Water - .
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Human life itself doesn't exist without fresh water as there is no abundant life supporting alternative. For most of human existence, man's influence on water has been insignificant. However, with the advent of the industrial revolution and human population growth now exploding into the billions, humankind's influence on fresh water is turning deleterious, that is, harmful, often in a subtle or unexpected way.
Igor Shiklomanov states, "The magnificent properties of natural waters - their renovation during the water cycle and their ability for self-purification - allowed a state of relative purity, quantity and quality of fresh waters to be retained for a long time. This gave birth to an illusion of immutability and inexhaustibility of water resources, considered as a free gift of the natural environment. Under these preconceptions a tradition has arisen of a careless attitude in the use of water resources, along with a concept that only minimum expense is required for either the purification of wastewater or for the protection of natural water bodies."[W-1]
In recent decades this careless disregard for the stewardship of freshwater has led to the possibility of irrecoverable losses and damages. Affected, are both the direct use of water resources and the surface transformations that have taken place in many river catchments. This is largely due to major increases in water withdrawal. For example, annual water withdrawal during 1951-60 increased fourfold compared with previous decades. This occurred because of the dramatic expansion in irrigated areas, the growth in industrial and power engineering water consumption, and the intensive construction of reservoirs in all continents.
"Less than 3 percent of the water on Earth is fresh water. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, most of that three percent is inaccessible. Over 68 percent of the fresh water on Earth is found in icecaps and glaciers, and just over 30 percent is found in ground water [in the pores and fractures within soil, sediment, and rock]. Only about 0.3 percent of our fresh water is found in the surface water of lakes, rivers, and swamps. Of all
the water on Earth, more than 99 percent of Earth's water is unusable by humans and many other living things.[W-2]
Being so important for human life, it is perhaps most surprising that less than 1% of Earth’s near surface (accessible) water is drinkable liquid fresh water.
Astoundingly, in many places, humans withdraw both surface water and groundwater faster than these are replenished. Once fresh water is contaminated, its quality is difficult to restore.
To feed the average American, 1,320 gallons of water are used per day to grow crops and raise animals.
Freshwater ecosystems support life for about 12% of all animals and 40% of fish species. Freshwater ecosystems are also home to a wide variety of plants which provide food for animal and human populations. However, these ecosystems are imperiled with extinction rates 15 times that of marine ecosystems. Large numbers of fish and wildlife are threatened or extinct because of man's harmful actions on their ecosystems. Freshwater ecosystems are threatened when people begin to change the waterflow or block the movement of organisms through their normal habitat, by such developments as dams. Farmland cover areas that once were wetlands and fertilizer runoff has been allowed to wash off these lands destructively into waterways. Civilizations have historically settled along rivers for transportation, cleaning, drinking, crop irrigation, and recently for hydroelectric power.[W-3]
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Ponds and Lakes are generally located in low-lying areas (relative to the water flowing in), and often have no surface water outflow. When there is no exit for the water, wildlife such as fish, mollusks, crustaceans, most amphibians, and turtles must remain in that space. Due to lack of outflow, when incoming toxins or invasive species accumulate, it is difficult to expel them from the system, although sometimes toxins may leave the pond or lake and leech into groundwater or may break down over time.
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The threat is imminent. As early as 2030, global water demand is likely to outstrip supply by 40%.[W-4]
Fig. 1 Population experiencing severe water stress and low per-capita available water from 1900 to 2000
Fig. 2 Global groundwater abstraction estimates, b percentage share of groundwater abstraction by different countries
Water Conondrums
LAS VEGAS, NV --
Let’s look at a real world example of water usage and availability. It’s clear that we need water; however, even in places with virtually no water, such as in a desert, we can easily forget the value of protecting water and using it with discretion. Such is the situation in Las Vegas, Nevada, in the United States. Las Vegas is a city whose purpose is entertainment and hospitality. In the daily hubbub of life there, water availability can easily be taken for granted in a city which must import almost everything to support human life -- water included. Turning on a tap to get a drink of water is easy, but importing that water into a desert city is a huge challenge, not ignored, but often unconsciously suppressed.
The federal EPA describes the State’s water situation, “Nevada is the driest state in the United States, with an average annual precipitation rate of 9.5 inches. The southern region of Nevada accounts for nearly three-quarters of the state’s water demand and averages only four inches of precipitation per year. The region’s water demands [from 2017] are projected to increase by 85 percent by 2065. Nevada’s desert climate, growing population, and ongoing drought conditions stress the state’s existing water supply, making water efficiency critical.”[W-5]
The EPA further reports that nearly 70 percent of Nevada’s total water supply is provided by the Colorado River and other surface water sources. Of the total allocations, Nevada is allocated the smallest share, at about 1.8 percent. Yet, Southern Nevada, which includes Las Vegas, draws 90 percent of its water supply from the Colorado River via Lake Mead (at the Hoover Dam), accounting for the bulk of Nevada’s statewide allocation. Drought conditions and overdrawn reservoir supply had dangerously depleted Lake Mead’s water levels early in this century and was still forecasted to drop below levels which the existing intakes and pumping stations operate.
Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) built a new intake tunnel in 2015 and started construction on a new pumping station to allow it to draw water down to elevations of 875 feet above sea level (the lowest water outlet), approximately 25 above the elevation at which the Hoover Dam can continue to release water downstream.[W-5], [W-10]
“SNWA has undertaken significant efforts to promote water conservation and manage regional water resources. SNWA worked to decrease Colorado River water consumption by 32 billion gallons between 2002 and 2014, despite the addition of 520,000 people during those years, for a per capita water use reduction of 40 percent.”[W-5]
“In the more than 50 papers published since 2000, climate scientists agree that the basin is already much warmer and will continue to get warmer (over 1°C since the mid 20th century and potentially 2°C or more by mid century), resulting in reduced stream
flows and increased system losses. This is a continuing trend, not a one-time perturbation to the status quo. This overarching issue make solving every challenge in this list [of challenges by the Colorado River Research Group] more difficult. Water users throughout the basin need to come to terms with this reality, fighting aggressively to halt climate change while preparing for unrelenting long-term reductions in water availability. A reckoning is overdue.”[W-6]
Let’s really get to the point here. For Las Vegas, this is an instance of Nero fiddling while Rome burns. Las Vegas residents may not see the imminent danger they are in with water availability, or they may choose to overlook the risk; however, to we outsiders, it should be readily apparent and a wake up call to us to look at our own water situations at home, respecting the immense value of water.
RIO VERDE, AZ -- On January 1, 2023 the city of Scottsdale, which gets the majority of its water from the Colorado River, cut off Rio Verde Foothills from the municipal water supply that it has relied on for decades. Homes in this unincorporated part of Maricopa County, are typically on 1-acre lots and dirt roads in this desert locale like Las Vegas. Many had wells that have gone dry and now rely on truck tankers to haul water in from wherever it can be found.
The federal government is now asking seven states to cut usage by up to 30 percent of the [Colorado] river’s annual average flow. Faced with that pressure, in recent years, some residents considered forming their own water district that would allow the community to buy water from elsewhere in the state, importing more than 100 acre-feet [W-9] of water per year. Others sought a Canadian private utility company, Epcor, to supply the community. Neither solution has over the political barriers.
Casey Tores from the Arizona News quotes a resident, "I’m using rain water in here to wash my hands with, to rinse dishes with before they go in my dishwasher. I’m using rainwater for flushing the toilets and I’m even capturing the water in the shower. The minimal water we use to take a very quick short shower,” she said, adding, "It might be how things are done for a couple of years since there’s still no solution to a new water source."[W-7]
And some residents are suing Scottsdale after it shut off the taps. This is just another example of the failure to realize the extreme importance of carefully managing water usage to preserve availability. Failure to act responsibly has often resulted in in-fighting, political disputes, negligence, and -- in the end -- no water sustainability.
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COLINGA, CA --
And, about another Western US State, Joshua Partlow writes, "The most severe drought in the American West since the 9th century is now in its 23rd year. All across the region, communities are confronting shortages worse than they have ever known. The biggest reservoirs have fallen to record lows. Whole neighborhoods have lost their water supply as wells have gone dry. States along the dwindling Colorado River are negotiating water cuts that could bring dramatic disruptions to some of the country’s most important agricultural belts. In August, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) presented a 19-page plan to deal with the expected loss of 10 percent of the state’s water supply by 2040. Coalinga’s water comes from the San Luis Reservoir, about 90 miles to the north, and is delivered along a portion of the California Aqueduct that was built in the 1960s and helped fuel the region’s agricultural growth. This is part of the Central Valley Project, a network of dams, reservoirs and canals now severely hobbled by drought."[W-8]
See the full article at Drought-stricken Coalinga, Calif., may soon run out of water which includes this comment, "The city put a moratorium on building swimming pools, raised water rates several times and last year began imposing “drought fees” for overuse. But the city soon voted to refund the $277,000 it had raised in fees because water use wasn’t declining enough.
“It was supposed to be a deterrent,” said Netherton, the chamber of commerce’s executive director. “It wasn’t deterring anybody.”[W-8]
Again, we see the complexity of ensuring water availability in places where populations prefer to live and work. We will quickly have to learn to work together, communicate with each other respectfully, and make significant changes, even relocate if necessary to ensure water sustainability.
Water Resilience
As much as potable water is important for basic life and hygene, it must be emphasized that water is essential for agriculture/farming, industry, and fire protection. The world is seeing mutiple changes that under insufficient water planning, infrastructure and management, life is at risk. Witness the January 2025 wildfires in Los Angeles, California. Climate change may have exacerbated the opportunities for fire risk with vegtation dryness due to lack of rainfall; however, being unprepared to adequately deal with the fires led to unprecedented death and damage. There are plans and programs in place to prepare for such future circumstances, yet we may need to more seriously review them for their fully effective potential, in light of the LA disaster.
One such program is the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Climate Resilience Evaluation and Awareness Tool (CREAT), a tool that assists water sector utilities in assessing climate-related risks to utility assets and operations. Throughout CREAT’s five modules, users consider climate impacts and identify adaptation options to increase resilience. The modules are Climate Awareness, Scenerio Development, Consequences and Assets, Adaptation Planning, and Risk Assessment.
Overplanning, overengineering and management implementation under such tool usages may prove to be wise for not only water resilience but effectively preparing for necessary future water availability for all requirements.
Footnotes
[W-1] Shiklomanov, Igor A. (1998). World Water Resources: A New Appraisal and Assessment for the 21st Century. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Paris
[W-2] National Geographic Society Educator's Guide to Earth's Freshwater
[W-3] National Geographic Society. "About the National Geographic Freshwater Initiative." 2010. http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/about-freshwater-initiative/
[W-4] "Half the World to Face Severe Water Stress by 2030 Unless Water Use is Decoupled from Economic Growth, Says International Resource Panel," United Nations Environmental Programme, March 21, 2016, www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/press-release/half-world-face-severe-water-stress-2030-unless-water-use-decoupled.
[W-5] https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-02/documents/ws-ourwater-nevada-state-fact-sheet.pdf
[W-6] https://www.usu.edu/colorado-river-research-group/files/crrg_reflections_on_two_decades.pdf
[W-7] Casey Tores. City of Scottsdale cuts off Rio Verde Foothills residents from water supply. Arizona News, Published: Jan. 1, 2023 at 9:20 PM MST
[W-8] Joshua Partlow. A California city’s water supply is expected to run out in two months. The Washington Post. October 10, 2022 at 6:00 a.m. EDT
[W-9] An acre-foot of water is the amount of water that would cover an acre of land to a depth of one foot.
[W-10] National Parks Service. (2022) Lake Mead. Storage Capacity of Lake Mead - Lake Mead National Recreation Area (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) Note: 950 feet is minimum elevation for power generation.