Much of U.S. Could See a Water Shortage

Posted by Kendall Harmon

An epic drought in Georgia threatens the water supply for millions. Florida doesn't have nearly enough water for its expected population boom. The Great Lakes are shrinking. Upstate New York's reservoirs have dropped to record lows. And in the West, the Sierra Nevada snowpack is melting faster each year.

Across America, the picture is critically clear - the nation's freshwater supplies can no longer quench its thirst.

The government projects that at least 36 states will face water shortages within five years because of a combination of rising temperatures, drought, population growth, urban sprawl, waste and excess.

"Is it a crisis? If we don't do some decent water planning, it could be," said Jack Hoffbuhr, executive director of the Denver-based American Water Works Association.

Water managers will need to take bold steps to keep taps flowing, including conservation, recycling, desalination and stricter controls on development.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Climate Change, Weather

5 Comments
Posted October 28, 2007 at 4:56 am [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]



1. azusa wrote:

Drink Canada Dry!

October 28, 11:04 am | [comment link]
2. Jill C. wrote:

The Gordian, that’s great.  LOL!

October 28, 3:08 pm | [comment link]
3. ann r wrote:

“Sierra Nevada snowpack is melting faster each year.”  ‘05-‘06 there was a record snowpack in N. Cal.  These folks have very short memories.  If there is a drought in Texas next year, as there often is, watch how fast this year’s record rains are forgotten.  There is a lot of waste of water, but even in drought years those uses never seem to be curtailed.  Ethanol, the greens’ current pet, is a huge water sink.  The odd thing is, the same folks who talk about water shortages are often the ones who want to tear down the water storage dams.  Go figure!

October 28, 7:06 pm | [comment link]
4. Irenaeus wrote:

“If there is a drought in Texas next year, as there often is, watch how fast this year’s record rains are forgotten”—-Ann R [#3]

Do the rains cancel out the drought? There’s one way to tell: how do aquifer water levels compare with those of ten, twenty, or forty years ago?
_ _ _ _ _ _ _

“There is a lot of waste of water, but even in drought years those uses never seem to be curtailed”

Good point—-and it underscores the limits of nagging (i.e., public-service announcements about the need to conserve) and rationing. The best way to promote conservation is to increase the price of water. People will, over time, adjust their behavior in response to higher prices.

October 29, 3:19 pm | [comment link]
5. libraryjim wrote:

My question is: why are golf courses always seen with the sprinklers on, even during watering restrictions on the rest of us?  I know they don’t use ‘recycled waste water’ because we don’t have that option here in North Florida (or in South Florida, where my parents live, for that matter).

October 30, 9:08 am | [comment link]
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