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Before we go claiming that this is a-okay, WHY is it being diverted for use? Have other sources dried up? If so, that would still be really bad.
by p_j_w 4y ago
Before we go claiming that this is a-okay, WHY is it being diverted for use? Have other sources dried up? If so, that would still be really bad.
- uoaei 4y agoYes. Lake Mead and reservoirs across the West half of the US are extremely low. Water originating from the Sierra Nevada range ended up at about 4% of the total water they would expect in a "normal" year. California's most serious suggestion to this problem is laughable -- cover open irrigation canals with solar panels to reduce evaporation losses. While it will technically achieve something, it is not addressing any part of the root of the problem: wasteful water use on wasteful crops such as almonds, as well as the privatization and nonstop extraction of groundwater by Nestle and other bottlers. We could point to beef as another incredible consumer of water (when accounting for the full food chain) so reducing beef husbandry would be good (replace beef in your diet with chicken and pork for a couple weeks and see if you miss it).
- throwaway5959 4y agoThat would be healthier for people as well.
- DougMellon 4y agoArticle wont load for me but part of the issue is that New Mexico can't store any in reservoirs as they owe Texas water due to an interstate compact. https://apnews.com/article/albuquerque-droughts-weather-north-america-6b8909ecb84aba32ce80096a1289d37d https://apnews.com/article/albuquerque-droughts-weather-nort...
- p_j_w 4y agoThat article doesn't make things sound much better. It seems to pin the blame on persistent drought. The tactic of water being released from reservoirs upstream was used in the past as a band-aid over the symptoms of the drought, but isn't possible this year due to the water debt they have to Texas, as you mention.