Get Ready for Water Rationing AZ (Phoenix, Tucson: 2014, homes, subdivision)

[mattywo85]

I know this is probably dumb to ask but why are we having a water shortage with a giant ocean right next door?

[Valley Native]

If we are really concerned about the water situation, one of the things we could do LESS of is worshiping the damn sun so much. I realize this is hardly a solution, but it makes no sense to keep gloating about how wonderful our warm, sunny climate is while there is an ongoing drought, which essentially is caused by an over abundance of sunshine and lack of precipitation. It makes even less sense to keep moving to AZ for the sole reason of the warm, dry, sunny climate. What's the purpose of that anyway? A person can't make a living or pay the bills with warm weather, clear skies, and sunshine!

Quite frankly, our warm, dry, sunny climate has been even warmer, drier, and sunnier lately, which is enhancing the drought even further. California is already limiting water usage because of the drought ... and even though they claim Arizona is in pretty good shape as far as water supplies, the lack of rain & snow the past few winters is concerning. What affects our big neighbor to the west eventually affects us as well!

[DOUBLE H]

Originally Posted by jamies

What sucks is I live on the Colorado River (well not "on" but near) and we don't have water rights to it. We have to use wells. Of course when push comes to shove we are closest to the spigot, so LA and Phoenix can go suck dust unless they can scrounge up enough tanks to take it.

Though if it gets to that point I guess anyone down river from Page is out of luck until Lake Powell fill up again.

Humm, suddenly Rifle, Co is looking better.

I know something about that river, I live about a quarter mile away from it, about 14 miles west of Grand Junction. In my area,we have had a whopping amount of 5 inches of snow for the season-out of four storms. A quirky one came through western Colorado over two weeks ago. 5 inches in Durango, a foot on Red Mountain Pass, 9 inches in Ouray,and believe it or not 17 inches in Montrose!! And my house got 2 inches.

The big storm that raised hell in the heartland yesterday dumped a foot of snow in Colorado's high country---east of the divide. The recipients there were the Platte and the Arkansas Rivers. Western slope rivers got squat.We needed the big storms that usually happen in March. What we got instead was over two weeks of temperatures 12-15 degrees above normal in Mesa County.

It's a sure bet that for most of Mesa County will have campfire bans in the high country this summer, possibly even by Memorial Day weekend. Not a good situation where I'm at. We still have April to go.But if conditions continue and we get those gawdawful 30 mph winds like we had day before yesterday ( for most of the afternoon) things are not going to look good at all.

[phetaroi]

Originally Posted by mattywo85

I know this is probably dumb to ask but why are we having a water shortage with a giant ocean right next door?

Are you joking?

Tomorrow, drink only salt water. Water your plants with only salt water.

Then you'll have the answer.

(Don't actually drink salt water...if you want to live).

[Chaindrive]

I have a pool.

I have a good sized lawn.

I have a well. As much of a pita as it is, I do have that.

Hubs says we're good until CA decides it wants the Colorado River for water. Then we're doomed.

[mattywo85]

Originally Posted by phetaroi

Are you joking?

Tomorrow, drink only salt water. Water your plants with only salt water.

Then you'll have the answer.

(Don't actually drink salt water...if you want to live).

Reverse Osmosis Desalination

Electrochemically Mediated Seawater Desalination

[GeneR]

There was a time when Californians (I was born and lived most of my life there) were forward thinking. There was a can-do attitude that saw the Golden State as a place where millions of people wanted to live and agriculture was king. That all came to a halt starting in the 1970's when coastal elites squelched the state's century long commitment to building dams, reservoirs and canals.

"Not content with preventing construction of new water infrastructure, environmentalists reverse-engineered existing projects to divert precious water away from agriculture, privileging the needs of fish over the needs of people. Then they alleged that global warming, not their own foolish policies, had caused the current crisis."-----Victor Hansen, The Great Valley of California.

[Packard fan]

Originally Posted by DOUBLE H

I know something about that river, I live about a quarter mile away from it, about 14 miles west of Grand Junction. In my area,we have had a whopping amount of 5 inches of snow for the season-out of four storms. A quirky one came through western Colorado over two weeks ago. 5 inches in Durango, a foot on Red Mountain Pass, 9 inches in Ouray,and believe it or not 17 inches in Montrose!! And my house got 2 inches.

The big storm that raised hell in the heartland yesterday dumped a foot of snow in Colorado's high country---east of the divide. The recipients there were the Platte and the Arkansas Rivers. Western slope rivers got squat.We needed the big storms that usually happen in March. What we got instead was over two weeks of temperatures 12-15 degrees above normal in Mesa County.

It's a sure bet that for most of Mesa County will have campfire bans in the high country this summer, possibly even by Memorial Day weekend. Not a good situation where I'm at. We still have April to go.But if conditions continue and we get those gawdawful 30 mph winds like we had day before yesterday ( for most of the afternoon) things are not going to look good at all.

Thanks for letting us know. Def NOT good what's going on by your way.

[jamies]

I was in all those towns in mid Feburuary. Very little snow. If CO doesn't get snow we are all in trouble. I notice Wyoming got lots of snow but the watershed runs to the northwestern rivers, not south. Alaska anyone?

[tijlover]

Living in the Southwest, all my water scares are arrested with that saying: Water will always arise to $$!

Prohibitively expensive as it may be, and if desperation should set in, there's always that NAWAPA project in British Columbia that could save us all, which would create a reservoir up there 100 miles long. Environmentally destructive, for sure, but doesn't water always arise to $$?

Build that SW saving project, and CA could add 10-20 million more people and another 5 million for AZ!