put a $11.7 billion water project on the ballots this fall.
And that’s where the problems lie. Water projects are always big ticket and long lead items. Just deciding what to do can take years. And if there’s a 10% chance that Lake Mead could be dry in only six years, why isn’t someone east of California looking to develop water and power resources to offset that threat? Nearly 30 million people live in desert conditions in this region and severe cutbacks in water and power, let alone a complete loss, are difficult to comprehend.
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