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Old 07-25-2014, 02:30 PM
 
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There was this somewhat alarmist article on how the Southwest is rapidly depleting its ground water and as we all know the Colorado river reservoirs are not growing either. Anyone in the know here on what our situation is for real? Also, do we know what our precipitation variability really is. I think we have weather records for less than 150 years but know that before that native cultures disappeared probably in part due to more extensive droughts. Nice pic in the article about the disapearing Lake Mead: Satellites Show Major Southwest Groundwater Loss - WSJ
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Old 07-25-2014, 03:01 PM
 
Location: AZ
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Potential_Landlord View Post
There was this somewhat alarmist article on how the Southwest is rapidly depleting its ground water and as we all know the Colorado river reservoirs are not growing either. Anyone in the know here on what our situation is for real? Also, do we know what our precipitation variability really is. I think we have weather records for less than 150 years but know that before that native cultures disappeared probably in part due to more extensive droughts. Nice pic in the article about the disapearing Lake Mead: Satellites Show Major Southwest Groundwater Loss - WSJ

I saw they same article on yahoo earlier and was wondering the same. What's the real water situation in the Phoenix area? I know there's aquifers and such but is that enough seeing there's been no significant rainfall and really not a lot of snowfall this past winter. We're thinking of moving there hopefully within the next year and it's a concern of ours. The link you posted you need to sign in to read and see the pictures. Here's one from Yahoo.

Satellites show major Southwest groundwater loss
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Old 07-25-2014, 03:37 PM
 
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Slate.com ran a pretty good 7-8 part series on drought in the SW, and the first few entries were from AZ. Some good citations provided if you wanted to do further reading:

Drought crisis: Arizona may be California’s future.
Tucson tries to reinvent itself in the face of a drought.

And really you do want to be looking at the entire region. Water for AZ, as you note, is in no small part reliant on the Colorado River. So the choices Vegas and particularly CA make have downstream impact on AZ. It is possible that, even in a scenario with less water, the region can find ways to be more efficient - changing agricultural practices, water purification/recycling, etc.
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Old 07-25-2014, 04:46 PM
 
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http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/06/18...referrer=&_r=0

I have been curious about this too. Dwindling supplies and exploding population is not a good mix. The crazy thing is that California is first in line before Arizona for CO river water should rationing begin. It's an agreement we made during plentiful years to get the water here.

The scariest thing to me is the absence of conversation among public officials addressing the issue. Seems like an important topic to discuss. Note the article on potential cutbacks came from the NY Times; the Republic ran nothing.

If water impedes growth in Phoenix, the Valley's entire economy will crash because it's heavily dependent on real estate. Personally, I don't think this place is a good bet at all.

I think California will be fine but we don't have progressive leadership like it does.
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Old 07-25-2014, 08:58 PM
 
Location: Boydton, VA
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"I think California will be fine"....I'm wondering where you get your optimism...I want to get some.

California's water problem....is everyone's problem....

California's drought

Demand for the Colorado River’s water outstrips supply

Regards
Gemstone1
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Old 07-25-2014, 09:13 PM
 
2,806 posts, read 3,178,395 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AlohaFriday View Post
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/06/18...referrer=&_r=0

I have been curious about this too. Dwindling supplies and exploding population is not a good mix. The crazy thing is that California is first in line before Arizona for CO river water should rationing begin. It's an agreement we made during plentiful years to get the water here.

The scariest thing to me is the absence of conversation among public officials addressing the issue. Seems like an important topic to discuss. Note the article on potential cutbacks came from the NY Times; the Republic ran nothing.

If water impedes growth in Phoenix, the Valley's entire economy will crash because it's heavily dependent on real estate. Personally, I don't think this place is a good bet at all.

I think California will be fine but we don't have progressive leadership like it does.
Unfortunately most Arizonans are completely deluded and have the "we don't need anyone" attitude. In reality we are among the states most dependent on the federal government and neighboring states due to our climate and geography. What we need is a next gen Hoover Dam project, call it the "Great American Aqueduct" that would transfer enough water to the Colorado river basin either from the Great Lakes or desalinated ocean water from California. This would be the most gigantic infrastructure project in our nation's history but that's what is necessary for AZ and the whole Southwest now. Needless to say this can only come from the federal government and we should start lobbying and petitioning. Instead we point the finger at the president when he comes for a visit. Karma is a batch and this along with the general Arizona independence hubris will come to bite us in the back. After some humiliation I hope we can do the right thing though. A similar process -just from the other side of the political spectrum- would be necessary for equally deluded California eco-nimbys.
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Old 07-25-2014, 09:14 PM
 
2,806 posts, read 3,178,395 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gemstone1 View Post
"I think California will be fine"....I'm wondering where you get your optimism...I want to get some.

California's water problem....is everyone's problem....

California's drought

Demand for the Colorado River’s water outstrips supply

Regards
Gemstone1
This is a general Southwest issue affecting AZ and our neighboring states.
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Old 07-25-2014, 09:23 PM
 
2,806 posts, read 3,178,395 times
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Some things in life you have to get right and there is no margin of error allowed. Take the Fukushima nuclear power plant designers. They looked at all the tsunamis in the last 100 years or so in the area and designed the plant's seawall accordingly. However, ancient Japanese records and archaeological findings showed at least one swell that was 5-10 meters higher, even if thousands of years back. We all know what happened a couple years back. In Arizona and throughout the Southwest we know that some centuries ago there were much worse droughts than what we have seen since modern record keeping. However, we cannot allow a situation to develop that makes Arizona unlivable for its inhabitants. We have to accommodate for circumstances as unlikely and adversarial as Fukushima should have, but did not. I think it is time we prepare now. We are the world's leading engineering powerhouse. We can create a lasting solution for the Southwest that will ensure enough water for generations to come including further population growth.
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Old 07-25-2014, 10:57 PM
 
Location: Out there somewhere...a traveling man.
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AZ has been storing water for quite some time. They are managing future water supplies very well.
ADWR - Water Management Recharge
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Old 07-26-2014, 07:29 AM
 
Location: Peoria, AZ
975 posts, read 1,404,968 times
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I don't think the situation is as dire as those articles suggest. Phoenix gets about 50% of its water from the Colorado River and 50% of its water from the Salt a River and is resivoirs. I believe currently Tucson uses a higher percentage of Colorado river water but I've also read that Tucson has a large underground aquifer that it can draw from. I believe well need to conserve, but I believe we should make it through this drought.
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