Future weather/water issues? (Phoenix, Gilbert: costs, transportation, pool)

[ajonesaz]

Originally Posted by Prickly Pear

What should be looked into here is something that is white, not black asphalt, to use for the roads. And before anyone says it's too reflective, try driving in snow some time. People do that a lot. Phoenix dedicates more public space to black asphalt than most comparable cities due to our low density through out on top of large amounts of land used. In one of the hottest cities in the country, the majority of our surface area should not be made out of black material that absorbs 95% of sunlight.

Though there's many other things as well that can help curb rising temperatures that we should look into.

I know it was a thing they were trying out several years ago.
https://gizmodo.com/5807171/phoenixs...-by-30-degrees

Sadly I think the company no longer exists

[goolsbyjazz]

While Arizona has done a good job managing its water supplies I lean towards the side that says the issue cannot be ignored or taken for granted. As more people move here and more homes and developments are built it will put a demand on our resources, water in particular. We are a desert, after all, and sustainability is a huge issue. Vegas will also deal with this issue. The only thing that will help us avoid a future water crisis at the current growth rate will be heavy snow and above average rainy seasons. For now we're good, but down the road....

[Prickly Pear]

Originally Posted by ajonesaz

I know it was a thing they were trying out several years ago.
https://gizmodo.com/5807171/phoenixs...-by-30-degrees

Sadly I think the company no longer exists

I know in Los Angeles they have a company that is using some kind of special white paint on the roads that take 15 degrees off right at the touch. So not as good as that one but still some kind of improvement over black asphalt.

Of course a better solution to this scenario would be something that is not black that replaces asphalt entirely. Instead of coating it with two layers of white paint that needs to be redone every 7 years at $40k/mile.

The tops of roofs on buildings should also have reflective cooler surfaces or solar panels at least. Solar panels at least do something productive despite not being reflective. Do that and the roads and we will see quite a bit of difference.

Originally Posted by goolsbyjazz

While Arizona has done a good job managing its water supplies I lean towards the side that says the issue cannot be ignored or taken for granted. As more people move here and more homes and developments are built it will put a demand on our resources, water in particular. We are a desert, after all, and sustainability is a huge issue. Vegas will also deal with this issue. The only thing that will help us avoid a future water crisis at the current growth rate will be heavy snow and above average rainy seasons. For now we're good, but down the road....

Yes this of course. We have to look at the long-term and prepare by taking precautions right now before its too late. Not severe precautions but... some at least.

[PhureeKeeper]

Las Vegas has water restrictions. I never understood why the Phoenix area doesn't adopt something similar.

[BIG CATS]

Water issues should NEVER be taken lightly. Our farms use and waste far too much water, and they will be the first to be hit/restricted in the future.


Do we really want to end up like some towns in CA? Having to truck in water? Painting our grass green? Cities offering incentives to remove grass lawns? Outright car wash and grass watering bans?


Its no joke, it can and will happen if we continue to think wasting water is no big deal.


This is a great site on how to conserve water. I highly suggest you check it out and help out AZ's water/future.
Water Use It Wisely

[exit2lef]

Big story in today's Republic about increasing heat and what can be done to adapt:

Deadly heat: Phoenix is getting hotter, and so is the danger

Of course, it's a problem beyond Phoenix:

It's getting hotter, even in cooler cities such as Portland, Seattle

[locolife]

Originally Posted by PhureeKeeper

Las Vegas has water restrictions. I never understood why the Phoenix area doesn't adopt something similar.

Mainly because we have a much different water dynamic than Las Vegas. Phoenix is built in the Salt River Valley, it's a desert but we sit at the base of several watersheds fed by the Salt and Verde systems. When Phoenix growth took off we also built the CAP project pulling in extensive additional water from the CO river. Nearly 100% of Phoenix residential water use could survive on simply the Salt and Verde system, most of our reservoirs are fed by these in state water resources with the exception being Lake Pleasant which is fed by CAP.

Phoenix has also done a decent job checking water use without strong restrictions, not that we couldn't be a lot better but self policing has helped quite a bit.

https://www.phoenix.gov/waterservice.../historicaluse

Despite continued growth in the last 15 years the water use peaked in '02 and has declined since, even with a growing population.

The idea that population growth must mean more water use is simply a misnomer.

[Voebe]

Of course it's a cause for concern!


The rise in temperature is actually masked because weather people speak in terms of temperature averages. And, yes, a real water problem.


On top of that, there are four or five things that people do to add to the problems, such as building pools.


I can't imagine anything will improve unless the inert residents sudden become activists, which doesn't seem likely, especially considering the poor quality of the news sources.

[phx1205]

Originally Posted by Voebe

Of course it's a cause for concern!


The rise in temperature is actually masked because weather people speak in terms of temperature averages. And, yes, a real water problem.


On top of that, there are four or five things that people do to add to the problems, such as building pools.


I can't imagine anything will improve unless the inert residents sudden become activists, which doesn't seem likely, especially considering the poor quality of the news sources.

Did you even bother to read what has been posted? The post directly above you had a link to City of Phoenix data showing per capita water use is down 29% since 1990. So not sure what you mean when you say nothing will improve...

[JGMotorsport64]

Originally Posted by phx1205

Did you even bother to read what has been posted? The post directly above you had a link to City of Phoenix data showing per capita water use is down 29% since 1990. So not sure what you mean when you say nothing will improve...

Water use in the aggregate is also lower than it was in the 50s and almost 60% of that water now comes renewable sources instead of Groundwater, unlike the 50s.