Water Water Water

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Hoover Dam, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix, the farming valleys of Coachella, Imperial and Mexicali, and Mexico all have rights and claims on the Colorado River. But drought, climate change, overuse and abuse by farmers and unchecked growth of Vegas and Phoenix have brought them to a breaking point.


By mid-June, Lake Mead is set to decline to its lowest levels on record. Hoover Dam will soon hold the smallest amount of water since it was filled in the 1930s. The next few years may show how much water use needs to decrease to rebalance the river and reduce the risk that Hoover Dam might one day fall silent.

Excellent in=depth article:

www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/nation/2021/06/06/hoover-dam-drought-water-levels-lake-mead/5291323001/

[Reactionary Rage]

Hoover Dam is one of the most impressive things I've ever seen.

[sloopjohnc]

Jun 9, 2021 1:04:54 GMT ~ / % ? * said:

Hoover Dam, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix, the farming valleys of Coachella, Imperial and Mexicali, and Mexico all have rights and claims on the Colorado River. But drought, climate change, overuse and abuse by farmers and unchecked growth of Vegas and Phoenix have brought them to a breaking point.


By mid-June, Lake Mead is set to decline to its lowest levels on record. Hoover Dam will soon hold the smallest amount of water since it was filled in the 1930s. The next few years may show how much water use needs to decrease to rebalance the river and reduce the risk that Hoover Dam might one day fall silent.

Excellent in=depth article:

www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/nation/2021/06/06/hoover-dam-drought-water-levels-lake-mead/5291323001/

There has so been so much argued over and written about California's water wars.

The California aqueduct which supplies waters to farmer and ranchers down the middle of the state goes all the way from above Sacramento, at Oroville Dam, to the southern end of the state to Los Angeles. It's a constant battle. I won't even get started on the Sacramento Delta.

It's basically the whole theme of what the movie Chinatown was based on.

This is a good site about California water usage: www.watereducation.org/

[sloopjohnc]

In Oregon, they are going through the same thing. They're cutting off the Klamath River, which is going to affect fish populations and farmers.

www.capitalpress.com/ag_sectors/water/klamath-update-its-a-devastating-situation-as-water-is-cut-off-to-most-of-project/article_709ba7a0-b34c-11eb-b620-0b60d98b8142.html

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I guess, like many, I always considered the Pacific Northwest rain soaked, plenty of water. Someday may be we can have a pipeline which diverts the Mississippi's flood waters to the West.

[sloopjohnc]

[Sneelock]

I'm giving serious thought to hoarding great piles of booze.
I mean, if the Southland is ever hard up for drinking water - well that's the end of west coast civilization as we know it.

hell, we barely slow at red lights as it is.

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I wouldn't be surprised to see some squeeze being put on Phoenix and Tucson to better zone their growth as they don't have the same powerful business interests as Vegas and LA/California do. As temperatures increase, it may be harder in general to justify living in places that costs a lot in money and resources for humans to reside there, similar to people who insist on living on a riverbank that repeatedly floods.

[sloopjohnc]

Watching the news this morning, a spokesperson for the County of Santa Clara, the heart of Silicon Valley, is trying to buy water from other sources since their main reservoir is being seismically retrofitted and has 3% of its normal water in it. The problem is other western counties are in the same fix and water prices are 10x more than usual.

Yesterday, a couple friends asked me if I missed the Bay Area. I told them that the weather and traffic guy never has to report on traffic except the occasional truck crash on Hwy 5 and I don't miss the skies during the past few summers during wildfires.

The sky was like below during the day twice last Summer for a week or more at a time.