7 ms·
Thirsty Cities Drill for Water
- mr_overalls 8y agoRapidly depleting groundwater aquifers are a slow-moving, but impending humanitarian disaster. In particular, Western US states have seen particularly rapid depletion in recent years that could threaten the viability of cities and agriculture in the coming decades. Popsci overview: Cadillac Desert by Marc Reisner https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56140.Cadillac_Desert https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56140.Cadillac_Desert USGS Report: https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2013/5079/ https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2013/5079/ Fictional horrorshow: The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi
- e40 8y agoCame here to say this. Kudos on the links. I'll just add: and with fracking, it only gets worse. 500+ chemicals injected into the aquifer, that took millions of years to become what it is... it's hubris thinking this isn't a problem.
- space_fountain 8y agoThey aren't being injected into aquafers we use for water. They already have a bunch of nastyness in them
- piyh 8y agoFracking is about 5000 ft down, aquifers are generally 500 to 2000. What's the mechanism for the contamination?
- pixl97 8y agoThe reinjection of waste fracking water is the common issue. "Oops, we broke containment"
- e40 8y agoYou just pointed out that the drilling is through the aquifer. And, as pointed out, they reinject waste products. Does anyone believe there is zero contamination?
- Latteland 8y agoYes, of course there can be contamination, but it's not guaranteed. First, you are drilling through the ground water. Second, you broke through those layers to go do. Hopefully the tech and practices in the field prevent this. But we know it does happen because some people have had their water ruined. Plus, we know it has strong potential because of state legislatures being encouraged to make laws protecting the drillers (not the home owners).
- akshayB 8y agoGround water depletion is a big problem. The issue generally is whenever lower level ground water is cannibalized without giving it enough time to replenish water level tends to go deeper. This turns into a vicious cycle and destroys the ecosystem it sustains on the surface. Many parts of India people are drilling 500+ ft. to tap into ground water and now that everyone is forced to dig even deeper.
- g8oz 8y agoGroundwater use by cities is more economically productive than it's use by agriculture. The former should be privileged in the inevitable allocation conflicts.
- gonzo 8y agoNot everyone likes Soylent.
- emiliobumachar 8y agoIf I may elaborate, cheap (subsidized?) access to water in agriculture is what makes food products as cheap as they are today. Any water scarcity applied to agriculture will affect the cities through higher food prices.
- munk-a 8y agoIt will end up affecting different foods differently. Nuts, meats and other complex proteins are likely to be among the most price affected.
- mattnewton 8y agoDoesn’t that imply we’re hiding some of the costs for nuts and meat today?
- munk-a 8y agoThe US government subsidizes almost all agriculture in some way, water subsidies help nut & meat production the most from what I've read, but often times states will offer tax rebates for the agricultural use of land and just in the last fifty years or so has agricultural run off been regarded as a cost that should be paid by the farmer instead of an unbalanced externality.
- emiliobumachar 8y agoNot all "groundwater use by cities is more economically productive than it's use by agriculture". People use hoses to wash cars and sidewalks. How about an auction system, with a cash subsidy to allow the poor to buy enough for hydration and basic hygiene?