Top 10 US Cities Running Out of Water

Locutus

Locutus

Adorable Deplorable
Jun 18, 2007
32,230
45
48
65
The U.S. Drought Monitor has released new data on U.S. cities that are running out of water — and believe it or not, the top 10 spots are all located in California. Some of the worst drought conditions on record have left much of the Golden State grasping for moisture wherever it can be found.

But for these 10 cities, more than 75 percent of their land area is now marked by “exceptional” drought, the highest level on the chart.

10) Fresno, California. The Drought Monitor recognizes five levels of drought intensity: D0 is the lowest, categorized as “abnormally dry,” and D4 is the highest, categorized as “exceptional drought.” Based on the data, Fresno has had D4 conditions on over 75 percent of its land since the beginning of the year, and the entire city has been in an “extreme drought,” the second highest category, for all of 2014, so far.


the rest


Top 10 US Cities Running Out of Water
 
Tonington

Tonington

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 27, 2006
15,441
150
63
Tecumsehsbones said:
You realise you're addressing Walter, right?
Click to expand...

Yes, it's a bit like talking to a wall that has a button to say when it disagrees with something you said :lol:

It's pretty crazy in California, none of the reservoirs in the state are at or even near their long-term average. I posted a thread about a plant bottling water at a crazy time like this. The folks doing the ALS water bucket challenge better lookout, could cost them $500 from the water cops.
 
Locutus

Locutus

Adorable Deplorable
Jun 18, 2007
32,230
45
48
65
maybe start with ice rink shavings...let's not get too carried away.
 
Tonington

Tonington

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 27, 2006
15,441
150
63
Walter said:
The fear is.
Click to expand...

When a reservoir is at 8% capacity... well I guess you'd make a fine Darwin award candidate. That's low enough that people should consider the consequences of 0%.

California should be fearful. They have crazy, stupid policies, and have been wasting water for years.
 
petros

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
109,404
11,455
113
Low Earth Orbit
Tonington said:
They have crazy, stupid policies, and have been wasting water for years.
Click to expand...

Collecting rainwater for your garden that would flow down storm channels to the sea being one of them.


Using hydro to light up Las Vegas and Lake Mead water to fill decorative fountains has a huge impact on the volume California uses to irrigate crops and for domestic use.
 
Twila

Twila

Nanah Potato
Mar 26, 2003
14,698
73
48
petros said:
Collecting rainwater for your garden that would flow down storm channels to the sea being one of them.
Click to expand...

Californian's are lucky it's legal there. I understand in some states it's illegal.
 
Tonington

Tonington

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 27, 2006
15,441
150
63
petros said:
Collecting rainwater for your garden that would flow down storm channels to the sea being one of them.
Click to expand...

Yeah, in some places you can be charged for doing that, and it's because the state has mismanaged their water resources. That is the type of insanity they are dealing with. An over-reliance on groundwater, greening desert, and the fight between pumping water into reservoirs or letting it flush out to the sea. Too little out to sea and the salt water moves up the delta and ruins even more freshwater and cropland. Desalination and re-use are expensive. Australia has already learned hard lessons of the same type. When certain regions use more than the resource can recharge, you have problems...

To Walter's complaint, I may be a 8% full type of guy, but the folks who are 92% empty have a point.
 
petros

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
109,404
11,455
113
Low Earth Orbit
Water management used to be a municipal concern in SK but after years of harsh droughts in the early 80s the Crown Corporation SaskWater was created to manage water more efficiently to ensuring downstream users have equal usage as those upstream as well as regulating wastewater.

So far so good.
 
Walter

Walter

Hall of Fame Member
Jan 28, 2007
34,844
93
48
Wells have run dry since we stared diggin em. If there was no water to deliver to them they'd have to move as our ancestors always did.
 
Last edited:
B

BaalsTears

Senate Member
Jan 25, 2011
5,732
0
36
Santa Cruz, California
Locutus said:
The U.S. Drought Monitor has released new data on U.S. cities that are running out of water — and believe it or not, the top 10 spots are all located in California. Some of the worst drought conditions on record have left much of the Golden State grasping for moisture wherever it can be found.

But for these 10 cities, more than 75 percent of their land area is now marked by “exceptional” drought, the highest level on the chart.

...7) Santa Cruz, California. Known for its “green” approach to living, Santa Cruz has implemented extreme water restrictions that subject residents to fines and other penalties for exceeding established water limits. This is because drought conditions took a dramatic turn for the worst, escalating from just half of the urban area experiencing a severe drought last year to nearly all of it experiencing an extreme drought this year...
Click to expand...

I live in Santa Cruz. Water issues have been building for more than thirty years as the city has refused to expand storage capacity for fear of inducing "growth." But growth has happened anyway.

The drought here is having a dramatic effect on residential users who exceed their monthly allotments. Most residential users exceeding their allotment are households with a large number of people sharing occupancy. Most households with a large number of people sharing occupancy are homes occupied by large families. Santa Cruz is composed of older white people whose children have grown up and moved away, and younger Latin American families with lots and lots of children residing with their parents and grandparents. The Latin American families are having difficulty with the water allotments because their households consume excessive amounts of water. As a result they are penalized monetarily. This increases their cost of living and reduces their disposable income. Sucks for them doesn't it?

Some day the Latin Americans will realize that they are being penalized in order to permit the diversion of water to restore fish habitats. Wealthy white environmentalists advocate the restoration of fish habitats while ignoring the impact this policy is having on large Latin American families living in the same household. It would appear there is a conflict of interest between wealthy white environmentalists and Latin Americans.

For my wife and me water isn't a problem. But, the drought has set in motion a collision of competing interests that give the term "schadenfreude" added meaning for me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom