Colorado and the West is running out of water . . . (Denver: movers, salaries)

[CosmicWizard]

With so many baby boomers retiring to Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Uraguay, Argentina, etc, to get more bang for their retirement dollars, the US may soon need illegal immigration to maintain a steady population.

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by CosmicWizard

With so many baby boomers retiring to Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Uraguay, Argentina, etc, to get more bang for their retirement dollars, the US may soon need illegal immigration to maintain a steady population.

First of all, the number of US "ex-pats" retiring to other countries is a trickle compared to the flood of illegal immigrants entering the US. Then there is the matter of the fact that many of the ex-pats leaving the US are in the higher income and wealth brackets--depriving both capital and tax revenues from the US, while, sadly, more and more illegal immigrants entering the US are not doing so become productive citizens, but to figure out how to tap into the US's overgenerous entitlement system.

Second, there is no guarantee that a lot of those ex-pats will stay out of the US. Most have an "escape hatch" to return to the US if the environment outside the US becomes hostile to US people abroad. With the ways things are going, both here in the US and abroad, I think the possibility of many, if not most, foreign countries becoming openly hostile to US citizens living in their countries, I think chances are near 100% that a lot of US ex-pats will be returning to the US at some future point.

The bottom line: until the US changes, drastically, its non-existent enforcement of the immigration laws, we are going to continue to see population increases that both diminish our material standard of living and stretch to the breaking point our remaining reserves of many natural resources--one critical to this discussion being water in the West that is the very topic of this thread. You can't talk about water issues in the West without addressing population growth pressures. Period.

The best possible thing that could happen to this country would be a cessation of immigration, and a decline in birth rates such that the population would not only stabilize, but begin to slowly decline. Over time, that would actually translate into an increased material standard of living, increased personal freedoms, and less stress on the natural environment. Continuing down the present road of population growth can only destroy material prosperity, personal freedoms, and the natural environment.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

..........while, sadly, more and more illegal immigrants entering the US are not doing so become productive citizens, but to figure out how to tap into the US's overgenerous entitlement system.....

The bottom line: until the US changes, drastically, its non-existent enforcement of the immigration laws, we are going to continue to see population increases that both diminish our material standard of living and stretch to the breaking point our remaining reserves of many natural resources--one critical to this discussion being water in the West that is the very topic of this thread. You can't talk about water issues in the West without addressing population growth pressures. Period.

The best possible thing that could happen to this country would be a cessation of immigration, and a decline in birth rates such that the population would not only stabilize, but begin to slowly decline. Over time, that would actually translate into an increased material standard of living, increased personal freedoms, and less stress on the natural environment. Continuing down the present road of population growth can only destroy material prosperity, personal freedoms, and the natural environment.

AMEN to all of this. Great post!

[Mike from back east]

Keep this thread on track...on WATER. Broad discussions of population growth and immigration belong in other threads and/or other forums.

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

Keep this thread on track...on WATER. Broad discussions of population growth and immigration belong in other threads and/or other forums.

Unfortunately, more "stovepipe" thinking. The problems are related--one can't be conveniently separated from another. Maybe on a silly-ass forum, but not in the real world.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

Unfortunately, more "stovepipe" thinking. The problems are related--one can't be conveniently separated from another. Maybe on a silly-ass forum, but not in the real world.

OTOH, I think it would be a good thing not to get into a long hijack about population.

[Idunn]

"Denver and suburban water suppliers plan to divert more water from mountain rivers on the west side of the Continental Divide, pumping it through tunnels to new and expanded Front Range reservoirs to sustain residential and industrial development." [1]


No doubt a discussion on Colorado water resources cannot easily avoid mention of who may actually be using it. But I can include both.

At 240 gallons per person per day, Colorado ranks fifth in average statewide water consumption. Although this varies by local. In Elbert County usage is fairly minimal at 111 gallons each, with Aspen the dubious champ at 1,851 gallons each. Those on the Western Slope use a fair amount, but conservation efforts find such front range cities as Denver having decreased usage by 13.6% between 2000 and 2008, to 178 gallons each.

Yet it is the not insignificant population growth of Colorado, mostly centered along the front range, which will see more water diversion projects and reservoirs proposed.

Population does matter.

1) 'As water use falls in Front Range, it explodes elsewhere in Colorado,' The Denver Post
As water use falls in Front Range, it explodes elsewhere in Colorado - The Denver Post

[Antares45]

Originally Posted by Idunn

with Aspen the dubious champ at 1,851 gallons each.

How on earth are Aspen residents using so much water?!

[wanneroo]

Eventually there is going to be a big reservoir going in north of Wolcott where 4 Eagle Ranch is. Apparently lakeside real estate has already been sold. That will be cool to have a big lake near Vail.

As we have talked about before, when water is used, it's not destroyed it just assumes another form. So a lot of it comes down to better ways to use and recycle the water we have.

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by wanneroo

Eventually there is going to be a big reservoir going in north of Wolcott where 4 Eagle Ranch is. Apparently lakeside real estate has already been sold. That will be cool to have a big lake near Vail.

I always get a laugh when some unscrupulous real estate huckster refers to "lakeside" or "lakefront" real estate in Colorado. As in the example above, almost all "lakeside" property in Colorado is actually "reservoir-side" property. Now, what those real estate slugs usually fail to mention is that, no matter how fancy the house or cabin next to the "lake," the water stored in the reservoir belongs to downstream users about 99.9% of the time. Which means that, in dry years, that gullible cabin owner is going to have a cabin next to a mudhole or dustbowl when the reservoir is "pulled down" to satisfy the downstream water users. That is already happening in many Colorado locales this summer, and you can bet that there are some upset people who were told things like "Oh, the they never pull much water out of the lake," or "It's almost always full during the summer," or "They wouldn't pull it all the way down because that would kill the fish," and other blatant lies made by the real estate salesman just to get a sale. Oh, and "The lake fills up every year." There are some major reservoirs in Colorado that water management people tell me may take up to three years of normal precipitation to refill. So much for that.