Unprecedented Drought in the Western US

[Phil P]

Originally Posted by P Larsen

The glory of the eastern Great Lakes is not just the lakes themselves but the the lake effect snow that accumulates on the the foothills and mountains of the windward flanks of the Appalachians and Adirondacks, then melts and flows/percolates into rivers and lakes and replenishes aquifers in the watershed, also making for sustainable agriculture.

That effect is only going to get turbocharged with global warming too. It'll be cool to see how the region morphs with the change, I think it might resemble Appalaicia florally. Supposedly Live Oaks could be grown around the Grand Rapids area by end of century with the temp changes! Sadly the Forest Service website is down at the moment though that called out what range of each tree species would be by the end of the century

[mike0421]

Southern New Mexico here. Like many others that have posted that live here, the overwhelming majority of potable water comes from underground aquifers. Irrigation is the big issue, particularly with pecan trees, which are very thirsty. The effect will be higher prices, as yields shrink and demand is maintained or increased.

[marcopolo]

$10 per seed excise tax should be assessed on all lawn grass seed used west of the Continental Divide in drought-prone areas, plus $10 annually per square foot of lawn.

Nobody eats grass, the water required to grow it is a dead loss.

[TonyNY]

Originally Posted by Tion Davis

California will begin desalinating and taking more water from other regions before we let a mass drought happen.

Good luck with that.

[Guineas]

Originally Posted by marcopolo

$10 per seed excise tax should be assessed on all lawn grass seed used west of the Continental Divide in drought-prone areas, plus $10 annually per square foot of lawn.

Nobody eats grass, the water required to grow it is a dead loss.

You'll just have a black market for it at those prices.

[SunGrins]

I live on a mesa about 400' above the Rio Grande and no one anywhere close to me has an actual grass lawn. Most simply rely on natural vegetation. Growing grass in this environment is ridiculous on two points: it is a terrible waste of water, and a grass lawn catches any blowing dust or sand and will bury itself over time. In average years we get about 11 inches of rain. At this elevation of 5500 feet, and with single-digit humidity common, the sun will kill the vegetation not already adapted to the high desert. We have winter temperatures below 20 degrees and a couple summer days will reach 100 degrees. It is best suited for natural landscaping not requiring watering. If I have some special ornamental plant, it will usually be in a large pot that I can water by hand. Rabbits will eat anything ornamental I plant in the ground unless it is aromatic. They will even eat cactus if desperate.

I use a personal well for my water, about 400' deep, as do most of my neighbors. The local people are very protective of the well water quality and are adamantly opposed to any fracking plans in the area. Some 20 miles to the south the local Air Force base near Albuquerque spilled jet fuel that has seeped into the aquifer and ruined the water supply for some well users in that area, so it is a fragile water situation and needs constant protection.

We are having a "robust" monsoon season this summer, but the Rio Grande has run dry in several areas before the rains started. The major forest fire in the Sangre de Cristo mountains that started in early April has finally been 100% contained as of yesterday. There has been serious flooding recently in the burn scar area.