Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We are going to have to use our resources in the right way. Cities that are running low on water are going to have to raise property taxes to discourage more people from moving there, and to pay for the increased water amounts that are needed. Higher taxes could pay for new aquaducts and means of getting water to the city.
Thats the way the free market works.
I have a better idea. They should pass a law that every residents, unless you are a politician, a union worker, or a corporate executives, should works 22 hours a day. They get two 15 breaks, two 15 minutes lunch/dinner break and get 1 hour of sleep.
I was in Tuscon a few days ago - I honestly do not remember seeing any lawns, only rocks and desert flora in the yards. Even in the upscale Saddlebrook retirement area North of Tuscon, no lawns (except for parks).
I did find it odd to see cotton fields and pecan groves b/w Phoenix and Tucson - being both crops are very water intensive.
tucson has done pretty well with xeriscaping, certainly better than phoenix.
it's amazing how green phoenix looks from the air.
irrigated farming is common throughout the arid west, from texas all the way up through idaho and oregon.
I have better idea. They should make a law that every resident, unless you are politicians, a union workers, a corporate executives, should works 22 hours a day. You get two 15 breaks, two 15 minutes lunch/dinner break and get 1 hour of sleep.
And how exactly would that help the water crisis in those cities?
All those Texas cities are like that because of the influx of transplants over the past 3-5 years.
They all want to be near those big cities and developers just bought out all that surrounding farmland and replaced that one home with 500-600 homes all with HOAs who demand that lawns be maintained and watered. Local governments were only too happy to oblige because of the revenue growth from property taxes..ag exempt land pays nearly nothing.
Now pretty much every year we get placed on "water restrictions" as far as usage.
The aquifers are not getting replenished quick enough..that's what it boils down to. Too many people, too little water.
Scientists' studies have revealed that we experienced larger than normal rainfall in the 20th century, though we thought at the time that it was normal. Hence, the cities in the desert sprang up.
You should add Dallas to the list of the area keeps growing there is no way the present infrastructure can support future growth. They already have water restriction in the summer time. Many of the reservoirs in Texas are actually man-made lakes built by the Army Corps of Engineers. In my estimation there needs to be an additional man-made lake made for both Houston and Dallas and maybe one more for San Antonio. It's either that are the population growth will eventually have to be capped.
In the 80's we visited both Phoenix and Tuscon. The difference was humidity and lawns. Pheonix was full of green laws. Tuscon had an ordinance that if you did not put in low to no watering desert yards you payed a hefty rate for water. It resulted in far fewer lawns and the overall humidity was also far dryer. I don't know if that is still in place but the first thing to do to save water is look at non-essencial uses. You don't need a nice grassy lawn and water hungry trees in the desert. Southern California has had increaingly severe drought conditions over the last twenty years and its too bad the proposal made before the inland areas past Riverside were filled with houses wasn't adapted. Builders could not get a permit to build unless they could show there was a source of water for the houses they planned, which would have stopped it dead in its tracks.
If that had happened there would not be thousands of empty houses sitting out towards the desert which got sold for a signature, Moreno Valley being the epicenter of the no down, no income, signature loans.
Phoenix has changed in 30 years. Most new developments are now low-water use.
Never underestimate the ability of human beings to adapt. I'm not suggesting head in the sand, I'm saying the problems can probably be solved with human ingenuity.
Scientists' studies have revealed that we experienced larger than normal rainfall in the 20th century, though we thought at the time that it was normal. Hence, the cities in the desert sprang up.
The cities will not run out of water. If the situation gets worse, the government will either build desalination plants to convert sea water or they will build massive pipelines to bring water from other parts of the country such as the Great Lakes to the places in need. So water will always be there. It might not be cheap though.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
