tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/water-conservation-20454/articles
Water conservation – The Conversation
2023-09-26T15:16:39Z
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/211143
2023-09-26T15:16:39Z
2023-09-26T15:16:39Z
What’s the carbon footprint of owning pet fish? An expert explains
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549367/original/file-20230920-21-sqqv47.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=40%2C0%2C4464%2C2967&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">One of the most popular species of fish found in tropical marine aquariums is the common clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris).</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/unhappy-clown-fish-swims-aquarium-tank-1449838790">jflin98/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>While the environmental impact of having <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-cats-and-dogs-affect-the-climate-and-what-you-can-do-about-it-206812">dogs and cats</a> as pets has been examined to some extent, the impact of keeping pet fish has remained unexplored – until now. </p>
<p>Dogs in particular have a significant carbon “<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-about-your-carbon-pawprint-9878">pawprint</a>”. An average-size dog (weighing 10-20kg) in Europe is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biz044">responsible</a> for between 349 and 1,424kg of CO₂-equivalent emissions per year – compared with between 150kg and 251kg of CO₂-eq for an average-size cat (weighing 2kg-6kg). </p>
<p>But there had never been a study examining the carbon footprint of pet fish, despite <a href="https://ornamentalfish.org/wp-content/uploads/OATA-Annual-Report-2020-21-online.pdf">4 million</a> households owning them in the UK alone – <a href="https://www.ornamentalfish.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Customer-Profile-Survey-Results-2011-2012.pdf">70% of which</a> are tropical freshwater fish.</p>
<p>My <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.15478">study</a> found the carbon footprint of a tropical aquarium in the UK ranges from 85.3kg to 635.2 kg of CO₂-eq per year – equivalent to between 1.6% and 12.4% of the average UK household’s annual emissions. This estimate is based on a range of scenarios including aquarium sizes between 50 and 400 litres and different tank operating conditions. But most household aquariums sold by retailers are in the 50-to-100 litre range.</p>
<p>Electricity generation is the main source of emissions from tropical aquariums. Maintaining one requires lots of electricity to power the heaters, lights and pumps. This electricity consumption is much greater in emissions terms than the CO₂ produced in transporting tropical fish from countries such as Singapore or Indonesia to the UK and Europe.</p>
<p>However, the precise carbon footprint of an aquarium varies depending on its location. For example, tropical fish kept in France have a much smaller carbon footprint than those kept in the UK, because the French electricity grid is <a href="https://ember-climate.org/countries-and-regions/countries/france/">more decarbonised</a>.</p>
<p>This also means that as electricity grids continue to decarbonise globally, and especially in Europe, the carbon footprint of keeping tropical fish will decrease.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two graphs showing the carbon emissions of keeping pet fish" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547316/original/file-20230909-48264-8gkxww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547316/original/file-20230909-48264-8gkxww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=278&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547316/original/file-20230909-48264-8gkxww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=278&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547316/original/file-20230909-48264-8gkxww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=278&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547316/original/file-20230909-48264-8gkxww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547316/original/file-20230909-48264-8gkxww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547316/original/file-20230909-48264-8gkxww.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">(a) Yearly carbon emissions produced by heating different-sized aquariums in three countries (green = Poland, blue = UK, red = France) whose electricity grids have various levels of decarbonisation. (b) Yearly carbon emissions of running a 200 -litre aquarium (2000-2022) and predicted emissions for 2040 based on pledges to decarbonise electricity grids.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Perry; Journal of Fish Biology (2023)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Water consumption</h2>
<p>Water consumption is another factor to consider. Tropical aquariums are closed systems so fish waste can build up, increasing the levels of ammonia which is deadly to fish. So, fishkeepers must perform regular water changes – which means replacing the aquarium water with treated tap water or, for marine fish, water that has been purified using <a href="https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/features/what-you-need-to-know-about-reverse-osmosis/">reverse osmosis</a> (whereby water is pushed under pressure through a semi-permeable membrane). However, reverse osmosis is not efficient and produces five litres of reject water for every one litre of purified water.</p>
<p>Estimates of water consumption for tropical aquariums vary depending on aquarium size, use of reverse osmosis, frequency of water changes and amount of water replaced. Based on industry recommendations and a range of aquarium sizes, I estimated that tropical aquariums can use anywhere between 156 and 31,200 litres of water per year.</p>
<p>For example, if you have a 50-litre aquarium and you change 6% of the water <a href="https://www.fishkeeper.co.uk/faq/how-often-and-much-do-i-need-to-change-my-aquarium-water-and-clean-my-filter/">every week</a> with tap water, you would use 156 litres per year. But if you have a 400-litre aquarium and do a 25% water change every week with a reverse osmosis system, you could use up to 31,200 litres per year. </p>
<p>Clearly, these examples represent two extremes of water consumption, equivalent to between 0.2% and 30.1% of the average UK household’s annual water use. While the upper limit can sound alarming, most aquariums sit in the middle range by both water use and emissions. But, given that drought events are expected to increase under future climate scenarios, any additional levels of water consumption can quickly become unsustainable. </p>
<p>Context is also important, as estimates on energy consumption are based on the aquarium being in a 20C (68F) room. If a central heating system is on all day or it is a warm summer’s day, this will reduce the emissions generated from heating the aquarium. Alternatively, if the room is colder than 20C, those emissions will be higher – although the heat from the aquarium will also heat the room, so may be viewed as an electric radiator.</p>
<h2>Ways to reduce environmental impact of pet fish</h2>
<p>My estimates provide the first insights into the environmental impact of a popular hobby. They show that keeping tropical fish is generally a more environmentally friendly option than keeping a dog or even a cat.</p>
<p>They can also inform our decisions on how to reduce the environmental impact of keeping fish, such as: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Use renewable electricity, generated at home or by changing electricity provider.</p></li>
<li><p>Keep the water temperature as low as possible according to species guidelines. </p></li>
<li><p>Put aquarium lights and pumps on timers. </p></li>
<li><p>Only do water changes when necessary; and </p></li>
<li><p>Re-use the reject water both from your aquarium and the reverse osmosis system. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Keeping tropical fish is a great way to enjoy beautiful ecosystems in your home. Done correctly, it can also help prevent the world from becoming a little bit more tropical.</p>
<hr>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>William Perry does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
New research reveals the environmental impact of keeping tropical fish as household pets – but there are ways to reduce it.
William Perry, Postdoctoral Research Associate at the School of Biosciences, Cardiff University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/212816
2023-09-12T12:29:30Z
2023-09-12T12:29:30Z
What Arizona and other drought-ridden states can learn from Israel’s pioneering water strategy
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546411/original/file-20230905-364-hcc2rt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C5491%2C3655&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Suburban development in Maricopa County, Arizona, with lakes, lush golf courses and water-guzzling lawns. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/aerial-view-of-suburban-development-named-ocotillo-in-news-photo/1410152052">Wild Horizon/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Arizona is one of the <a href="https://www.prb.org/resources/growth-and-migration-in-the-american-southwest-a-tale-of-two-states/">fastest-growing states in the U.S.</a>, with an economy that offers many opportunities for workers and businesses. But it faces a daunting challenge: a water crisis that could seriously constrain its economic growth and vitality. </p>
<p>A recent report that projected <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/09/us/arizona-water-development-desert.html">a roughly 4% shortfall in groundwater supplies</a> in the Phoenix area over the next 100 years prompted the state to <a href="https://www.azwater.gov/phoenix-ama-groundwater-supply-updates">curtail new approval</a> of groundwater-dependent residential development in some of the region’s <a href="https://apnews.com/article/arizona-colorado-river-drought-climate-change-groundwater-52860198c654d7308137c6c7836707f4">fast-growing suburbs</a>. Moreover, negotiations continue over <a href="https://www.azwater.com/colorado-river-updates/">dwindling supplies from the Colorado River</a>, which historically supplied more than a third of the state’s water. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547337/original/file-20230910-41058-sbig07.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Map of the full Colorado River watershed." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547337/original/file-20230910-41058-sbig07.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547337/original/file-20230910-41058-sbig07.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=647&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547337/original/file-20230910-41058-sbig07.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=647&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547337/original/file-20230910-41058-sbig07.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=647&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547337/original/file-20230910-41058-sbig07.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=813&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547337/original/file-20230910-41058-sbig07.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=813&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547337/original/file-20230910-41058-sbig07.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=813&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Colorado River’s watershed extends across seven U.S. states and into Mexico. Use of river water is governed by a compact negotiated in 1922.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://qcnr.usu.edu/coloradoriver/files/perspectives-map.pdf">Center for Colorado River Studies</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As a partial solution, the <a href="https://www.azwifa.gov/">Arizona Water Infrastructure Finance Authority</a> is exploring a proposal to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/10/climate/arizona-desalination-water-climate.html">import desalinated water from Mexico</a>. Conceptualized by <a href="https://ide-tech.com/en/">IDE, an Israeli company</a> with extensive experience in the desalination sector, this mega-engineering project calls for building a plant in Mexico and piping the water about 200 miles and uphill more than 2,000 feet to Arizona. </p>
<p>Ultimately, the project is slated to <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-environment/2022/12/21/arizona-piping-mexico-water-desalination-colorado-river-dwindles/69745907007/">cost more than US$5 billion</a> and provide fresh water at nearly 10 times the cost of water Arizona currently draws from the Colorado River, not including long-term energy and maintenance costs. </p>
<p>Is this a wise investment? It is hard to say, since details are still forthcoming. It is also unclear how the proposal fits with Arizona’s plans for investing in its water supplies – because, unlike some states, Arizona has no state water plan.</p>
<p>As researchers who focus on water <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=kYqOHrMAAAAJ&hl=en">law</a>, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sharon-Megdal">policy</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=JZBqTFcAAAAJ&hl=en">management</a>, we recommend engineered projects like this one be considered as part of a broader water management portfolio that responds holistically to imbalances in supply and demand. And such decisions should address known and potential consequences and costs down the road. Israel’s approach to desalination offers insights that Arizona would do well to consider.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6sidQzMicXY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A 20-year drought in the Colorado River basin poses critical questions for Arizona’s water future.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Lands and waters at risk</h2>
<p>Around the world, water engineering projects have caused large-scale ecological damage that governments now are spending heavily to repair. Draining and straightening <a href="https://www.evergladesrestoration.gov/restoration-program-overview">the Florida Everglades</a> in the 1950s and ′60s, which seriously harmed water quality and wildlife, is one well-known example. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546421/original/file-20230905-27-4191x1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Maps showing historic, current and planned water flows in south Florida" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546421/original/file-20230905-27-4191x1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546421/original/file-20230905-27-4191x1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546421/original/file-20230905-27-4191x1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546421/original/file-20230905-27-4191x1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546421/original/file-20230905-27-4191x1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546421/original/file-20230905-27-4191x1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546421/original/file-20230905-27-4191x1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">State and federal agencies are spending billions of dollars to restore the Everglades, reversing water control projects from 1948-1963 that channelized and drained these enormous wetlands.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/earth-systems/blog/tell-me-about-everglades-restoration/">US Army Corps of Engineers/Florida Museum</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Israel’s <a href="https://en.parks.org.il/reserve-park/hula-nature-reserve/">Hula wetlands</a> is another. In the 1950s, Israeli water managers viewed the wetlands north of the Sea of Galilee as a malaria-infested swamp that, if drained, would eradicate mosquitoes and open up the area for farming. The project was an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/05/world/israel-restoring-drained-wetland-reversing-pioneers-feat.html">unmitigated failure</a> that led to dust storms, land degradation and the loss of many unique animals and plants.</p>
<p>Arizona is in crisis now due to a combination of water management gaps and climatic changes. Groundwater withdrawals, which in much of rural Arizona remain unregulated, include unchecked pumping by <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/07/16/fondomonte-arizona-drought-saudi-farm-water/">foreign agricultural interests</a> that ship their crops overseas. Moreover, with the Colorado River now in its <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-colorado-river-drought-crisis-5-essential-reads-203651">23rd year of drought</a>, Arizona is being forced to reduce its dependence on the river and <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/06052023/arizona-water-sources-drought/">seek new water sources</a>.</p>
<p>The desalination plant that Arizona is considering would be built in Puerto Peñasco, a Mexican resort town on the northern edge of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Gulf-of-California">Gulf of California</a>, also known as the Sea of Cortez. Highly saline brine left over from the desalination process would be released into the gulf. </p>
<p>Because this inlet has an elongated, baylike geography, salt could concentrate in its upper region, harming endangered aquatic species such as <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/totoaba">the totoaba fish</a> and the vaquita porpoise, <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/vaquita">the world’s most endangered marine mammal</a>. </p>
<p>The pipeline that would carry desalinated water to Arizona would cross through <a href="https://www.nps.gov/orpi/index.htm">Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument</a>, a fragile desert ecosystem and UNESCO biosphere reserve that has already been damaged by <a href="https://www.popsci.com/story/environment/border-wall-damage-water-west/">construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall</a>. To run the facility, IDE proposes to build a power plant in Arizona and lay transmission lines across the same fragile desert. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546875/original/file-20230907-23-qmvgk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Map showing location of proposed plant and pipeline route." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546875/original/file-20230907-23-qmvgk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546875/original/file-20230907-23-qmvgk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546875/original/file-20230907-23-qmvgk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546875/original/file-20230907-23-qmvgk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546875/original/file-20230907-23-qmvgk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546875/original/file-20230907-23-qmvgk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546875/original/file-20230907-23-qmvgk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The proposed desalination plant in Mexico would pipe fresh water 200 miles to Arizona.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.enr.com/articles/55659-arizona-advances-55b-mexico-desalination-plant-proposal">Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona/ENR Southwest</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>No single solution</h2>
<p>Israel has adapted to water scarcity and has learned from its disastrous venture in the Hula wetlands. Today the country has a <a href="https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/isr204034.pdf">water sector master plan</a> that is regularly updated and draws on water recycling and reuse, as well as a significant desalination program.</p>
<p>Israel also has implemented extensive water conservation, efficiency and recycling programs, as well as a broad economic review of desalination. Together, these sources now meet most of the nation’s water needs, and Israel has become a leader in both <a href="https://doi.org/10.1063/PT.3.3193">water technology and policy innovation</a>. </p>
<p>Water rights and laws in Arizona differ from those of Israel, and Arizona isn’t as close to seawater. Nonetheless, in our view Israel’s approach is relevant as Arizona works to close its water demand-supply gap. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546419/original/file-20230905-25-wwtu0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A worker in a hard hat surrounded by valves, adjusting one." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546419/original/file-20230905-25-wwtu0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546419/original/file-20230905-25-wwtu0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546419/original/file-20230905-25-wwtu0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546419/original/file-20230905-25-wwtu0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546419/original/file-20230905-25-wwtu0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546419/original/file-20230905-25-wwtu0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546419/original/file-20230905-25-wwtu0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A worker at the Sorek seawater desalination plant south of Tel Aviv, Israel, which provides 20% of the nation’s municipal water.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/worker-is-seen-at-the-sorek-desalination-plant-in-palmachim-news-photo/1236763628">Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Steps Arizona can take now</h2>
<p>In our view, Arizona would do well to follow Israel’s lead. A logical first step would be making conservation programs, which are <a href="https://new.azwater.gov/conservation">required in some parts of Arizona</a>, mandatory statewide. </p>
<p>Irrigated agriculture uses <a href="https://www.arizonawaterfacts.com/water-your-facts">more than 70% of Arizona’s water supply</a>, and most of the state’s irrigated lands use <a href="https://water.usgs.gov/edu/irmethods.html">flood irrigation</a> – pumping or bringing water into fields and letting it flow over the ground. Greater use of <a href="https://water.usgs.gov/edu/irmethods.html">drip irrigation</a>, which delivers water to plant roots through plastic pipes, and other water-saving techniques and technologies would reduce agricultural water use. </p>
<p>Arizona households, which sometimes use as much as 70% of residential water for <a href="https://www.waterforarizona.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Investing-in-Arizonas-Water-final.pdf">lawns and landscaping</a>, also have a conservation role to play. And the mining sector’s groundwater use presently is <a href="https://nativenewsonline.net/opinion/arizona-must-stop-the-400b-giveaway-of-groundwater-to-the-world-s-largest-foreign-based-mining-companies">largely exempt from state regulations and withdrawal restrictions</a>. </p>
<p>A proactive and holistic water management approach should apply to all sectors of the economy, including industry. Arizona also should continue to expand programs for agricultural, municipal and industrial <a href="https://wrrc.arizona.edu/reuse-whats-in-store">wastewater reuse</a>. </p>
<p>Desalination need not be off the table. But, as in Israel, we see it as part of <a href="https://rnrf.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/RRJV37N3.pdf">a multifaceted and integrated series of solutions</a>. By exploring the economic, technical and environmental feasibility of alternative solutions, Arizona could develop a water portfolio that would be far more likely than massive investments in seawater desalination to achieve the sustainable and secure water future that the state seeks.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212816/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Clive Lipchin is affiliated with the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gabriel Eckstein and Sharon B. Megdal do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Arizona is considering a multibillion-dollar desalination project to address its urgent water needs. Three water experts call for a go-slow approach and point to Israel as a role model.
Gabriel Eckstein, Professor of Law, Texas A&M University
Clive Lipchin, Adjunct Professor of Environmental Studies, Tel Aviv University
Sharon B. Megdal, Professor of Environmental Science and Director, Water Resources Research Center, University of Arizona
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/208669
2023-07-19T03:54:55Z
2023-07-19T03:54:55Z
The hidden cost of the AI boom: social and environmental exploitation
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537673/original/file-20230717-233077-93bviy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=50%2C43%2C4742%2C2651&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Mainstream conversations about artificial intelligence (AI) have been dominated by a few key concerns, such as whether superintelligent AI will <a href="https://time.com/6273743/thinking-that-could-doom-us-with-ai">wipe us out</a>, or whether AI will steal our jobs. But we’ve paid less attention the various other environmental and social impacts of our “consumption” of AI, which are arguably just as important.</p>
<p>Everything we consume has associated “<a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/externality.asp">externalities</a>” – the indirect impacts of our consumption. For instance, <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/Series/Back-to-Basics/Externalities">industrial pollution</a> is a well-known externality that has a negative impact on people and the environment.</p>
<p>The online services we use daily also have externalities, but there seems to be a much lower level of public awareness of these. Given the massive uptake in the use of AI, these factors mustn’t be overlooked.</p>
<h2>Environmental impacts of AI use</h2>
<p>In 2019, French think tank The Shift Project estimated that the use of digital technologies produces more carbon emissions than the <a href="https://en.reset.org/our-digital-carbon-footprint-environmental-impact-living-life-online-12272019">aviation industry</a>. And although AI is currently estimated to contribute less than 1% of total carbon emissions, the AI market size is predicted to <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1365145/artificial-intelligence-market-size">grow ninefold by 2030</a>. </p>
<p>Tools such as <a href="https://openai.com/chatgpt">ChatGPT</a> are built on advanced computational systems called large language models (LLMs). Although we access these models online, they are run and trained in physical data centres around the world that consume significant resources.</p>
<p>Last year, AI company Hugging Face published an <a href="https://arxiv.org/pdf/2211.02001.pdf">estimate</a> of the carbon footprint of its own LLM called BLOOM (a model of similar complexity to OpenAI’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GPT-3">GPT-3</a>).</p>
<p>Accounting for the impact of raw material extraction, manufacturing, training, deployment and end-of-life disposal, the model’s development and usage resulted in the equivalent of <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/11/14/1063192/were-getting-a-better-idea-of-ais-true-carbon-footprint/">60 flights from New York to London</a>. </p>
<p>Hugging Face also estimated GPT-3’s life cycle would result in ten times greater emissions, since the data centres powering it run on a more carbon-intensive grid. This is without considering the raw material, manufacturing and disposal impacts associated with GTP-3. </p>
<p>OpenAI’s latest LLM offering, <a href="https://openai.com/gpt-4">GPT-4</a>, is <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/03/openai-gpt-4-parameters-power-debate/673290/">rumoured to have trillions of parameters</a> and potentially far greater energy usage.</p>
<p>Beyond this, running AI models requires large amounts of water. Data centres use water towers to cool the on-site servers where AI models are trained and deployed. Google recently <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/11/uruguay-drought-water-google-data-center">came under fire</a> for plans to build a new data centre in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/15/drought-leaves-millions-in-uruguay-without-tap-water-fit-for-drinking">drought-stricken Uruguay</a> that would use 7.6 million litres of water each day to cool its servers, according to the nation’s Ministry of Environment (although the Minister for Industry has contested the figures). Water is also needed to generate electricity used to run data centres.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2304.03271">preprint</a> published this year, Pengfei Li and colleagues presented a methodology for gauging the water footprint of AI models. They did this in response to a lack of transparency in how companies evaluate the water footprint associated with using and training AI.</p>
<p>They estimate training GPT-3 required somewhere between 210,000 and 700,000 litres of water (the equivalent of that used to produce between 300 and 1,000 cars). For a conversation with 20 to 50 questions, ChatGPT was estimated to “drink” the equivalent of a 500 millilitre bottle of water.</p>
<h2>Social impacts of AI use</h2>
<p>LLMs often need extensive human input during the training phase. This is typically outsourced to independent contractors <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3555561">who face precarious work conditions</a> in low-income countries, leading to “digital sweatshop” criticisms. </p>
<p>In January, Time <a href="https://time.com/6247678/openai-chatgpt-kenya-workers/">reported</a> on how Kenyan workers contracted to label text data for ChatGPT’s “toxicity” detection were paid less than US$2 per hour while being exposed to explicit and traumatic content. </p>
<p>LLMs can also be used to generate <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/03/fake-news-chatgpt-truth-journalism-disinformation">fake news and propaganda</a>. Left unchecked, AI has the potential to be used to manipulate public opinion, and by extension could undermine <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/how-ai-puts-elections-risk-and-needed-safeguards">democratic processes</a>. In a <a href="https://hai.stanford.edu/news/ais-powers-political-persuasion">recent experiment</a>, researchers at Stanford University found AI-generated messages were consistently persuasive to human readers on topical issues such as carbon taxes and banning assault weapons.</p>
<p>Not everyone will be able to adapt to the AI boom. The large-scale adoption of AI has the potential to worsen global <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/feb/08/ai-chatgpt-jobs-economy-inequality">wealth inequality</a>. It will not only cause significant <a href="https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-future-of-jobs-report-2023/">disruptions to the job market</a> – but could particularly marginalise workers from certain backgrounds and in <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/cea/written-materials/2022/12/05/the-impact-of-artificial-intelligence/">specific industries</a>. </p>
<h2>Are there solutions?</h2>
<p>The way AI impacts us over time will depend on myriad factors. Future generative AI models <em>could</em> be designed to use <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/robtoews/2023/02/07/the-next-generation-of-large-language-models/?sh=1fdc66518dbc">significantly less energy</a>, but it’s hard to say whether <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-022-01377-7">they will be</a>.</p>
<p>When it comes to data centres, the location of the centres, the type of power generation they use, and the time of day they are used can significantly impact their overall <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3531146.3533234">energy</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2304.03271">water</a> consumption. Optimising these computing resources could result in significant reductions. Companies including <a href="https://www.deepmind.com/blog/deepmind-ai-reduces-google-data-centre-cooling-bill-by-40">Google</a>, <a href="https://huggingface.co/blog/carbon-emissions-on-the-hub">Hugging Face</a> and <a href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-au/explore/global-infrastructure/sustainability">Microsoft</a> have championed the role their AI and cloud services can play in managing resource usage to achieve efficiency gains.</p>
<p>Also, as direct or indirect consumers of AI services, it’s important we’re all aware that every chatbot query and image generation results in water and energy use, and could have implications for human labour. </p>
<p>AI’s growing popularity might eventually trigger the development of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainability_standards_and_certification">sustainability standards and certifications</a>. These would help users understand and compare the impacts of specific AI services, allowing them to choose those which have been certified. This would be similar to the <a href="https://www.climateneutraldatacentre.net">Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact</a>, wherein European data centre operators have agreed to make data centres climate neutral by 2030.</p>
<p>Governments will also play a part. The European Parliament has approved draft legislation to mitigate the risks of AI usage. And earlier this year, the US senate heard testimonies from a range of experts on how AI might be effectively regulated and its harms minimised. China has also <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/china-issues-temporary-rules-generative-ai-services-2023-07-13">published rules</a> on the use of generative AI, requiring security assessments for products offering services to the public.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/eu-approves-draft-law-to-regulate-ai-heres-how-it-will-work-205672">EU approves draft law to regulate AI – here's how it will work</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208669/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ascelin Gordon is employed by RMIT University. He receives funding support from the Australian Research Council, the NSW Department of Planning and Environment, and the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Afshin Jafari is employed by RMIT University.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carl Higgs is employed at RMIT University and receives funding support from National Health and Medical Research Council grants.</span></em></p>
In a preprint study, researchers estimate training the model behind ChatGPT would have required somewhere between 210,000 and 700,000 litres of water.
Ascelin Gordon, Senior research fellow, RMIT University
Afshin Jafari, Research fellow, RMIT University
Carl Higgs, Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/206386
2023-05-26T12:28:18Z
2023-05-26T12:28:18Z
Colorado River states bought time with a 3-year water conservation deal – now they need to think bigger
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528392/original/file-20230525-15-nxrpr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C11%2C3841%2C2085&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An irrigation canal moves Colorado River water through farm fields in California's Imperial Valley.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/this-aerial-view-shows-an-irrigation-canal-through-news-photo/1248577568">Photo by Sandy Huffaker / AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Arizona, California and Nevada have narrowly averted a regional water crisis by agreeing to <a href="https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2023-05-22/seven-states-announce-colorado-river-water-deal-agreeing-on-water-cuts-for-three-years">reduce their use of Colorado River water</a> over the next three years. This deal represents a temporary solution to a long-term crisis. Nonetheless, as a <a href="https://robertglennon.net/">close observer of western water policy</a>, I see it as an important win for the region.</p>
<p>Seven western states – Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California – and Mexico rely on water from the Colorado River for irrigation for 5.5 million acres and drinking water for <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/22/climate/colorado-river-deal.html">40 million people</a>. Their shares are apportioned under a compact negotiated in 1922. We now know, thanks to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1752-1688.12989">tree-ring science</a>, that its framers wildly overestimated how much water the river contained on a reliable basis. And climate change is <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-is-shrinking-the-colorado-river-76280">making things worse</a>. </p>
<p>Some recent commentators have argued for <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-05-19/former-interior-secretary-calls-for-revamping-colorado-river-compact">revamping the compact</a>. The lawyer in me shudders to think of the utter chaos that would ensue as states, tribes that were left out of the original agreement, and Mexico try to unwind settled expectations and create new ones. </p>
<p>In my view, the agreement announced on May 22, 2023, strongly repudiates the need to revamp the compact. Seven states were able to finesse an agreement that will ultimately result in significant changes to the legal documents collectively known as the <a href="https://www.crwua.org/law-of-the-river.html">Law of the River</a>, without the need to begin again. The next step – a broader, longer-lasting overhaul of the compact – will be even more challenging. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-xTv3xYx8b4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The May 2023 deal staves off an immediate water crisis but does not solve long-term problems in the Colorado River Basin.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Overallocated and shrinking</h2>
<p>The Colorado River, the lifeblood of the U.S. Southwest, faced the prospect of going dry if its two largest reservoirs – Lakes Mead and Powell – hit <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-dead-pool-a-water-expert-explains-182495">dead pool</a>, the level at which no water flows through their dams. Several forces led to this catastrophic prospect. </p>
<p>First, the 1922 Colorado River Compact and other elements of the Law of the River dole out rights to <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-climate-change-parches-the-southwest-heres-a-better-way-to-share-water-from-the-shrinking-colorado-river-168723">more water than the river provides</a>. </p>
<p>Second, a historic drought that commenced in 2000 has caused water levels in the reservoirs to <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-02-05/colorado-river-reservoirs-unlikely-to-refill-experts-say">plummet by 75%</a>. </p>
<p>Third, climate change has reduced the flow in the river by more than 1 million acre-feet. (One acre-foot is the amount of water required to cover an acre of land to a depth of 1 foot – about 325,000 gallons.) Evaporation off the surface of the reservoirs annually claims in excess of an additional 1 million acre-feet. </p>
<figure>
<iframe frameborder="0" class="juxtapose" width="100%" height="400" src="https://cdn.knightlab.com/libs/juxtapose/latest/embed/index.html?uid=562fd2cc-fb2c-11ed-b5bd-6595d9b17862"></iframe>
</figure><figure><figcaption>These satellite images show water levels declining from 2020 through 2022 in Lake Mead, located in the Mojave Desert in Arizona and Nevada (move slider to see change).<a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/145762/a-flash-drought-dries-the-southeast">NASA Earth Observatory</a></figcaption></figure>
<p><a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/05/05/1173069933/snowpack-california-2023-flooding-what-to-expect">This year’s snowpack</a>, historic by any measure, offers a year or two of relief from hitting dead pool. However, one wet year <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-the-western-drought-finally-ending-that-depends-on-where-you-look-201156">doesn’t alter the trajectory of climate change</a> or the level of reliable flows in the river over time. </p>
<p>State water managers clearly understand the problem and have taken <a href="https://library.cap-az.com/documents/departments/planning/colorado-river-programs/CAP-FactSheet-DCP.pdf">significant but insufficient steps to conserve water</a>. Each state thinks <a href="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/the-long-game/2023/02/07/the-colorado-river-hits-a-boiling-point-00081530">the others should do more</a> to solve the problem. Negotiations, sometimes acrimonious, have stalled. </p>
<p>In 2022, the U.S. Department of the Interior broke this stalemate with a plea and then a demand for the states to do more, faster, to protect the river. Then, in April 2023, the agency released a <a href="https://www.usbr.gov/ColoradoRiverBasin/documents/NearTermColoradoRiverOperations/20230400-Near-termColoradoRiverOperations-DraftEIS-508.pdf">draft supplemental environmental impact study</a> that offered two alternatives – one more favorable to California, the other to Arizona. The message to states was clear: If you can’t reach a consensus, we’ll act to protect the river. Intense negotiations followed, leading to the May 22 agreement. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/Crt1UM8tMHo/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link\u0026igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<h2>Will payments promote long-term conservation?</h2>
<p>The new cuts center on California, Nevada and Arizona because they draw their shares of the river mostly from Lake Powell and Lake Mead. The states have agreed to reduce their consumption of Colorado River water by 3 million acre-feet by 2026, which represents <a href="https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2023-05-22/seven-states-announce-colorado-river-water-deal-agreeing-on-water-cuts-for-three-years">about 14%</a> of their combined allocations. </p>
<p>This pact temporarily protects water supplies for cities, farmers and tribes. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation immediately accepted the proposal and committed to pay for steps that are expected to <a href="https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/biden-harris-administration-announces-historic-consensus-system-conservation-proposal">conserve 2.3 million acre-feet of water</a> with money from the Inflation Reduction Act. For example, the Gila River Indian Community will receive $50 million from the Lower Colorado River Basin System Conservation and Efficiency Program in <a href="https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/biden-harris-administration-announces-historic-consensus-system-conservation-proposal">each of the next three years</a> for improvements such as new pipelines. </p>
<p>It’s now up to California, Nevada and Arizona to divvy up the remaining 700,000 acre-feet of cuts. I expect that water reallocation, with water moving from lower-value to higher-value uses, will play a key role. Water marketing – negotiating voluntary sales or leases of water – is a tool to facilitate that transition. </p>
<p>Most of the water involved in the recent agreement will be freed up by one party paying another party to use less – for example, <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-water-strategy-for-the-parched-west-have-cities-pay-farmers-to-install-more-efficient-irrigation-systems-185820">cities paying farmers to conserve water</a> that the cities can then use. That’s the essence of water marketing. The agreement will provide funding to irrigation districts, tribes and water providers, who will then figure out how to generate the savings each organization has committed to deliver. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1661468606130196480"}"></div></p>
<h2>Negotiation, not litigation</h2>
<p>The next steps are for the states to begin discussions about replacing guidelines that currently govern the sharing of Colorado River water, which expire in 2026. These discussions will be more painful because federal funding will expire and cuts will be more severe. Thus far, the Upper Basin states – Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico – have not had to endure significant water use cuts. My hope is that the states will seize this three-year window as an opportunity to develop procedures and identify funding for major water reallocations. </p>
<p>Over the last couple of years, there have been <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/30/us/colorado-river-water-california-arizona-climate/index.html">threats to solve these issues in court</a>. But litigation is a lengthy, costly process fraught with uncertainty. The original <a href="https://wrrc.arizona.edu/publication/sharing-colorado-river-water-history-public-policy-and-colorado-river-compact">Arizona v. California suit</a> was filed in 1930, and the Supreme Court did not enter its final decree until 2006. </p>
<p>Many legal arguments that individual basin states could present to a court rest on interpretations of vague or ambiguous Law of the River documents. The river can’t wait for the legal process to adjudicate gnarly, complicated claims made trickier by a century of statutory and case law embellishments. As I see it, negotiation and concessions leading to consensus are the only viable solution going forward.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206386/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert Glennon does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Southwest states have bought time with an agreement between California, Arizona and Nevada to cut Colorado River water use by about 14%. Now comes the hard part.
Robert Glennon, Regents Professor Emeritus and Morris K. Udall Professor of Law & Public Policy Emeritus, University of Arizona
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/203651
2023-04-13T12:26:51Z
2023-04-13T12:26:51Z
The Colorado River drought crisis: 5 essential reads
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520603/original/file-20230412-18-qqa033.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C5%2C3484%2C2001&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sprinklers water a lettuce field in Holtville, California with Colorado River water. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/this-aerial-view-shows-sprinklers-watering-a-lettuce-field-news-photo/1248577888">Sandy Huffaker/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A 23-year western drought has drastically shrunk the Colorado River, which provides <a href="https://www.usbr.gov/climate/secure/docs/2016secure/factsheet/ColoradoRiverBasinFactSheet.pdf">water for drinking and irrigation</a> for Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California and two states in Mexico. Under a <a href="https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/pao/pdfiles/crcompct.pdf">1922 compact</a>, these jurisdictions receive fixed allocations of water from the river – but now there’s not enough water to provide them.</p>
<p>As states try to negotiate ways to share the decreasing flow, the U.S. Department of the Interior is considering <a href="https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-department-announces-next-steps-protect-stability-and-sustainability-colorado">cuts of up to 25%</a> in allotments for California, Nevada and Arizona. The federal government can regulate these states’ water shares because they come mainly from <a href="https://www.nps.gov/lake/learn/nature/overview-of-lake-mead.htm">Lake Mead</a>, the largest U.S. reservoir, which was created when the Hoover Dam was built on the Colorado River near Las Vegas. </p>
<p>These five articles from The Conversation’s archive explain what’s happening and what’s at stake in the Colorado River basin’s drought crisis. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The Colorado River provides water to 40 million people and some of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S., but its flow is dwindling.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>1. A faulty river compact</h2>
<p>The idea of negotiating a legally binding agreement to share river water among states was innovative in the 1920s. But the Colorado River Compact made some critical assumptions that have proved to be fatal flaws. </p>
<p>The lawyers who wrote the compact knew that the Colorado’s flow could vary and that they didn’t have enough data for long-term planning. But they still allocated fixed quantities of water to each participating state. “We know now that they <a href="https://theconversation.com/western-river-compacts-were-innovative-in-the-1920s-but-couldnt-foresee-todays-water-challenges-175121">used optimistic flow numbers</a> measured during a particularly wet period,” wrote <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=LQcyNSwAAAAJ&hl=en">Patricia J. Rettig</a>, head archivist of Colorado State University’s <a href="https://lib.colostate.edu/find/archives-special-collections/collections/water-resources-archive/">Water Resources Archive</a>.</p>
<p>Nor did the compact encourage conservation as the West’s population grew. “When settlers developed the West, their prevailing attitude was that water reaching the sea was wasted, so people aimed to use it all,” Rettig observed. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/western-river-compacts-were-innovative-in-the-1920s-but-couldnt-foresee-todays-water-challenges-175121">Western river compacts were innovative in the 1920s but couldn't foresee today's water challenges</a>
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<h2>2. Temporary cuts aren’t big enough</h2>
<p>Western states have known for years that they were taking more water from the Colorado than nature was putting in. But reducing water use is politically charged, since it means imposing limits on such powerful constituencies as farmers and developers. </p>
<p>In 2019, officials from the U.S. government and the seven Colorado Basin states signed a seven-year drought contingency plan that temporarily reduced states’ water allocations. But the plan did not propose long-term strategies for addressing climate change or overuse of water in the region. </p>
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<p>“Since 2000, Colorado River flows have been 16% below the 20th-century average,” wrote water policy experts <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brad-Udall">Brad Udall</a>, <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/program/hydrosciences/douglas-kenney#">Douglas Kenney</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=hVCNqZUAAAAJ&hl=en">John Fleck</a>. “Temperatures across the Colorado River Basin are now over 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius) warmer than the 20th-century average, and are certain to continue rising. Scientists have begun using the term ‘aridification’ to describe <a href="https://theconversation.com/western-states-buy-time-with-a-7-year-colorado-river-drought-plan-but-face-a-hotter-drier-future-119448">the hotter, drier climate in the basin</a>, rather than ‘drought,’ which implies a temporary condition.”</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/western-states-buy-time-with-a-7-year-colorado-river-drought-plan-but-face-a-hotter-drier-future-119448">Western states buy time with a 7-year Colorado River drought plan, but face a hotter, drier future</a>
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<h2>3. The looming threat of dead pool</h2>
<p>Lake Mead and <a href="https://www.usbr.gov/projects/index.php?id=144">Lake Powell</a>, the other major reservoir on the lower Colorado River, were created to provide water for irrigation and to generate hydropower, which is produced by the force of water flowing through large turbines in the lakes’ dams. If water in either lake drops below the intakes for the turbines, the lake will fall below “minimum power pool” and stop producing electricity. </p>
<p>If water in the lakes dropped even further, <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-dead-pool-a-water-expert-explains-182495">they could reach “dead pool</a>,” the point at which water is too low to flow through the dam. This is an extreme scenario, but it can’t be ruled out, University of Arizona water expert <a href="https://robertglennon.net/">Robert Glennon</a> warned. In addition to drought and climate change, he noted, both lakes lie in canyons that “are V-shaped, like martini glasses – wide at the rim and narrow at the bottom. As levels in the lakes decline, each foot of elevation holds less water.”</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-dead-pool-a-water-expert-explains-182495">What is dead pool? A water expert explains</a>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520605/original/file-20230412-16-e0mhui.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Infographic of Hoover Dam and water levels where power general and then water flow would stop." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520605/original/file-20230412-16-e0mhui.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520605/original/file-20230412-16-e0mhui.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520605/original/file-20230412-16-e0mhui.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520605/original/file-20230412-16-e0mhui.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520605/original/file-20230412-16-e0mhui.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520605/original/file-20230412-16-e0mhui.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520605/original/file-20230412-16-e0mhui.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">This graphic shows the water level in Lake Powell as of November 2022 and the levels that represent minimum power pool and dead pool.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://new.azwater.gov/news/articles/2022-03-11">Arizona Department of Water Resources</a></span>
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<h2>4. Why hydropower matters</h2>
<p>Climate change and drought are <a href="https://theconversation.com/hydropowers-future-is-clouded-by-droughts-floods-and-climate-change-its-also-essential-to-the-us-electric-grid-182314">stressing hydropower generation</a> throughout the U.S. West by reducing snowpack and precipitation and drying up rivers. This could create serious stress for regional electric grid operators, according to Penn State civil engineers <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=HoSryoQAAAAJ&hl=en">Caitlin Grady</a> and <a href="https://blogs.gwu.edu/caitlin-grady/team/">Lauren Dennis</a>. </p>
<p>“Because it can quickly be turned on and off, hydroelectric power can help control minute-to-minute supply and demand changes,” they wrote. “It can also help power grids quickly bounce back when blackouts occur. Hydropower makes up about 40% of U.S. electric grid facilities that can be started without an additional power supply during a blackout, in part because the fuel needed to generate power is simply the water held in the reservoir behind the turbine.”</p>
<p>While most hydropower dams are likely here to stay, in Grady’s and Dennis’ view, “climate change will change how these plants are used and managed.”</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hydropowers-future-is-clouded-by-droughts-floods-and-climate-change-its-also-essential-to-the-us-electric-grid-182314">Hydropower's future is clouded by droughts, floods and climate change – it's also essential to the US electric grid</a>
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<h2>5. The resurrection of Glen Canyon</h2>
<p>Lake Powell was created by flooding Glen Canyon, a spectacular swath of canyons on the Utah-Arizona border. As the lake’s water level drops, many side canyons have reemerged. Effectively, climate change is draining the lake.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">A boat trip into zones of Glen Canyon that have been uncovered as water levels drop.</span></figcaption>
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<p>This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to recover a unique landscape, wrote University of Utah political scientist <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Daniel-Mccool">Dan McCool</a>. “But <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-climate-change-and-overuse-shrink-lake-powell-the-emergent-landscape-is-coming-back-to-life-and-posing-new-challenges-197340">managing this emergent landscape</a> also presents serious political and environmental challenges.” </p>
<p>In McCool’s view, a key priority should be to give Native American tribes a meaningful role in managing those lands – including cultural sites and artifacts that were flooded when the river was dammed. The river has also deposited massive quantities of sediments in the canyon behind the dam, some of which are contaminated. And as visitors flock to newly accessible side canyons, the area will need staff to manage visitors and protect fragile resources.</p>
<p>“Other landscapes are likely to emerge across the West as climate change reshapes the region and numerous reservoirs decline. With proper planning, Glen Canyon can provide a lesson in how to manage them,” McCool observed.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-climate-change-and-overuse-shrink-lake-powell-the-emergent-landscape-is-coming-back-to-life-and-posing-new-challenges-197340">As climate change and overuse shrink Lake Powell, the emergent landscape is coming back to life – and posing new challenges</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203651/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Two decades of drought have reduced the river’s flow by one-third compared to historical averages. The Biden administration is considering mandatory cuts to some states’ water allocations.
Jennifer Weeks, Senior Environment + Cities Editor, The Conversation
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/197382
2023-02-13T13:23:45Z
2023-02-13T13:23:45Z
A new strategy for western states to adapt to long-term drought: Customized water pricing
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509212/original/file-20230209-28-cecwzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C6%2C4486%2C2984&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Prompts like this sign in Coalinga, California, may get people to use less water – but paying them could be more effective. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/sign-informs-residents-to-conserve-water-on-saturday-august-news-photo/1243860618">Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Even after <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/01/22/1150197343/why-heavy-winter-rain-and-snow-wont-be-enough-to-pull-the-west-out-of-a-megadrou">heavy snow and rainfall in January</a>, western states still face an ongoing drought risk that is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2006323117">likely to grow worse</a> thanks to climate change. A whopping snowpack is good news, but it doesn’t reduce the need for long-term planning.</p>
<p>Confronted with a shrinking supply of water for agriculture, industry and residential uses, water agencies have pursued different strategies to encourage water conservation. They have <a href="https://environment-review.yale.edu/water-conservation-gentle-nudge-can-go-long-way-0">nudged customers</a> to reduce water use, <a href="https://www.ladwpnews.com/phase-3-water-restrictions-frequently-asked-questions/">limited outdoor watering</a> and offered incentives to <a href="https://www.ladwpnews.com/rebate-increase-gives-ladwp-customers-5-per-square-foot-to-replace-lawns-with-sustainable-landscaping/">rip out lawns</a>. On the supply side, there are innovative ideas about <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-california-could-save-up-its-rain-to-ease-future-droughts-instead-of-watching-epic-atmospheric-river-rainfall-drain-into-the-pacific-197168">using heavy rains to recharge groundwater</a>.</p>
<p>Basic economics teaches us that a higher price for water would encourage conservation. Up until now, however, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-10-24/millions-of-californians-are-struggling-to-pay-for-water">concerns about harming low-income households</a> have limited discussions about raising water prices to reduce demand. </p>
<p>We know that it’s hard to pay more for essential goods such as food, energy and water, especially for lower-income households. Rather than raising everyone’s water prices, we propose a customized approach that lets individual consumers decide whether to pay higher prices. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">In August 2022, the federal government declared an unprecedented drought emergency on the Colorado River and ordered Arizona, Nevada and Mexico to sharply reduce their water usage.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Who is most able and willing to conserve?</h2>
<p>One of the most common challenges involved in making markets work well is what economists call <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/asymmetricinformation.asp">asymmetric information</a> – when one party has more access to relevant information than the other party. Think about buying or selling a car before online tools like <a href="https://www.carfax.com/value/">Carfax</a> were available. Owners and dealers knew more about what each car was really worth, so they had greater bargaining power than buyers. </p>
<p>The West has millions of water users with a broad range of incomes who consume water at widely varying levels. These consumers, including urban households, businesses and farmers, know more than water agencies do about how readily they can conserve water. </p>
<p>For example, a person who owns a home with a large green lawn and who is conservation-minded may need only a small incentive to switch to <a href="https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/la-west/environment/2022/03/21/socal-water-districts-urge-water-conservation">native, low-water plants</a>. Some farmers may need only a small incentive to replace <a href="https://www.uidaho.edu/-/media/UIdaho-Responsive/Files/cals/centers/Kimberly/forage/Alfalfa-Irrigation-Facts-2013.pdf">water-intensive alfalfa production</a> with a less water-intensive crop.</p>
<p>Water agencies could elicit this private information by making a “take it or leave it” offer to water consumers. Some of California’s electric utilities have already <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w23553">experimented with this opt-in approach</a> to encourage energy conservation. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509214/original/file-20230209-166-3o38ks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A large house with a pool, bordered by brown dirt" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509214/original/file-20230209-166-3o38ks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509214/original/file-20230209-166-3o38ks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509214/original/file-20230209-166-3o38ks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509214/original/file-20230209-166-3o38ks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509214/original/file-20230209-166-3o38ks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509214/original/file-20230209-166-3o38ks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509214/original/file-20230209-166-3o38ks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Water officials in the Las Vegas area want to cap the size of new swimming pools like this one at a home abutting desert land in Henderson, Nev.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/ColoradoRiverUsersWesternDrought/752a24416a174bcd8bb8fcbaed0a2b9b/photo">AP Photo/John Locher</a></span>
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<h2>Target the big users</h2>
<p>Every western water district has access to customer-level big data on monthly and even daily water consumption. Agencies could use this information to identify the top 10% of water consumers in their territories, based on volume used – like the household in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles that used <a href="https://la.curbed.com/2015/10/1/9915330/california-biggest-water-user">11.8 million gallons of water</a> in 2014.</p>
<p>Water agencies could randomly select customers among the largest water users in their service areas to participate in a small pilot study. Each invitee would receive an opt-in contract offering to pay them an annual fee for enrolling for three years in a water conservation program. In return, the price the consumer paid for each gallon of water would triple. This approach would give the consumer a guaranteed payment for participating and a clear incentive to use less water.</p>
<p>Data scientists would collect information on who accepted the offer and could survey invitees to learn how they decided whether or not to participate. Combining these two data sets would make it possible to test hypotheses about which factors determined willingness to accept the opt-in offer. </p>
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<p>Using customer-level water consumption data over time, water agencies could track usage and compare customers who participated in the price increase program with others who turned down the offer. This would make it possible to estimate the water conservation benefits of introducing customized water prices.</p>
<p>There are many different ways in which water users could cut back, including swapping out <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.0741-6261.2008.00026.x?casa_token=SVO72Cz4sloAAAAA%3AlmARK8MIBvgi-S_fk4Vx9JuRPiH0IunV7iQ82_H4x7WI3OZBpOXZbyyqL1Ma69IioXgcVA4cGTF1ef5C3w">old appliances</a> or watering their gardens less often. Farmers could <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-water-strategy-for-the-parched-west-have-cities-pay-farmers-to-install-more-efficient-irrigation-systems-185820">install more efficient irrigation systems</a>. Customers who <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wre.2020.100169">chose the payment in return for higher prices</a> would decide which conservation strategies worked best for them. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509217/original/file-20230209-18-5griet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Children use an open-air shower at a public beach." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509217/original/file-20230209-18-5griet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509217/original/file-20230209-18-5griet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509217/original/file-20230209-18-5griet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509217/original/file-20230209-18-5griet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509217/original/file-20230209-18-5griet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509217/original/file-20230209-18-5griet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509217/original/file-20230209-18-5griet.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">In 2015, California temporarily shut off showers at state beaches to conserve water, a strategy that mainly affected less affluent households.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/ryanh-morales-from-left-and-his-brother-dereck-use-the-news-photo/480116758">Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>Big potential insights</h2>
<p>Conducting a pilot study using a randomly chosen sample of high-usage customers is a low-stakes strategy. If it fails to promote water conservation at a low cost, then a valuable lesson has been learned. If it succeeds, the same opt-in offer could be made to more high-usage customers. </p>
<p>Water agencies would need funds to support the pilot study, possibly from state or federal sources. Since pumping, treating and heating water uses energy, and thus <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/11/114002">creates greenhouse gas emissions</a>, funds from the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/cleanenergy/inflation-reduction-act-guidebook/#:%7E:text=The%20Inflation%20Reduction%20Act%20is,technology%2C%20manufacturing%2C%20and%20innovation.">Inflation Reduction Act</a> might be an option. Successful water conservation would <a href="https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/climatechange/what-you-can-do-home_.html">help to slow climate change</a>.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8RuVzvHVop0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A farmer in California’s Central Valley explains how he started directing floodwaters onto his fields in wet years to recharge groundwater and buffer his lands against dry years.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Today, most water agencies don’t know how responsive individual customers would be to higher prices. By conducting the type of pilot study that we have described, agencies could answer that question without raising prices for vulnerable households. If such initiatives succeeded, they could be replicated in other drought-prone areas of the West. Since farms <a href="https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/water-in-the-west">consume the largest share of water</a> in western states, it is especially important to learn more about farmers’ willingness to conserve. </p>
<p>Water is essential for life, but westerners have different abilities and willingness to conserve it. We recommend a strategy that rewards those who are most able to reduce their usage without punishing those who are least able.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197382/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Even after January’s storms, California faces a water-scarce future. An economist and an engineer propose a way to test higher water prices as a conservation strategy without hurting low-income users.
Matthew E. Kahn, Provost Professor of Economics and Spatial Sciences, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Bhaskar Krishnamachari, Ming Hsieh Faculty Fellow and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Southern California
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/195347
2022-12-07T22:40:02Z
2022-12-07T22:40:02Z
COP15 biodiversity summit in Montréal: Canada failed to meet its 2020 conservation targets. Will 2030 be any better?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499647/original/file-20221207-12015-1ktm1o.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C62%2C2977%2C1922&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Fulford Harbour sea garden clam bed was built by First Nations in the Salish Sea near Salt Spring Island, B.C. Despite growing recognition that lands managed by Indigenous Peoples are, on average, more biodiverse, biodiversity conservation has typically marginalized Indigenous Peoples.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www.cbd.int/meetings/COP-15">15th Conference of the Parties (COP15</a>) of the United Nations <a href="https://www.cbd.int/convention/">Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)</a> is underway in Montréal. Like the COP27 climate conference held in Egypt last month, the goal of this conference is to get member nations to make agreements that can help reverse or slow down the damage being done to our planet.</p>
<p>One of the largest challenges in Canada and across the world is that <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315439488-1/introduction-sharlene-mollett-thembela-kepe">biodiversity conservation has typically marginalized Indigenous Peoples</a> and their knowledge systems. And yet, there is growing recognition that <a href="https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03341800/document">lands managed by Indigenous Peoples are, on average, more biodiverse</a>. </p>
<p>It is, therefore, vital that conservation practices are planned and conducted in collaboration with Indigenous Peoples. <a href="https://thenarwhal.ca/cop15-indigenous-led-conservation/">The targets set at COP15 cannot be met without Indigenous leadership</a>. </p>
<p>In Canada, efforts to meet the 2020 targets intentionally <a href="https://www.conservation2020canada.ca/ipcas">engaged both Indigenous and Western governance frameworks</a> in national conservation policy formulation for the first time. But was that enough? As we move on to setting new conservation goals for the next decade, we need to evaluate what worked and what didn’t in our efforts so far.</p>
<h2>Canada embraces the 2020 Aichi targets</h2>
<p>The Conference of the Parties of the CBD held in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, in 2010, set 20 <a href="https://www.cbd.int/sp/targets/">targets</a> for the conservation of the world’s biodiversity. These targets aimed at addressing the underlying causes of biodiversity loss by “mainstreaming biodiversity conservation across government and society.” </p>
<p>This meant <a href="https://trondheimconference.org/assets/Files/TC9%20Background%20documents/Mainstreaming-reference-document-SCBD-TRONDHEIM-CONF.pdf">integrating actions or policies related to biodiversity</a> into broader
development policies such as those aimed at poverty reduction or tackling climate change.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1189859754648252416"}"></div></p>
<p>As a member of the COP, Canada adopted these 20 targets, but <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/land8010010">focused on target 11</a>, which states that at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland water areas and 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas will be conserved in protected areas by 2020. </p>
<p>The Aichi target 11 became Canada’s primary biodiversity target (target 1) and was adopted as a policy by the Canadian Parliament. A policy process called the <a href="https://www.conservation2020canada.ca/the-pathway">Pathway to Canada Target 1</a> — or the Pathway process — was put in place in 2017 to help Canada meet its 2020 biodiversity targets. </p>
<p>To achieve these targets, the government of Canada engaged several state and non-state institutions. The coastal and marine target of 10 per cent conserved areas was in the custody of the federal <a href="https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/oceans/conservation/plan/index-eng.html">Department of Fisheries and Oceans</a> (DFO). This target was met by the DFO, arguably because marine areas are void of human habitation and consequently have less political and social resistance to conservation. </p>
<p>The achievement of the 17 per cent of terrestrial areas and inland water target was to be managed by <a href="https://parks.canada.ca/agence-agency/bib-lib/rapports-reports/core-2018/min">Parks Canada Agency</a> and the <a href="https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/40c2fab1-e757-49f1-b403-e42c0239158a/resource/d50a12fa-15b3-4471-a6be-6b41bc6361d1/download/aep-annual-report-2017-2018.pdf">government of Alberta</a>. This target was, however, not met. Only <a href="https://cpawsmb.org/news-release-manitoba-is-failing-to-safeguard-nature/">13.8 per cent of terrestrial and inland waters was protected</a> by the end of 2020.</p>
<p>The Pathway process engaged a wide diversity of conservation and industry stakeholders and Indigenous People to meet this goal. The <a href="https://www.conservation2020canada.ca/who-we-are#ICE">Indigenous Circle of Experts</a> showed how Indigenous People could help Canada meet its targets, by playing the primary role in protecting and conserving ecosystems through Indigenous laws, governance and knowledge systems, while working towards nation-to-nation reconciliation. </p>
<p>But this ended in <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57e007452e69cf9a7af0a033/t/5ab94aca6d2a7338ecb1d05e/1522092766605/PA234-ICE_Report_2018_Mar_22_web.pdf">March 2018 when the Circle’s report — We Rise Together —</a> was transferred to the Ministry of Environment.</p>
<h2>The Pathway to reconciliation</h2>
<p>According to some members of the <a href="https://www.conservation2020canada.ca/who-we-are#NSC">National Steering Committee</a> of the Pathway and the <a href="https://www.conservation2020canada.ca/who-we-are#NAP">National Advisory Panel</a>, the intent of the Pathway was more than just carving out protected areas to meet Canada’s international commitment on conservation. It was also about relationship building.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57e007452e69cf9a7af0a033/t/626014ba9d13361f3f41bb15/1650463944847/Compressed_3750+-+Gov+of+Canada+-++The+Pathway+Journey+-+FINAL+-+WEB.pdf">Pathway</a> was an opportunity to advance nation-to-nation reconciliation and to reconcile Canadians with the land. The Indigenous Circle of Experts made great progress in relationship building and in engaging members of the federal, provincial and territorial governments. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zvw5djVRjE0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The Indigenous Circle of Experts advised the government on how Indigenous Peoples could help Canada meet its targets while working towards nation-to-nation reconciliation.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Its <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57e007452e69cf9a7af0a033/t/5ab94aca6d2a7338ecb1d05e/1522092766605/PA234-ICE_Report_2018_Mar_22_web.pdf">2018 report</a> laid out a path for greater reconciliation in the conservation sector that focused on the creation and management of <a href="https://conservation-reconciliation.ca/about-ipcas">Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)</a>. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://conservation-reconciliation.ca/">federal government remains enthusiastic about supporting IPCAs and Indigenous-led conservation</a> as seen in its support for the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/environmental-funding/indigenous-guardians.html">Indigenous guardians</a> program and the recent allocation of <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/news/2022/09/up-to-40-million-in-indigenous-led-area-based-conservation-funding-now-available.html">$40 million for Indigenous-led conservation</a>.</p>
<p>But some <a href="https://thenarwhal.ca/newsletter-ontario-indigenous-conservation-resistance/">provinces, like Ontario</a>, are resistant to IPCAs as they don’t recognize Indigenous jurisdictions under the Crown law. These tensions have been exacerbated during the implementation process which began after the submission of the reports in March 2018 when the implementing agency of the Pathway switched from Parks Canada to Environment and Climate Change Canada. This disrupted some of the relationships that made the pathway a success, including no longer seeking advice from the Indigenous Circle of Experts.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, the growing numbers of IPCAs can be presented as an indication of success of the Pathway. </p>
<h2>New targets for the new decade</h2>
<p>Canada needs to build on the work of the Pathway initiative to prepare for better outcomes of the conservation of biodiversity targets by 2030. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499510/original/file-20221207-12015-7qtkic.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A group of protestors" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499510/original/file-20221207-12015-7qtkic.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499510/original/file-20221207-12015-7qtkic.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499510/original/file-20221207-12015-7qtkic.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499510/original/file-20221207-12015-7qtkic.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499510/original/file-20221207-12015-7qtkic.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499510/original/file-20221207-12015-7qtkic.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499510/original/file-20221207-12015-7qtkic.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Protesters urge governments to stop invading Indigenous land in the process of biodiversity conservation during the opening ceremony of the COP15 UN conference on biodiversity in Montréal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Canadian government and various national organizations including the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) have been championing the <a href="https://www.hacfornatureandpeople.org/home">30 per cent target</a>, which urges nations to commit to protecting 30 per cent of the world’s land and sea by 2030, including key ecosystems around the world.</p>
<p>To do so, Canada needs to continue to support Indigenous-led conservation to meet its new targets. The Dec. 7 announcement <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/indigenous-conservation-protetion-cree-inuit-firstnations-1.6677350">of the allocation of an $800 million fund for Indigenous-led conservation initiatives is a great start</a> toward this goal. But viable conservation-based economies are critical. Money alone isn’t the answer. </p>
<p>We need to embrace the facets of the Pathway that went right — including the support of and collaboration with Indigenous experts — and focus on relationships to help steer us to success by 2030.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195347/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robin J. Roth receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emmanuel Tamufor does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
As we set conservation goals for the next decade, we need to evaluate what worked and what didn’t in our efforts to meet the 2020 biodiversity conservation targets.
Emmanuel Tamufor, PhD Candidate, Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics / Guelph Institute of Development Studies, University of Guelph
Robin J. Roth, Professor, Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics, University of Guelph
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/187042
2022-11-02T17:27:05Z
2022-11-02T17:27:05Z
Ripple effect: As global freshwater basins dry up, the threat to ecosystems and communities grows
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492515/original/file-20221031-15-781iqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=14%2C85%2C1942%2C1217&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Hundreds of freshwater basins across the world, including the dried-up Santa Olalla permanent freshwater lagoon, in Spain's Doñana National Park, are the most likely to experience social and ecological impacts due to freshwater use.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Donana Biological Station/CSIC)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When people use freshwater beyond a physically sustainable rate, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09440">it sets off a cascade of impacts on ecosystems, people and the planet</a>. These impacts include groundwater <a href="https://calmatters.org/environment/2021/08/california-groundwater-dry/">wells running dry</a>, fish populations becoming stranded <a href="https://hakaimagazine.com/features/what-to-do-with-fish-when-the-river-runs-dry/">before they are able to spawn</a> and <a href="https://www.euronews.com/2022/05/27/spain-s-donana-national-park-under-threat-as-groundwater-pumping-continues">protected wetland ecosystems turning into dry landscapes</a>. </p>
<p>Developments in computer models and satellites have fostered a new understanding of how freshwater is being redistributed around the planet and have made clear the central role that people play in this change. This human impact is so significant that organizations like the United States Geological Survey are <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/water-cycle-diagrams">redrawing their water cycle diagram</a> to include the impacts of human actions. </p>
<p>Equally important to understanding how people affect freshwater availability, is understanding how people and ecosystems will respond to amplified freshwater challenges including drought, water stress and groundwater depletion. While these challenges impact localized sites, their impacts are scattered across the world. To address this <a href="https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/wake-looming-water-crisis-report-warns">global water crisis</a>, global action is urgently needed. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-28029-w">In our recent study</a>, we identified the basins of the world that are most likely to be impacted by two central and interrelated aspects of water scarcity: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/srep38495">freshwater stress</a>, which occurs when the consumption of water surpasses renewable water supply, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0123-1">freshwater storage loss</a>, which is the depletion of freshwater in reservoirs or in groundwater bodies due to persistent overuse. </p>
<h2>Global basins impacted by water scarcity</h2>
<p>We identified <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-28029-w/figures/3">168 basins</a> across the world that are the most likely to experience social and ecological impacts due to insufficient freshwater availability. These hotspot basins are found on every continent — a clear indication of the widespread, global nature of these challenges.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492717/original/file-20221101-16-rfgko6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A map of hotspot basins" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492717/original/file-20221101-16-rfgko6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492717/original/file-20221101-16-rfgko6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492717/original/file-20221101-16-rfgko6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492717/original/file-20221101-16-rfgko6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492717/original/file-20221101-16-rfgko6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492717/original/file-20221101-16-rfgko6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492717/original/file-20221101-16-rfgko6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hotspot basins (in orange and red), which are the most likely basins to experience severe social and ecological impacts due to limited freshwater availability.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Xander Huggins)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To identify these hotspot basins, we assessed patterns in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-28029-w/figures/1">freshwater stress and freshwater storage trends</a> and compared these to patterns in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-28029-w/figures/2">societal ability to adapt to environmental hazards</a> and freshwater-based ecological sensitivity indicators. </p>
<p>The hotspot basins are most vulnerable largely because they are likely to experience social and ecological impacts at the same time. <a href="https://www.millenniumassessment.org/documents/document.312.aspx.pdf">People and societies depend on freshwater ecosystems</a> for drinking water, irrigation water, water filtration, erosion control, as cultural sites and for recreation. This means that ecological impacts of freshwater stress and storage loss double as social impacts through degraded ecosystem services. </p>
<h2>Managing vulnerable basins</h2>
<p>Hotspot basins are vulnerable as they are likely to face impacts such as low streamflow that harms aquatic biodiversity, reduced food security as agriculture is heavily reliant on freshwater supply, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aa8ac0">wells running dry</a> and higher potential for <a href="https://www.worldwater.org/conflict/map/">social unrest</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A field irrigation sprinkler system waters rows of lettuce crops on farmland." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488148/original/file-20221004-11-fu8x9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488148/original/file-20221004-11-fu8x9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488148/original/file-20221004-11-fu8x9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488148/original/file-20221004-11-fu8x9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488148/original/file-20221004-11-fu8x9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488148/original/file-20221004-11-fu8x9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488148/original/file-20221004-11-fu8x9h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Declining freshwater supply can affect food security as the agriculture sector heavily relies on it.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Reducing vulnerability in intertwined societal and environmental systems requires improved policy and management integration across sectors. <a href="https://www.unep.org/explore-topics/disasters-conflicts/where-we-work/sudan/what-integrated-water-resources-management">Integrated Water Resources Management</a> considers and balances social, ecological and hydrological sustainability goals by co-ordinating management across water, land and other related resources. Its <a href="https://www.sdg6monitoring.org/indicator-651/">inclusion in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal framework</a> highlights its importance.</p>
<p>Our research found that countries including Afghanistan, Algeria, Argentina, Egypt, India, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Somalia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Yemen have hotspot basins yet low implementation levels of much-needed integrated management practices. </p>
<h2>Prioritizing hotspot basins</h2>
<p>The location of hotspot basins across the world emphasizes the need for global and urgent action. Prioritizing regions based on their potential to experience social and ecological impacts can improve the effectiveness of global freshwater sustainability initiatives.</p>
<p>Our study calculated how vulnerable all the basins in the world were to the social and ecological impacts of freshwater stress and storage loss. We identified the most vulnerable basins as hotspots for global prioritization. However, while we focus on the identified hotspot basins, this does not mean that impacts cannot occur in basins with lower vulnerabilities. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A dry section of a river." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/487948/original/file-20221004-26-t92w96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/487948/original/file-20221004-26-t92w96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487948/original/file-20221004-26-t92w96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487948/original/file-20221004-26-t92w96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487948/original/file-20221004-26-t92w96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487948/original/file-20221004-26-t92w96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487948/original/file-20221004-26-t92w96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A dry section of the Cowichan River on Vancouver Island, B.C.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Kevin Rothbauer</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For instance, only a number of Canadian basins — all located in the prairies — are identified with moderate vulnerability in our global study. Yet, <a href="https://watershedsentinel.ca/articles/groundwater-pumping-drains-rivers-in-bc-and-globally/">dry streams on Vancouver Island</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/07011784.2014.885677">falling groundwater levels in the Lower Mainland</a>, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/drought-agriculture-disaster-rm-of-armstrong-manitoba-1.6100138">crop yields affected by drought throughout the prairies</a> and potential for <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/n-s-panel-discussing-climate-change-impacts-on-well-water-groundwater-1.6210051">salt-water intrusion along the East Coast</a> are all instances of freshwater security challenges being faced in Canada. </p>
<p>With <a href="https://thenarwhal.ca/saskatchewan-irrigation-project-explained/">massive expansion planned for irrigated agriculture in Saskatchewan</a> and increasing <a href="https://watershedwatch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/2019-09-24-Tapped-Out-RGB.pdf">water scarcity across British Columbia</a>, Canada’s current (and enviable) position of being able to act proactively on water security challenges is rapidly shrinking.</p>
<h2>Global action starts locally</h2>
<p>While our study took a global focus, the approach of mapping vulnerability to guide priority setting can be applied at other geographical scales. For instance, this analysis could be refined and applied to Canada or specific provinces or cities using globally unavailable data that may be available for these jurisdictions.</p>
<p>These insights could help boost urgency to act on the emerging national water crisis, aid the <a href="https://gwf.usask.ca/documents/meetings/water-security-for-canada/WaterSecurityForCanada_April-25-2019-2pg1.pdf">modernization of the Canada Water Act</a> or help identify communities that would benefit most from <a href="https://poliswaterproject.org/files/2019/10/POLIS-WSP2019-6e1-web.pdf">water sustainability plans</a> in British Columbia.</p>
<p>While global studies, such as ours, are helpful at systematically highlighting regions for prioritization, they do not — and should not — provide explicit solutions. Rather, in such intricate social and ecological environments, actions to reduce impacts need to be attuned to place-based social norms, cultural values, hydrological conditions and local knowledge systems. </p>
<p>Our hotspot basins can help guide such community-driven local action to help conserve freshwater resources that are most under threat and mitigate the ripple effects of these threats on people and ecosystems.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187042/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Xander Huggins receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada through a doctoral Canada Graduate Scholarship.</span></em></p>
While we know how global changes in freshwater pose risks to humans and ecosystems, we know less about how people and ecosystems will respond to these global freshwater challenges.
Xander Huggins, PhD Candidate in the Department of Civil Engineering (University of Victoria) and the Global Institute for Water Security (University of Saskatchewan), University of Victoria
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/192866
2022-10-24T17:17:56Z
2022-10-24T17:17:56Z
From water conservation to crop selection, how farmers can take action against drought
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/490587/original/file-20221019-23-l45xsh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C14%2C1417%2C926&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">As climate change accelerates, Farmers' vulnerability to drought will depend on his choice of varieties and cropping practices.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Raphael Belmin</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As climate change accelerates, many countries around the world are increasingly facing the risk of drought. Water scarcity has become one of the major constraints of food production in the 21st century, and a <a href="https://www.scidev.net/global/news/water-scarcity-among-top-10-food-security-threats-study/">major threat for our current and future food security</a>. In the Horn of Africa, <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-eastern-africas-drought-the-worst-in-recent-history-and-are-worse-yet-to-come-185327">four consecutive rainfall deficit seasons</a> have led to more than <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-eastern-africas-drought-the-worst-in-recent-history-and-are-worse-yet-to-come-185327">16 million persons facing severe hunger</a> in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya. Droughts and other climate shocks like this summer heat wave become more frequent in the current climate crisis.</p>
<p>Because crops’ primary source of water is rain, they’re highly vulnerable to drought. Even where farmers have underground sources of water available, many are <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/millions-of-groundwater-wells-could-run-dry/">running dry</a>. In Morocco, the water crisis and competition with other sectors may soon make farming in regions such as Agadir <a href="https://www.rfi.fr/en/middle-east/20220323-water-supply-fears-as-morocco-hit-by-worst-drought-since-1980s">difficult or even impossible</a>.</p>
<p>Yet in the next 20 to 30 years, we will need to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/bix010">boost agricultural production by as much as 70%</a>, especially in Africa. Agriculture is the first user of water resources (70% to 80%) and thus needs to radically increase its efficiency to respond to declining resources and a growing demand for drinking water and other uses, including industry, tourism and ecosystem preservation.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ndD3HNhS-OU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Climate change: agriculture as contributor, victim and solution (Cirad).</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Crop selection and farming techniques</h2>
<p>So how can we sustainably grow crop production in the context of droughts that are <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/08/drought-water-climate-un/">more frequent, more intense and longer lasting</a>? If we look over the science, this largely comes down to crop selection. More specifically, the capacity for a wheat or pea variety to produce more grain with less water is the combination of <a href="https://publications.csiro.au/publications/publication/PIprocite:16a0b1b4-f4e0-4207-9cf6-3fd561de0889">three phenomenons</a>:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Plants’ ability to <strong>pump soil water at the root level</strong>: this is how they create biomass through photosynthesis without losing too much water through evaporation. Plants have leaf surfaces with microscopic openings called <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/stomata">stomata</a> that open or close to allow the exchange of CO<sub>2</sub> and water vapor. Research has shown that by modifying light-sensitive opening mechanisms of the stomata, the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-03231-x">plant could save 25% water</a> for the same biomass produced.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Increasing the amount of grain produced by each crop</strong>, including by ensuring they use water as efficiently as possible. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/eru040">An innovative lysimetric system</a> weighing individual plants and scanning leaf surface in real time has revealed that transpiration efficacy for plants like sorghum could vary a lot between individual, yet without necessarily yielding any differences. This could be a promising drought-tolerance trait to explore.</p></li>
<li><p>Investigating the optimal combinations of plants – known as <strong>crop diversity</strong>. In drought conditions, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jac.12552">pearl millet associated with cowpea</a>, an important legume in West Africa, can produce the same millet yield as millet alone. This means that an additional protein-rich harvest of cowpea can be produced with the same quantity of water. Growing cereals and legumes together in the same field can optimise water resources in the soil, limiting soil evaporation thanks to vegetal cover. This also contributes to food security by adding protein in the diet of farming families.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Another strategy against drought is improving the storage of “green water”, which is held in the porous structure of the soil. This can be achieved through soil-conservation practices, landscaping structures such as terracing or <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/contour-farming">contour farming</a>, and other irrigation strategies. For instance, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/deficit-irrigation">deficit irrigation</a> is the practice of watering plants less frequently but in targeted manner, and it can force the plant to dig their root systems deeper and be less dependent on watering.</p>
<h2>Computer-simulated experiments and socioeconomic tools to guide decision making</h2>
<p>Over the years, agricultural research has developed many technological solutions against drought. Giving the increasing risks, however, we need to get better at choosing what works best for each farmer. The choices depend on the specific environment of each farm, where agronomic and climatic conditions vary considerably over space and time. Uncertainties on agro-climatic conditions mean that traditional crop research is not enough to explore and scale up climate adaptation solutions.</p>
<p>Breakthroughs in the past few years have enabled researchers to use low-cost sensors to measure in real-time soil humidity, the hydrological status of the plant, and other parameters. Using drones and other tools, plants can also be scanned directly in the field, harvesting dozens of parameters such as leaf temperatures (a water-stress indicator) and leaf-area indexes, which allow researchers to model how plants respond to drought at the leaf or root level. This data revolution has led the selection of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1071/FP13355">“stay-green” sorghum</a> that can resist even intense drought conditions. </p>
<p>[<em>Nearly 80,000 readers look to The Conversation France’s newsletter for expert insights into the world’s most pressing issues</em>. <a href="https://theconversation.com/fr/newsletters/la-newsletter-quotidienne-5?utm_source=inline-70ksignup">Sign up now</a>]</p>
<p>But how to sort out all this complexity? <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/insilicoplants/diab018">Plant growth modelling combined with statistical models</a> allows researchers to run “virtual” agronomic trials to assess crop combinations and farming practices in different soil, water and climate conditions. This approach allowed sorting more than 150 wheat varieties according to their drought resistance across 13 different environments.</p>
<p>From the farmer’s point of view, their vulnerability to drought will depend on the choice of crops and varieties that are cultivated, the sowing time (which can become very difficult to decide when rainfall forecasts are more and more uncertain) and how soils are managed to retain this precious water.</p>
<p>The economic and policy dimension is crucial, as farmers need to maintain a tricky balance between risks, uncertainty and potential benefits. The <a href="https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2021/10/27/in-new-project-millions-of-farmers-will-help-to-improve-insurance-against-climate-disasters/">co-creation of drought index insurance products adapted to small farming in developing countries</a> could transform agriculture in these countries, as farmers could better plan risks and their crop system from one year to another.</p>
<p>Navigating between food-security and food-sovereignty considerations, some African countries such as Senegal will have to invest to produce more food per drop. It may be through radical transformation of their agriculture, from shifting rice investments toward new water-saving rice systems such as <a href="https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/185485/water-saving-rice-tech.pdf">revolving wetting and drying rice</a> (AWD) in South Asia, introducing wheat in Senegal or Mauritania to respond to the growing food-import bill or develop traditional drought-resistant crop value chains like <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/jul/07/fonio-indigenous-crops-africa-food-security">fonio</a>, a native millet in West Africa. All these national choices will have implications on farmers’ vulnerability to future droughts.</p>
<p>Combining <em>in silico</em> (computer-simulated) experiments and socioeconomic tools could greatly facilitate decision-making toward the most efficient solutions of drought adaptation – at the scale of a plant (varietal selection), the farm or a territory (towards more integrated water management).</p>
<hr>
<p><em>From 28 November to 2 December, 2022, the seventh <a href="https://interdrought7.org/">Inter Drought conference</a> will take place in Dakar, Senegal. This is the first time it is being held on the continent that is facing the most devastating effects of climate change, and it will be a key moment to imagine the resilient and water-saving agriculture our society so urgently needs.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192866/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vincent Vadez has received funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, ACIAR-Australia, ANR-France</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Delphine Luquet et Ndjido Ardo Kane ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur poste universitaire.</span></em></p>
As droughts intensify, how can we increase crop production in a sustainable way? This is a multidimensional scientific and societal challenge to ensure future food security.
Delphine Luquet, Écophysiologiste, Cirad
Ndjido Ardo Kane, Plant geneticist, molecular biologist and director of the Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles ISRA-CERAAS, Institut sénégalais de recherches agricoles (ISRA)
Vincent Vadez, Principal Scientist in ecophysiology, agronomy and modelling, Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD)
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/184919
2022-09-22T12:40:37Z
2022-09-22T12:40:37Z
Desalinating seawater sounds easy, but there are cheaper and more sustainable ways to meet people’s water needs
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485360/original/file-20220919-7117-egbhan.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=45%2C0%2C5048%2C3317&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Carlsbad Desalination Plant in Southern California is the largest such plant in the Western Hemisphere, providing 50 million gallons of desalinated seawater per day. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/reverse-osmosis-desalination-plant-carlsbad-royalty-free-image/610324382">Reed Kaestner via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Coastal urban centers around the world are urgently looking for new, sustainable water sources as their local supplies become less reliable. In the U.S., the issue is especially pressing in California, which is coping with a <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-10-18/california-records-driest-year-in-a-century">record-setting, multidecadal drought</a>.</p>
<p>California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently released <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/drought-gavin-newsom-plan-to-boost-california-water-supply/">a US$8 billion plan</a> for coping with a shrinking water supply. Along with water conservation, storage and recycling, it includes desalination of more seawater.</p>
<p>Ocean desalination, which turns salt water into fresh, clean water, <a href="https://theconversation.com/desalination-may-be-key-to-averting-global-water-shortage-but-it-will-take-time-189169">has an intuitive appeal as a water supply strategy</a> for coastal cities. The raw supply of salt water is virtually unlimited and reliable.</p>
<p>Ocean desalination is already a major water source in Israel and the United Arab Emirates. Cities in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/22/climate/desalination-water-climate-change.html">the Middle East, Australia, Mediterranean Europe, the U.S. Southwest and Australia</a> also rely on it. There are more than 20 ocean desalination plants operating in California, plus a few in Florida. <a href="https://www.wwdmag.com/membrane-technology/desalination/article/10917779/desalination-in-america">Many more plants across the U.S.</a> remove salt from brackish (salty) water sources such as groundwater inland, <a href="https://www.twdb.texas.gov/publications/shells/Desal_Brackish.pdf">especially in Texas</a>. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bfr82RB72U8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Nearly 97% of the water on Earth’s surface is in the oceans – but turning seawater into fresh water is costly and energy-intensive, and it can harm marine life.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Nonetheless, current evidence shows that even in coastal cities, ocean desalination may not be the best or even among the best options to address water shortfalls. Here are the main issues that communities evaluating this option should consider. </p>
<h2>Killing aquatic life</h2>
<p>Scalable technologies for removing salt from water have <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/desalination">improved steadily</a> over the past few decades. This is especially true for treating brackish groundwater, which is less salty than seawater.</p>
<p>But desalination still can have major environmental impacts. Fish can be killed when they are trapped against screens that protect desalination plants’ intake valves, and small organisms such as bacteria and plankton can be sucked into the plants and killed when they pass through the treatment system. In May 2022, the California Coastal Commission <a href="https://calmatters.org/environment/2022/05/california-desalination-plant-coastal-commission/">unanimously rejected</a> a proposed $1.4 billion ocean desalination plant in Huntington Beach, partly because of its potential effect on sea life.</p>
<p>Desalination plants discharge brine and wastewater, which can also kill nearby aquatic life if the process is not done properly. And generating the large quantity of energy that the plants consume has its own environmental impacts until it can be done carbon-free, which is still years off in most cases. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1509966328752443395"}"></div></p>
<h2>Unaffordable water from costly plants</h2>
<p>Cost is another major hurdle. In most areas, the cost of ocean desalination is projected to remain considerably higher than the cost of feasible alternatives such as conservation for the next several decades – the timeline that utilities use when planning new investments. My colleagues and I found this in <a href="https://innovation.luskin.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Analyzing_Southern_CA_Supply_Investments_from_a_Human_Right_to_Water_Perspective.pdf">our research</a> comparing water supply alternatives for Huntington Beach, even though we made favorable assumptions about ocean desalination costs. </p>
<p>Cost breakthroughs on major, market-ready technology in the near to medium term are unlikely. And desalination costs <a href="https://theconversation.com/desalination-may-be-key-to-averting-global-water-shortage-but-it-will-take-time-189169">may increase</a> in response to rising energy prices, which represent <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-05-01/energy-makes-up-half-of-desalination-plant-costs-study">up to half the cost</a> of removing salt from water. </p>
<p>Moreover, capital cost projections for desalination plants often greatly understate these facilities’ true cost. For example, the final cost ($1 billion) to build the ocean desalination plant in Carlsbad, California, which opened in late 2015, was <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11269-021-02900-9">four times higher</a> than the original projection. </p>
<p>Our center has <a href="https://innovation.luskin.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Analyzing_Southern_CA_Supply_Investments_from_a_Human_Right_to_Water_Perspective.pdf">also explored</a> whether piping in desalinated ocean water is a viable option for small, typically rural areas with public water systems or private wells that have <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/su8121318">run dry or are close to giving out</a>. In diverse parts of California where this has happened, such as <a href="https://kmph.com/news/local/people-of-porterville-brace-for-big-drought-year">Porterville</a> in the Central Valley and <a href="https://www.montecitojournal.net/2022/05/10/living-in-unprecedented-times-water-in-montecito/">Montecito</a> along the coast, the state is paying over $1 per gallon to truck in small supplies of bottled and vended water. That’s much higher than even the most expensive desalinated seawater.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485385/original/file-20220919-376-73n3z3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Map showing drought conditions across the continental U.S." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485385/original/file-20220919-376-73n3z3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485385/original/file-20220919-376-73n3z3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485385/original/file-20220919-376-73n3z3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485385/original/file-20220919-376-73n3z3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485385/original/file-20220919-376-73n3z3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485385/original/file-20220919-376-73n3z3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485385/original/file-20220919-376-73n3z3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">As of Sept. 13, 2022, much of the U.S. West was in drought and projected to remain dry through at least the end of the year.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/">U.S. Drought Monitor</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In these cases, we have found that the relative economics and even the environmental impact may pencil out, but the politics and management of new pipelines do not. This is because water supply is typically governed locally, and many local areas beyond those benefiting would need to agree to a new pipeline from the coast.</p>
<p>More broadly, we find that proponents of these projects do not proactively <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1522">pursue strategies</a> that would make water access more equitable, such as designing utility rate structures that shield low-income households from higher costs, providing financial aid to small communities or consolidating water systems. </p>
<h2>Better options: Conservation, reuse, storage and trading</h2>
<p>In most places, several other supply options can and should be pursued in tandem before ocean desalination. All of these steps will provide more water at a lower cost. </p>
<p>The first and relatively cheapest way to address water shortages is by using less. Finding ways to get people to use less water could <a href="https://pacinst.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/PI_California_Untapped_Urban_Water_Potential_2022-1.pdf">reduce existing demand by 30%-50% in many urban areas</a> that have already begun conservation efforts. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485387/original/file-20220919-7047-ys0duh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man in a blue uniform stoops at the end of a driveway observing water flowing into the street." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485387/original/file-20220919-7047-ys0duh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/485387/original/file-20220919-7047-ys0duh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485387/original/file-20220919-7047-ys0duh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485387/original/file-20220919-7047-ys0duh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485387/original/file-20220919-7047-ys0duh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485387/original/file-20220919-7047-ys0duh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/485387/original/file-20220919-7047-ys0duh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Los Angeles Department of Water and Power conservation specialist Damon Ayala inspects a sprinkler system operating in violation of a local water-saving ordinance, July 27, 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/los-angeles-department-of-water-and-power-water-news-photo/1411282318">Mario Tama/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Second, <a href="https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/recycled_water/">recycling</a> or <a href="https://news.usc.edu/200268/california-drought-water-restrictions-wastewater/">reusing treated wastewater</a> is <a href="https://pacinst.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/TheCostofAlternativeWaterSupplyEfficiencyOptionsinCA_Embargoed.pdf">often less expensive</a> than desalination. Technology and regulations in this area are advancing, and this is already making large investments in recycling possible in many arid regions.</p>
<p>Third, storage capacity for enhanced capture of stormwater – even in areas where it rains infrequently – can be doubled or quadrupled in regions like Los Angeles and parts of Australia, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.8b05913">at one-third to one-half of the cost per unit of desalinated water</a>.</p>
<p>Even cleaning up polluted local groundwater supplies and purchasing water from nearby agricultural users, although these are costly and politically difficult strategies, may be prudent to consider before ocean desalination.</p>
<p>The feasibility of desalination as a local supply option will hopefully change by midcentury as water scarcity problems mount because of climate change. For the medium term, however, ocean desalination is still likely to play a small role if it figures at all in holistic water strategies for coastal urban areas.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/184919/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gregory Pierce received funding from the Resources Legacy Fund for one of the reports cited in this piece. </span></em></p>
Nearly 97% of the world’s water is in the oceans, but desalination is no magic bullet for water-stressed coastal cities.
Gregory Pierce, Co-Director, Luskin Center for Innovation, University of California, Los Angeles
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/187885
2022-08-05T15:31:47Z
2022-08-05T15:31:47Z
Five easy ways to use less water at home – and not just in a drought
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/476915/original/file-20220801-19-z0zuac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6240%2C4156&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Wait for starchy cooking water to cool and then use it to water your plants.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/natural-fertilizer-water-after-boiling-eggs-1565981779">VH-studio/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>With so much of the world suffering from drought, you might think your ability to help is minimal. But when you consider the average person in the UK uses around <a href="https://www.water.org.uk/news-item/vast-majority-of-brits-have-no-idea-how-much-water-they-use-each-day/">142 litres of water a day</a>, it’s easy to see how small changes to your routine can add up.</p>
<p>More than half of the water that is extracted from rivers, streams and aquifers in the UK feeds the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/env15-water-abstraction-tables">public water supply</a>. These abstractions, as they’re called, worsen drought conditions by draining local waterways, depriving vegetation, fish and other aquatic life of the water they need to survive droughts.</p>
<p>Filling paddling pools to cool off, taking multiple showers each day to stay clean, watering the garden to revive wilting plants – all these extra activities contribute to a sharp increase in public water use on hot and dry days. And these impacts can endure for months, as freshwater systems need a lot of additional rainfall to recover from droughts.</p>
<p>If each person can reduce their water use during a drought, it would significantly benefit the natural world in its recovery. Here are five things you can do, starting today.</p>
<h2>1. Shower less</h2>
<p>Most of the water you use is <a href="https://www.water.org.uk/news-item/vast-majority-of-brits-have-no-idea-how-much-water-they-use-each-day/">in the shower</a>. For every minute you’re under the shower head (depending on how powerful it is), around 10 litres of water drains away. Since most people shower for <a href="https://www.mirashowers.co.uk/blog/trends/revealed-what-brits-are-really-getting-up-to-in-the-bathroom-1/#:%7E:text=Most%20Brits%20(62%25)%20bathe,latest%20UK%20shower%20habits%20survey.">an average of seven minutes</a>, half of your daily water use takes place first thing in the morning.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A hand testing the shower water while adjusting the tap." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/476514/original/file-20220728-2377-j4qs5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/476514/original/file-20220728-2377-j4qs5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476514/original/file-20220728-2377-j4qs5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476514/original/file-20220728-2377-j4qs5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476514/original/file-20220728-2377-j4qs5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476514/original/file-20220728-2377-j4qs5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476514/original/file-20220728-2377-j4qs5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">For each minute you shave off your shower time, you save 10 litres of water.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-taking-shower-home-female-hands-1932944879">l i g h t p o e t/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Turning off the shower while shampooing your hair or applying shower gel can help conserve water, as can shortening the length of your shower overall. Be sure not to switch to a bath though – the average soak in the tub uses <a href="https://www.water.org.uk/news-item/vast-majority-of-brits-have-no-idea-how-much-water-they-use-each-day/">around 80 litres of water</a>.</p>
<h2>2. Use rainwater in the garden</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/476516/original/file-20220728-11927-w6xz8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A green, plastic barrel connected to a black draining pipe and stood in a garden." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/476516/original/file-20220728-11927-w6xz8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/476516/original/file-20220728-11927-w6xz8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476516/original/file-20220728-11927-w6xz8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476516/original/file-20220728-11927-w6xz8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476516/original/file-20220728-11927-w6xz8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476516/original/file-20220728-11927-w6xz8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476516/original/file-20220728-11927-w6xz8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Water butts can be purchased in garden centres.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/green-water-butt-brown-catch-pipe-15464518">Robert Hackett/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>During a dry spell, the average gardener can use <a href="https://www.southwestwater.co.uk/siteassets/documents/uwu-0618-web-version.pdf">hundreds of litres</a> of water to keep their plants hydrated. Some people will use a watering can (good), others might leave a sprinkler on all day (bad). Most use drinking water, which is a waste – plants are happy with rain water.</p>
<p>Add a water butt that collects the rain which falls on your roof and use it for the garden. To find out how to install one, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jk0lstsu5o">watch this</a>. </p>
<h2>3. Use the short flush</h2>
<p>Per flush, your toilet uses about <a href="https://www.water.org.uk/news-item/vast-majority-of-brits-have-no-idea-how-much-water-they-use-each-day/">5 litres of water</a>, and up to 10 litres in older models. If available, use the short flush to significantly reduce how much water is wasted.</p>
<h2>4. Cut back on car washing</h2>
<p>If you need to wash your car, do it the old-fashioned way with a bucket and soap rather than hosing it down. The water contained in a bucket (<a href="https://www.water.org.uk/news-item/vast-majority-of-brits-have-no-idea-how-much-water-they-use-each-day/">roughly 30 litres</a>) is significantly less than the average that flows through a hose (around <a href="https://www.southwestwater.co.uk/siteassets/documents/uwu-0618-web-version.pdf">15 litres per minute</a>). Better yet, avoid washing your car entirely during a drought.</p>
<h2>5. Reuse water</h2>
<p>If you’re washing vegetables, you could collect the water in a bowl in the sink and later give it to the plants in your house or outside. While you’re waiting for warm water to come out of a tap, use the cold to fill the kettle. Close the tap while you’re lathering your hands with soap or brushing your teeth. Though these are only small savings, they do make a difference over time.</p>
<p>Inflatable pools are lovely for cooling down on the hottest days. A cleaning pump can filter the water and recycle it without you needing to use more water to keep the pool clean.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A blue, plastic paddling pool in a garden with a white filter attached." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/476911/original/file-20220801-20-52lc5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/476911/original/file-20220801-20-52lc5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476911/original/file-20220801-20-52lc5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476911/original/file-20220801-20-52lc5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476911/original/file-20220801-20-52lc5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476911/original/file-20220801-20-52lc5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476911/original/file-20220801-20-52lc5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pool filters can clean and recycle water without the need for additional cleaning.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/tuscany-italy-june-29-2020-blue-1772802524">Daniele COSSU/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Save water, save money</h2>
<p>All these tips can significantly reduce your water use and combat the effects of drought on the environment. They can also save you money.</p>
<p>If you’re able to renovate your home, it’s worth installing a system for collecting rain water which, combined with a pump, can flush toilets. In Belgium, for example, it is common practice to have such a system installed (effectively, a large underground water butt) in newly built houses. </p>
<p>Most people would struggle to afford these kinds of measures, and so drought-proofing homes and communities should be part of the effort to adapt countries to the extreme weather expected in a rapidly warming world.</p>
<hr>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
<br><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeTop">Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead.</a> Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeBottom">Join the 10,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.</a></em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187885/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Niko Wanders receives funding from the Dutch Science Foundation, the European Union and National Geographic for his work on drought and climate change. </span></em></p>
Rationing water at home will benefit moisture-starved ecosystems.
Niko Wanders, Assistant Professor in Hydrological Extremes, Utrecht University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/185425
2022-07-05T13:37:46Z
2022-07-05T13:37:46Z
South Africa’s sandfish are on the brink of extinction: how farmers are helping rescue them
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471579/original/file-20220629-14-d4f8yo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sandfish migrate to the Biedouw River to spawn. They must swim through fences and over rocks, which takes a toll on them.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jeremy Shelton</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jM4jNpvemBw&t=1s">Sandfish</a> are migratory freshwater fish found only in South Africa that can grow to over half a metre in length. They sport a pronounced downturned mouth which is used to graze algae off rocks and to grub in mud and sand on the stream bed. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jM4jNpvemBw?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Sandfish: conserving one of South Africa’s most threatened large-bodied fish.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As one of the largest grazers in South Africa’s Doring River system, sandfish keep the rivers clean and the food web balanced. They also act as an <a href="https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-is-an-umbrella-species.html">umbrella species</a> – protecting them indirectly protects river ecosystems and other species that inhabit them. That’s by virtue of their migratory life cycle: sandfish move over long distances of river at different life stages. To thrive, they need healthy, connected rivers that hold water year-round and don’t harbour alien species. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, their migratory life cycle also makes them particularly vulnerable to human-linked impacts. Sandfish were once abundant and widespread across the Olifants and Doring River systems, but have recently disappeared from the Olifants. Their numbers in the Doring are in sharp decline.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471351/original/file-20220628-12-ja8n83.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Map with red and blue lines showing sandfish range." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471351/original/file-20220628-12-ja8n83.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471351/original/file-20220628-12-ja8n83.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471351/original/file-20220628-12-ja8n83.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471351/original/file-20220628-12-ja8n83.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471351/original/file-20220628-12-ja8n83.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=884&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471351/original/file-20220628-12-ja8n83.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=884&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471351/original/file-20220628-12-ja8n83.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=884&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Map of the sandfish’s past and current range.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dr Bruce Paxton</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We published <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aqc.3785?af=R">a study</a> showing that sandfish numbers in a critical tributary had declined significantly over just five years. Between 2013 and 2018, rangers from the Oorlogskloof Nature Reserve in the Northern Cape province surveyed the fish in the Oorlogskloof River. The results were sobering: a population decline of 92.6% by 2018, led by a 99.6% decrease in numbers of young sandfish. </p>
<p>Catastrophic unseasonal flows due to climate change during the 2013 spawning season likely catalysed this decline. The long <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aqc.3785?af=R">drought</a> that followed prevented population recovery. Adding to the problem was the presence of non-native black bass and bluegill sunfish. Where these were found, sandfish were all but absent, effectively isolating the Oorlogskloof sandfish population from those in the Doring River and creating a population sink – a low quality habitat which only contributes to a population’s decline.</p>
<p>These conditions, ubiquitous throughout the sandfish’s remaining range, have resulted in bringing the species to the brink of extinction.</p>
<p>This sort of knowledge is invaluable in focusing South Africa’s limited freshwater conservation resources where they are needed most.</p>
<h2>Threats and sanctuaries</h2>
<p>The historical range of the sandfish has more than halved in the last century. This is the result of decades of predation by introduced non-native fishes, the construction of dams that block upstream spawning migrations, extreme climatic events, and rivers that are drying due to climate change, thirsty alien plants, and the excessive withdrawal of water to supply agriculture and towns in arid regions. </p>
<p>The biggest worry is the lack of juvenile and subadult sandfish in the Doring River. It indicates an ageing population with few, if any, young sandfish surviving the precarious early life stages.</p>
<p>In 2013, a colleague accidentally stumbled on some tiny sandfish in the Doring River and discovered that they were still spawning despite the odds.</p>
<p>It catalysed the first sandfish conservation efforts, which were followed in 2018 by the Saving Sandfish Project. The goal was to better understand the most pressing threats to the sandfish and restore the species to sustainable numbers.</p>
<p>The sandfish has an impressive spawning strategy. It migrates dozens (perhaps even hundreds) of kilometres each year to reach its tributary spawning grounds. Protecting the species therefore requires collaboration with landowners whose farms and lands are crossed by the rivers that the sandfish inhabit.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471580/original/file-20220629-11-cwh89b.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A fish in murky water." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471580/original/file-20220629-11-cwh89b.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471580/original/file-20220629-11-cwh89b.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471580/original/file-20220629-11-cwh89b.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471580/original/file-20220629-11-cwh89b.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471580/original/file-20220629-11-cwh89b.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471580/original/file-20220629-11-cwh89b.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471580/original/file-20220629-11-cwh89b.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Non-native species like bass have displaced native fish from most of the Doring River through predation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jeremy Shelton</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Since the project’s inception, six sets of landowners in the Doring River catchment have transformed their off-stream farm dams into “sandfish sanctuaries”. The safe stop-over habitats for juvenile sandfish are free of alien fish that would eat them. Tributaries that once provided nurseries for young sandfish now dry up completely each year by the end of summer, so these fish are rescued en masse and relocated to the sanctuary dams – a vital step for sandfish to complete their life cycle. </p>
<p>Once sandfish reach a predator-proof size of around 20cm, they are released back into the wild. They are tagged to allow for monitoring of how many survive and return to spawn in later years. The first release took place in 2021, so data from this year’s spawning migration will give us an indication of whether our efforts have been successful.</p>
<h2>Working with farmers</h2>
<p>In addition to providing sanctuary dams, landowners help to transport rescued sandfish, replace old in-stream fencing with sandfish-friendly fencing, provide accommodation for scientists, and even help with river monitoring.</p>
<p>The project’s approach has been unusual in partnering with farmers who directly influence the rivers. Several fruit and livestock farmers in the Biedouw River valley take water out of the river for irrigation. The conservation project recognises that farming is an equally important part of the landscape and that it is only through collaboration that progress is possible for the mutual benefit of biodiversity and people.</p>
<p>All the stakeholders in the project, be they goat farmers, guest farm owners, or nature reserve management staff, are heavily invested in the outcome of the conservation efforts.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471583/original/file-20220629-18-hm5y9o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="People working in a body of water with buckets." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471583/original/file-20220629-18-hm5y9o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471583/original/file-20220629-18-hm5y9o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471583/original/file-20220629-18-hm5y9o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471583/original/file-20220629-18-hm5y9o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471583/original/file-20220629-18-hm5y9o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471583/original/file-20220629-18-hm5y9o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471583/original/file-20220629-18-hm5y9o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Collecting 10-month-old bass-proof sandfish from the dam on Enjo Nature farm for release back into the wild.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dr Otto Whitehead</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Moving forward</h2>
<p>While still in its infancy, this conservation project can already count a series of successes. Thousands of sandfish have been successfully reared in off-stream farm dams, creating source populations for reintroductions for years to come. Over 1,200 nursery-reared sandfish have been released back into the wild. Countless relationships have been forged with landowners, farmworkers and other stakeholders in the Doring River catchment which will ensure the sustainability of the project into the future.</p>
<p>Perhaps most importantly, the Saving Sandfish project has created awareness of the problems of river conservation in this arid region. And it acts as a rallying point for a community of diverse land-users who share a common goal: to protect the natural environment for the benefit of all.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185425/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cecilia Cerrilla receives funding from the University of Cape Town and the Rufford Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>The Saving Sandfish project is funded by the National Geographic Society (Co-funded by the IUCN Species Survival Commission), IUCN Save Our Species (Co-funded by the European Union), The Rufford Foundation, The Mohamed Bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, the Federation of Southern African Flyfishers (FOSAF), Mount Ceder, Investec, Caleo Capital, Bushmans Kloof and the Ford Wildlife Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charles L. Griffiths does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Sandfish keep the rivers clean and the food web balanced but their numbers are declining. Farmers are helping to lift these numbers.
Cecilia Cerrilla, PhD student, University of Cape Town
Charles L. Griffiths, Emeritus Professor, University of Cape Town
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/177433
2022-02-22T13:49:51Z
2022-02-22T13:49:51Z
First solar canal project is a win for water, energy, air and climate in California
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447144/original/file-20220217-23-1r1gg0q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=315%2C147%2C1526%2C922&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An artist's rendering of a solar canal.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Robin Raj, Citizen Group & Solar Aquagrid</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Mounting evidence suggests <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-022-01290-z">the western United States is now in its worst megadrought</a> in at least 1,200 years. Groundwater supplies are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aa8ac0">being overpumped</a> in many places, and the dryness, wildfires and shrinking water supplies are making <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2006323117">climate change</a> personal for millions of people.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=S2cxf2IAAAAJ&hl=en">an engineer</a>, I have been working with colleagues on a way to both protect water supplies and boost renewable energy to protect the climate.</p>
<p>We call it the solar-canal solution, and it’s about to be tested in California.</p>
<p>About <a href="https://gis.data.ca.gov/datasets/b788fb2628844f54b92e46dac5bb7229_0?geometry=-131.081%2C33.559%2C-105.548%2C39.723">4,000 miles of canals</a> transport water to some 35 million Californians and 5.7 million acres of farmland across the state. As we <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-021-00693-8">explained in a 2021 study</a>, covering these canals with solar panels would reduce evaporation of precious water – one of California’s most critical resources – and help meet the state’s renewable energy goals, while also saving money.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.tid.org/about-tid/current-projects/project-nexus/">first prototypes in the U.S.</a> for both wide-span and narrow-span canals are now in development in California’s Central Valley. Researchers at the University of California, Merced, are involved in the project, and we will be trying to determine how this can become a large-scale solution. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1491197055200800768"}"></div></p>
<h2>Conserving water and land</h2>
<p>California is <a href="https://www.ppic.org/publication/droughts-in-california/">prone to drought</a>, and water is a constant concern. Now, the changing climate is bringing hotter, drier weather. </p>
<p>Severe droughts over the past 10 to 30 years <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2019EF001339">dried up wells</a>, caused officials to implement <a href="https://www.capradio.org/articles/2022/02/16/no-end-in-sight-california-drought-on-course-to-break-another-record/">water restrictions</a> and fueled <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/04/10/drought-wildfires-california-west/">massive wildfires</a>.</p>
<p>At the same time, California has ambitious conservation goals. The state has a mandate to <a href="https://water.ca.gov/Programs/Groundwater-Management/SGMA-Groundwater-Management">reduce groundwater pumping</a> while maintaining reliable supplies to farms, cities, wildlife and <a href="https://theconversation.com/can-we-expand-solar-power-dramatically-without-damaging-protected-lands-49429">ecosystems</a>. As part of a broad climate change initiative, in October 2020 Gov. Gavin Newsom directed the California Natural Resources Agency to spearhead efforts <a href="https://resources.ca.gov/Initiatives/Expanding-Nature-Based-Solutions">to conserve 30% of land and coastal waters by 2030</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/californias-water-supplies-are-in-trouble-as-climate-change-worsens-natural-dry-spells-especially-in-the-sierra-nevada-173142">California's water supplies are in trouble as climate change worsens natural dry spells, especially in the Sierra Nevada</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Most of California’s rain and snow falls north of Sacramento during the winter, while 80% of its water use <a href="https://water.ca.gov/Water-Basics/The-California-Water-System">occurs in Southern California</a>, mostly in summer. That’s why canals snake across the state – it’s the largest such system in the world. We estimate that about 1%-2% of the water they carry is lost to evaporation under the hot California sun.</p>
<p>In a 2021 study, we showed that covering all 4,000 miles of California’s canals with solar panels would <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-021-00693-8">save more than 65 billion gallons of water annually</a> by reducing evaporation. That’s enough to irrigate 50,000 acres of farmland or meet the residential water needs of more than 2 million people. By concentrating solar installations on land that is already being used, instead of building them on undeveloped land, this approach would help California meet its sustainable management goals for both <a href="https://water.ca.gov/Programs/California-Water-Plan">water</a> and <a href="https://calepa.ca.gov/2021/01/08/press-release-governors-task-force-outlines-actions-to-reduce-wildfire-risk-improve-health-of-forests-and-wildlands-1-8-21/">land</a> resources. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1488610869940416512"}"></div></p>
<h2>Climate-friendly power</h2>
<p>Shading California’s canals with solar panels would generate substantial amounts of electricity. Our estimates show that it could provide some 13 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity, which is about half of the new sources the state needs to add to meet its <a href="https://www.energy.ca.gov/news/2021-03/california-releases-report-charting-path-100-percent-clean-electricity">clean electricity goals</a>: 60% from carbon-free sources by 2030 and 100% renewable by 2045.</p>
<p>Installing solar panels over the canals makes both systems more efficient. The solar panels would reduce evaporation from the canals, especially during hot California summers. And because water heats up more slowly than land, the canal water flowing beneath the panels could cool them by 10 F, <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8634893">boosting production of electricity by up to 3%</a>. </p>
<p>These canopies could also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2003.10.004">generate electricity locally</a> in many parts of California, lowering both <a href="http://insideenergy.org/2015/11/06/lost-in-transmission-how-much-electricity-disappears-between-a-power-plant-and-your-plug/">transmission losses</a> and costs for consumers. Combining solar power with battery storage can help build microgrids in rural areas and underserved communities, making the power system more efficient and resilient. This would mitigate the risk of power losses due to extreme weather, human error and wildfires. </p>
<p>We estimate that the cost to span canals with solar panels will be higher than building ground-mounted systems. But when we added in some of the co-benefits, such as avoided land costs, water savings, aquatic weed mitigation and enhanced PV efficiency, we found that solar canals were a better investment and provided electricity that cost less over the life of the solar installations. And this is before factoring in the human health benefits of improved air quality and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397187/original/file-20210426-23-1xorm5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Solar panels shade canals and canals cool the panels." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397187/original/file-20210426-23-1xorm5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397187/original/file-20210426-23-1xorm5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=222&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397187/original/file-20210426-23-1xorm5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=222&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397187/original/file-20210426-23-1xorm5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=222&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397187/original/file-20210426-23-1xorm5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=279&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397187/original/file-20210426-23-1xorm5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=279&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397187/original/file-20210426-23-1xorm5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=279&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Solar panels installed over canals increase the efficiency of both systems.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Brandi McKuin</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Benefits to the land</h2>
<p>To be clear, solar canals are about much more than just generating renewable energy and saving water. Building these long, thin solar arrays could prevent more than 80,000 acres of farmland or natural habitat from being converted for solar farms. </p>
<p>California grows food for an ever-increasing global population and <a href="https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/statistics/">produces more than 50% of the fruits, nuts and vegetables</a> that U.S. consumers eat. However, up to 50% of new renewable energy capacity to meet decarbonization goals could be <a href="https://www.scienceforconservation.org/products/power-of-place">sited in agricultural areas</a>, including large swaths of prime farmland. </p>
<p>Solar canal installations will also protect wildlife, ecosystems and culturally important land. Large-scale solar developments can result in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134602">habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation</a>, which can harm threatened species such as the <a href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/massive-desert-solar-project-experiment-in-tortoise-survival">Mojave Desert tortoise</a>. </p>
<p>They also can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-0574-x">harm desert-scrub plant communities</a>, including plants that are culturally important to Indigenous tribes. As an example, construction of the <a href="https://www.power-technology.com/projects/genesis-solar-energy-center-riverside-county-california/">Genesis Solar Energy Center</a> in the Sonoran and Mojave deserts in 2012-2014 <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/in-depth/news/local/arizona-environment/2021/01/18/tribes-want-biden-balance-renewable-energy-and-cultural-issues/4102836001/">destroyed trails and burial sites and damaged important cultural artifacts</a>, spurring protracted legal conflict. </p>
<h2>Clearing the air – and the weeds</h2>
<p>By generating clean electricity, solar canals can improve air quality. </p>
<p>Another benefit is curbing aquatic weeds that choke canals. In <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200803-the-solar-canals-revolutionising-indias-renewable-energy">India</a>, where developers have been building solar canals since 2014, shade from the panels limits growth of weeds that block drains and restrict water flow. </p>
<p>Fighting these weeds is expensive, and herbicides threaten human health and the environment. For large, 100-foot-wide canals in California, we estimate that shading canals would save about US$40,000 per mile. Statewide, savings could reach $69 million per year.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397902/original/file-20210429-23-1q3uacf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Solar panels would form a glass roof over canals." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397902/original/file-20210429-23-1q3uacf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397902/original/file-20210429-23-1q3uacf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397902/original/file-20210429-23-1q3uacf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397902/original/file-20210429-23-1q3uacf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397902/original/file-20210429-23-1q3uacf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397902/original/file-20210429-23-1q3uacf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397902/original/file-20210429-23-1q3uacf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Artist rendering of a solar canal system for California.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Solar Aquagrid LLC</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Bringing solar canals to California</h2>
<p>California’s aging power infrastructure has contributed to catastrophic wildfires and multiday outages. Building smart solar developments on canals and other disturbed land can make power and water infrastructure more resilient while saving water, reducing costs and helping to fight climate change. </p>
<p>[<em>Over 150,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletters to understand the world.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-150ksignup">Sign up today</a>.]</p>
<p>Turlock Irrigation District, in California’s San Joaquin Valley, will build the first solar canal prototype in partnership with project developer Solar Aquagrid, researchers and others and supported by the state Department of Water Resources.</p>
<p>The prototypes in this mile-long demonstration project, along with future pilots, will help operators, developers and regulators refine designs, assess co-benefits and evaluate how these systems perform. With more data, we can map out strategies for extending solar canals statewide, and potentially across the West.</p>
<p><em>This is an update of <a href="https://theconversation.com/installing-solar-panels-over-californias-canals-could-yield-water-land-air-and-climate-payoffs-158754">an article</a> originally published on May 3, 2021.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177433/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roger Bales is co-investigator on a research grant to evaluate the prototype described in this article and develop scaling strategies.</span></em></p>
Covering the state’s canals with solar panels would reduce evaporation of precious water and help meet renewable energy goals – all while saving money.
Roger Bales, Distinguished Professor of Engineering, University of California, Merced
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/165646
2021-08-16T20:35:40Z
2021-08-16T20:35:40Z
As Colorado River Basin states confront water shortages, it’s time to focus on reducing demand
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416147/original/file-20210814-25-15gdu54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C5%2C3600%2C2338&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Water flows into a canal that feeds farms in Casa Grande, Ariz.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/ColoradoRiver-Drought-Farmers/829f1440d70544f59500b090305b8d7a/photo">AP Photo/Darryl Webb</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The U.S. government announced its first-ever water shortage declaration for the Colorado River on Aug. 16, 2021, triggering future cuts in the amount of water states will be allowed to draw from the river. The <a href="https://www.usbr.gov/newsroom/#/news-release/3950">Tier 1 shortage declaration</a> followed the <a href="https://www.usbr.gov/">U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s</a> forecast that the water in Lake Mead – the largest reservoir in the U.S., located on the Arizona-Nevada border – will drop below an elevation of <a href="https://www.nps.gov/lake/learn/nature/overview-of-lake-mead.htm">1,075 feet above sea level</a>, leaving less than 40% of its capacity, by the end of 2021. </p>
<p>The declaration means that in January 2022 the agency will reduce water deliveries to the Lower Colorado River Basin states of Arizona and Nevada and to Mexico, but not to California – yet. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416148/original/file-20210814-25-18201z9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Map of Colorado River Basin." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416148/original/file-20210814-25-18201z9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416148/original/file-20210814-25-18201z9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=765&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416148/original/file-20210814-25-18201z9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=765&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416148/original/file-20210814-25-18201z9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=765&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416148/original/file-20210814-25-18201z9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=961&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416148/original/file-20210814-25-18201z9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=961&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416148/original/file-20210814-25-18201z9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=961&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Colorado River Basin drains seven western states. The Lower Basin is more heavily developed than the Upper Basin and consumes more water.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/colorado-river-basin-map">USGS</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Arizona will lose the most water: 512,000 acre-feet, nearly a fifth of its total Colorado River allocation of 2.8 million acre-feet. Nevada will lose 21,000 and Mexico 80,000. An acre-foot is enough water to cover an acre of land, which is roughly the area of a football field, to a depth of one foot – <a href="https://www.watereducation.org/general-information/whats-acre-foot">about 326,000 gallons</a>.</p>
<p>Central Arizona farmers are the big losers in this first round of cuts. The cities are protected because they enjoy the highest priority in Arizona for water delivered through the <a href="https://azwaternews.com/2021/08/16/arizona-heads-into-tier-1-colorado-river-shortage-for-2022/">Central Arizona Project</a>, a 330-mile canal from the Colorado River. From my experience <a href="https://robertglennon.net/">analyzing Western water policy</a>, I expect that this declaration won’t halt growth in the affected states – but growth can no longer be uncontrolled. Increasing water supply is no longer a viable option, so states must turn to reducing demand. </p>
<p>Conservation remains the low-hanging fruit. Water reuse – treating wastewater and using it again, including for drinking – is <a href="https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-glennon-water-sewage-recycling-los-angeles-20190305-story.html">also viable</a>. A third option is using pricing and trading to encourage the reallocation of water from lower-value to higher-value uses. </p>
<h2>Interstate collaboration</h2>
<p>The Colorado River Basin states have formally negotiated who can use how much water from the Colorado River since they first inked the <a href="https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/pao/pdfiles/crcompct.pdf">Colorado River Compact</a> in 1922. In 2007 they negotiated interim shortage guidelines that specified how much each state would reduce its use depending on the elevation of Lake Mead. A series of <a href="https://theconversation.com/western-states-buy-time-with-a-7-year-colorado-river-drought-plan-but-face-a-hotter-drier-future-119448">subsequent agreements</a> included Mexico, increased the scale of reductions and authorized the secretary of the Interior, ultimately, to impose truly draconian cuts.</p>
<p>Arizona suffers the biggest cuts because it agreed in the 1960s that it would have <a href="https://scholar.law.colorado.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1005&context=books_reports_studies">the lowest priority among the Lower Basin states</a>. </p>
<p>California does not take a cut until the level in Lake Mead drops even lower. But that could happen as soon as 2023. The water level is dropping partly because of the <a href="https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/data/png/20210810/20210810_usdm.png">Western drought</a> but also because of the shape of Lake Mead, which was created by damming Boulder Canyon in 1936. </p>
<p>Like most Western river canyons, Boulder Canyon is wide at the rim and narrow at its base, like a martini glass. As its water elevation drops, each remaining foot in the lake holds less water.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aUCsJTofACE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Lake Mead, the largest U.S. reservoir, has lost 5 trillion gallons of water in the past 20 years.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Lake Mead feeds <a href="https://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/faqs/powerfaq.html">Hoover Dam</a>, one of the largest hydroelectric generating facilities in the country. The plant produces electricity by moving water through turbines. When Lake Mead is high, Hoover Dam’s generating capacity is <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/in-depth/news/local/arizona-environment/2021/05/27/hoover-dam-drought-water-levels-lake-mead/5134031001/">more than 2,000 megawatts</a>, which produces enough electricity to supply some 450,000 average households in Nevada, Arizona and California.</p>
<p>But the plant has lost 25% of its capacity as Lake Mead has dropped. If the water level declines <a href="https://lasvegassun.com/news/2021/jun/27/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-lake-meads-falli/">below about 950 feet</a>, the dam won’t be able to generate power.</p>
<h2>Sending water south</h2>
<p>The Upper Basin states – Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico – will also suffer. </p>
<p>That’s because the Colorado River Compact obligates the Bureau of Reclamation to release <a href="https://www2.kenyon.edu/projects/Dams/gsc01bob.html">an annual average of 8.23 million acre-feet</a> from Lake Powell, the nation’s second-largest reservoir, which extends from southern Utah into northern Arizona.</p>
<p>The Bureau of Reclamation predicted in mid-July that runoff into Lake Powell for 2021 will total just 3.23 million acre-feet, or 30% of average. To make up for this shortfall, <a href="https://www.usbr.gov/uc/water/crsp/cs/gcd.html">the bureau will release more water</a> from three Upper Basin reservoirs: Flaming Gorge in Utah, Blue Mesa in Colorado and Navajo on the Colorado-New Mexico border. </p>
<p>These releases will harm farmers and ranchers, who may be forced to <a href="https://www.gjsentinel.com/news/western_colorado/dry-times-dire-consequences-poor-runoff-adds-to-water-woes/article_a7ec3fb0-c573-11eb-bbe5-dfedf0633508.html">raise less-water-intensive crops or fewer animals due to water shortages</a>. The Upper Basin states get much of their water from snowpack, which has <a href="https://westernresourceadvocates.org/snowpack-in-the-west/">declined in recent years</a> as the West warms. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1426547659322572802"}"></div></p>
<h2>Doing the math</h2>
<p>The ultimate problem facing the Colorado River Basin states is simple. There are <a href="https://www.grandcanyontrust.org/advocatemag/spring-summer-2016/problem-math">more water rights on paper than there is water in the river</a>. And that’s before considering the impact of climate change and evaporation loss from Lakes Mead and Powell.</p>
<p>The urgency of the Tier 1 shortage declaration has generated wild-eyed proposals to import water from far-flung places. In May 2021, the Arizona legislature passed a <a href="https://www.azfamily.com/news/arizona-legislature-proposes-pumping-mississippi-river-water-to-help-with-drought/article_3cbf8858-b832-11eb-a76f-0f6bfebd2301.html">bipartisan resolution</a> calling on Congress to study <a href="https://www.cagle.com/david-fitzsimmons/2021/06/water-and-growth">a pipeline from the Mississippi River</a> that would augment the Colorado River. Space does not permit me to elaborate all the obstacles to this idea, but here’s a big one: the Rocky Mountains.</p>
<p>Similarly, the city of St. George in southwest Utah has proposed building a 140-mile pipeline from Lake Powell to augment its supply. St. George has some of the highest water consumption and lowest water prices in the country. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416152/original/file-20210814-27-wi96ro.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Downtown Phoenix with suburban homes in foreground." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416152/original/file-20210814-27-wi96ro.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416152/original/file-20210814-27-wi96ro.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416152/original/file-20210814-27-wi96ro.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416152/original/file-20210814-27-wi96ro.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416152/original/file-20210814-27-wi96ro.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416152/original/file-20210814-27-wi96ro.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416152/original/file-20210814-27-wi96ro.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">According to data released on Aug. 12, 2021, from the 2020 Census, Phoenix was the fastest-growing large city in the U.S.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/CensusArizona/bf2d484580f349b1a99443023e37e8e7/photo">AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The gospel of growth still motivates some cities. Buckeye, Arizona, on the west side of Phoenix, has a planning area of 642 square miles, which is larger than Phoenix. The city has approved 27 housing developments that officials project will <a href="https://www.hcn.org/issues/53.6/south-water-rapid-growth-in-arizonas-suburbs-bets-against-an-uncertain-water-supply">increase its population by 800,000 people</a> by 2040. Yet its water supply depends on unsustainable groundwater pumping.</p>
<p>Other communities have faced reality. In early 2021 Oakley, Utah, east of Salt Lake City, imposed <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/20/us/utah-water-drought-climate-change.html">a construction moratorium on new homes</a>, sending shivers up the spines of developers across the West.</p>
<h2>Enabling farmers to be more efficient</h2>
<p>The Tier 1 declaration gives states and local communities reason to remove barriers to transferring water. Market forces are playing an increasingly critical role in water management in the West. Many new demands for water are coming from voluntary transfers between willing sellers and desperate buyers.</p>
<p>Water markets threaten rural communities because farmers cannot hope to compete with cities in a free market for water. Nor should they have to. Water remains a public resource. I believe the states need a process to ensure that transfers are consistent with the public interest – one that protects the long-term viability of rural communities.</p>
<p>As the West enters an era of water reallocation, most of the water will come from farmers, who consume <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/shopping-for-water-how-the-market-can-mitigate-water-shortages-in-the-american-west/">more than 70% of the region’s water</a>. Cities, developers and industry need only a tiny fraction of that amount for the indefinite future.</p>
<p>What if municipal and industrial interests created a fund to help farmers <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/04/07/can-farms-survive-without-drying-up-california-13/modernize-irrigation-with-incentives">install more efficient irrigation systems</a> instead of simply <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/irrigation-methods-furrow-or-flood-irrigation?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects">flooding fields</a>, a low-tech approach that wastes a lot of water? If farmers could reduce their water consumption by 5%, that water would be available to cities and businesses. Farmers would continue to grow as much food as before, thus protecting the stability of rural communities. This could be a win-win solution to the West’s water crisis. </p>
<p>[<em>You’re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation’s authors and editors.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=youresmart">You can read us daily by subscribing to our newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165646/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert Glennon does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
A long-expected federal drought declaration underlines how serious the Colorado River water shortage has become for Western states.
Robert Glennon, Regents Professor and Morris K. Udall Professor of Law & Public Policy, University of Arizona
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/160147
2021-05-10T12:30:39Z
2021-05-10T12:30:39Z
Water wells are at risk of going dry in the US and worldwide
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399333/original/file-20210506-15-1dgny6n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C14%2C4792%2C2809&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An orchard near Kettleman City in California's San Joaquin Valley on April 2, 2021.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/an-orchard-is-seen-on-the-outskirts-of-kettleman-city-in-news-photo/1232098529">Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the drought outlook for the Western U.S. becomes <a href="https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2021-04-26/as-drought-deepens-california-growers-see-grim-futurequin">increasingly bleak</a>, attention is turning once again to groundwater – literally, water stored in the ground. It is Earth’s most widespread and reliable source of fresh water, but it’s not limitless.</p>
<p>Wells that people drill to access groundwater supply nearly half the water used for irrigated agriculture in the U.S. and provide <a href="https://www.ngwa.org/what-is-groundwater/About-groundwater/groundwater-facts">over 100 million Americans</a> with drinking water. Unfortunately, pervasive pumping is causing groundwater levels to decline in some areas, including much of <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.abc2671">California’s San Joaquin Valley</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/farmers-are-depleting-the-ogallala-aquifer-because-the-government-pays-them-to-do-it-145501">Kansas’ High Plains</a>.</p>
<p>We are <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=BmbVaAgAAAAJ&hl=en">a water resources engineer with training in water law</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=9lzSDgcAAAAJ&hl=en">a water scientist and large-data analyst</a>. In <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.abc2755">a recent study</a>, we mapped the locations and depths of wells in 40 countries around the world and found that millions of wells could run dry if groundwater levels decline by only a few meters. While solutions vary from place to place, we believe that what’s most important for protecting wells from running dry is managing groundwater sustainably – especially in nations like the U.S. that use a lot of it.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398767/original/file-20210504-13-68uims.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="About 75% of global groundwater pumping occurs in India, the U.S., China, Pakistan, Iran, Mexico and Saudi Arabia." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398767/original/file-20210504-13-68uims.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/398767/original/file-20210504-13-68uims.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398767/original/file-20210504-13-68uims.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398767/original/file-20210504-13-68uims.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398767/original/file-20210504-13-68uims.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398767/original/file-20210504-13-68uims.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/398767/original/file-20210504-13-68uims.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=513&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The U.S. has one of the highest national groundwater use rates in the world.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.abc2755">Jasechko and Perrone, 2021</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Groundwater use today</h2>
<p>Humans have been digging wells for water for thousands of years. Examples include 7,400-year-old wells in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2020.105082">Czech Republic</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0051374">Germany</a>, 8,000-year-old wells in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/095968369300300309">eastern Mediterranean</a>, and 10,000-year-old wells in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X0006049X">Cyprus</a>. Today wells supply <a href="https://www.ngwa.org/what-is-groundwater/About-groundwater/facts-about-global-groundwater-usage">40% of water used for irrigation worldwide</a> and provide billions of people with drinking water. </p>
<p>Groundwater flows through tiny spaces within sediments and their underlying bedrock. At some points, called discharge areas, groundwater rises to the surface, moving into lakes, rivers and streams. At other points, known as recharge areas, water percolates deep into the ground, either through precipitation or leakage from rivers, lakes and streams.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399513/original/file-20210507-17-k62ybd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Pumping can remove groundwater from underground faster than it recharges." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399513/original/file-20210507-17-k62ybd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399513/original/file-20210507-17-k62ybd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=353&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399513/original/file-20210507-17-k62ybd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=353&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399513/original/file-20210507-17-k62ybd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=353&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399513/original/file-20210507-17-k62ybd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399513/original/file-20210507-17-k62ybd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399513/original/file-20210507-17-k62ybd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Groundwater can remain underground for days to millennia, depending on how deep it sinks, how readily it moves through rock around it and how fast humans pump it to the surface.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/conceptual-groundwater-flow-diagram">USGS</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Groundwater declines can have many undesirable consequences. <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.abb8549">Land surfaces sink</a> as <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/centers/ca-water-ls/science/aquifer-compaction-due-groundwater-pumping">underground clay layers are compacted</a>. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2012.03.004">Seawater intrusion</a> can contaminate groundwater reserves and make them too salty to use without energy-intensive treatment. River water can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03311-x">leak down to underground aquifers</a>, leaving less water available at the surface. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_oiffKmc0dQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Leaky streams are widespread across the United States.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Groundwater depletion can also cause wells to run dry when the top surface of the groundwater – known as the water table – drops so far that the well isn’t deep enough to reach it, leaving the well literally high and dry. Yet until recently, little was known about how vulnerable global wells are to running dry because of declining groundwater levels. </p>
<p>There is no global database of wells, so over six years we compiled 134 unique well construction databases spanning 40 different countries. In total, we analyzed nearly 39 million well construction records, including each well’s location, the reason it was constructed and its depth. </p>
<p>Our results show that wells are vital to human livelihoods – and recording well depths helped us see how vulnerable wells are to running dry.</p>
<h2>Millions of wells at risk</h2>
<p>Our analysis led to two main findings. First, up to 20% of wells around the world extend no more than 16 feet (5 meters) below the water table. That means these wells will run dry if groundwater levels decline by just a few feet.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TBXrBjk_5go?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Groundwater wells are at risk of running dry around the globe.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Second, we found that newer wells are not being dug significantly deeper than older wells in some places where groundwater levels are declining. In some areas, such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0325-z">eastern New Mexico</a>, newer wells are not drilled deeper than older wells because the deeper rock layers are impermeable and contain saline water. New wells are at least as likely to run dry as older wells in these areas. </p>
<p>Wells are already going dry in some locations, including parts of the U.S. West. In previous studies we estimated that as many as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aa8ac0">1 in 30 wells were running dry</a> in the western U.S., and as many as 1 in 5 in some areas in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2019EF001339">southern portion of California’s Central Valley</a>. </p>
<p>Households already are running out of well water in the <a href="https://www.fresnobee.com/fresnoland/article245990855.html">Central Valley</a> and <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/in-depth/news/local/arizona-environment/2019/12/05/wells-drying-up-around-willcox-where-effort-change-groundwater-rules-failed/2357906001/">southeastern Arizona</a>. Beyond the Southwest, wells have been running dry in states as diverse as <a href="https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/dry-well-survey-maine/97-f5251341-469b-4672-b17d-7d9a8f72c117">Maine</a>, <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/environment/ct-illinois-water-supply-lake-michigan-aquifers-20210226-27j6lwnyjndjhg4ux5ek42qcxu-story.html">Illinois</a> and <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/01/01/792692254/water-crisis-puts-oregon-community-at-a-crossroads">Oregon</a>.</p>
<h2>What to do when the well gives out</h2>
<p>How can households adapt when their well runs dry? Here are five strategies, all of which have drawbacks.</p>
<p>– Dig a new, deeper well. This is an option only if fresh groundwater exists at deeper depths. In many aquifers <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/117/51/32302">deeper groundwater tends to be more saline than shallower groundwater</a>, so deeper drilling is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0325-z">no more than a stopgap solution</a>. And since new wells are expensive, this approach favors wealthier groundwater users and raises equity concerns.</p>
<p>– Sell the property. This is often considered if constructing a new well is unaffordable. Drilling a new household well in the U.S. Southwest can cost <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2019EF001339">tens of thousands of dollars</a>. But selling a property that lacks access to a reliable and convenient water supply can be challenging. </p>
<p><iframe id="JHznu" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/JHznu/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>– Divert or haul water from alternative sources, such as nearby rivers or lakes. This approach is feasible only if surface water resources are not already reserved for other users or too far away. Even if nearby surface waters are available, treating their quality to make them safe to drink can be harder than treating well water.</p>
<p>– Reduce water use to slow or stop groundwater level declines. This could mean switching to crops that are less water-intensive, or adopting irrigation systems that reduce water losses. Such approaches may reduce farmers’ profits or require upfront investments in new technologies. </p>
<p>[<em>Over 100,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletter to understand the world.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=100Ksignup">Sign up today</a>.]</p>
<p>– Limit or abandon activities that require lots of water, such as irrigation. This strategy can be challenging if irrigated land provides higher crop yields than unirrigated land. Recent research suggests that some land in the central U.S. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2020.106061">is not suitable for unirrigated “dryland” farming</a>. </p>
<p>Households and communities can take proactive steps to protect wells from running dry. For example, one of us is working closely with <a href="https://law.unimelb.edu.au/about/staff/rebecca-nelson">Rebecca Nelson of Melbourne Law School</a> in Australia to <a href="http://groundwater.stanford.edu/dashboard/">map groundwater withdrawal permitting</a> – the process of seeking permission to withdraw groundwater – across the U.S. West.</p>
<p>State and local agencies can distribute groundwater permits in ways that help stabilize falling groundwater levels over the long run, or in ways that prioritize certain water users. Enacting and enforcing policies designed to limit groundwater depletion can help protect wells from running dry. While it can be difficult to limit use of a resource as essential as water, we believe that in most cases, simply drilling deeper is not a sustainable path forward.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/160147/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The US has one of the highest groundwater use rates in the world. When wells run dry, households may opt to conserve water, find new sources or sell and move.
Debra Perrone, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara
Scott Jasechko, Assistant Professor of Water Resources, University of California, Santa Barbara
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/159092
2021-04-19T12:28:39Z
2021-04-19T12:28:39Z
Interstate water wars are heating up along with the climate
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395345/original/file-20210415-20-oo9nth.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=13%2C4%2C2925%2C1912&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Aerial view of Lake Powell on the Colorado River along the Arizona-Utah border.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/ColoradoRiverManagement/d12a55f700714682baf7468c24e4aea4/photo">AP Photo/John Antczak</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Interstate water disputes are as American as apple pie. States often think a neighboring state is using more than its fair share from a river, lake or aquifer that crosses borders. </p>
<p>Currently the U.S. Supreme Court has on its docket a case between <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/texas-v-new-mexico-and-colorado/">Texas, New Mexico and Colorado</a> and another one between <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/mississippi-v-tennessee/">Mississippi and Tennessee</a>. The court has already ruled this term on cases pitting <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2020/65-orig">Texas against New Mexico</a> and <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/20O0142">Florida against Georgia</a>. </p>
<p>Climate stresses are raising the stakes. Rising temperatures require farmers to use more water to grow the same amount of crops. Prolonged and severe droughts decrease available supplies. Wildfires are <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-year-the-west-was-burning-how-the-2020-wildfire-season-got-so-extreme-148804">burning hotter and lasting longer</a>. Fires bake the soil, reducing forests’ ability to hold water, increasing evaporation from barren land and compromising water supplies.</p>
<p>As a longtime <a href="https://robertglennon.net/">observer of interstate water negotiations</a>, I see a basic problem: In some cases, more water rights exist on paper than as wet water – even before factoring in shortages caused by climate change and other stresses. In my view, states should put at least as much effort into reducing water use as they do into litigation, because there are no guaranteed winners in water lawsuits.</p>
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<h2>Dry times in the West</h2>
<p>The situation is most urgent in California and the Southwest, which currently face “<a href="https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/">extreme or exceptional” drought conditions</a>. California’s reservoirs are <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-01/california-reservoirs-are-half-empty-recalling-historic-drought?sref=Hjm5biAW">half-empty</a> at the end of the rainy season. The Sierra snowpack sits at <a href="https://www.kxan.com/weather/spring-2021-nasty-drought-in-forecast-for-much-of-us/">60% of normal</a>. In March 2021, federal and state agencies that oversee California’s Central Valley Project and State Water Project – regional water systems that each cover hundreds of miles – issued “<a href="https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/water-and-drought/article250145884.html">remarkably bleak warnings</a>” about cutbacks to farmers’ water allocations.</p>
<p>The Colorado River Basin is mired in a <a href="https://www.doi.gov/water/owdi.cr.drought/en/">drought that began in 2000</a>. Experts disagree as to <a href="https://theconversation.com/western-states-buy-time-with-a-7-year-colorado-river-drought-plan-but-face-a-hotter-drier-future-119448">how long it could last</a>. What’s certain is that the “<a href="https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/pao/lawofrvr.html">Law of the River</a>” – the body of rules, regulations and laws governing the Colorado River – has allocated <a href="https://www.grandcanyontrust.org/advocatemag/spring-summer-2016/problem-math">more water to the states than the river reliably provides</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/pao/pdfiles/crcompct.pdf">1922 Colorado River Compact</a> allocated 7.5 million acre-feet (one acre-foot is roughly 325,000 gallons) to California, Nevada and Arizona, and another 7.5 million acre-feet to Utah, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico. A treaty with Mexico secured that country 1.5 million acre-feet, for a total of 16.5 million acre-feet. However, estimates based on <a href="https://www.environmentalscience.org/dendrochronology-tree-rings-tell-us">tree ring analysis</a> have determined that the actual yearly flow of the river over the last 1,200 years is <a href="https://www.doi.gov/water/owdi.cr.drought/treeringdata/index.html">roughly 14.6 million acre-feet</a>. </p>
<p>The inevitable train wreck has not yet happened, for two reasons. First, Lakes <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Mead">Mead</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Powell">Powell</a> – the two largest reservoirs on the Colorado – can hold a combined 56 million acre-feet, roughly four times the river’s annual flow. </p>
<p>But diversions and increased evaporation due to drought are <a href="https://www.crwua.org/assets/downloads/2020-annual-conference/CRWUA-Federal-Friday-Presentation-2020-System-Status.pdf">reducing water levels in the reservoirs</a>. As of Dec. 16, 2020, both lakes were less than half full.</p>
<p>Second, the Upper Basin states – Utah, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico – have never used their full allotment. Now, however, they want to use more water. Wyoming has several new dams on the drawing board. So does Colorado, which is also planning a new diversion from the headwaters of the Colorado River to Denver and other cities on the Rocky Mountains’ east slope. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395354/original/file-20210415-14-1e6n98a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Much of the U.S. Southwest and California are in extreme or exceptional drought." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395354/original/file-20210415-14-1e6n98a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395354/original/file-20210415-14-1e6n98a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395354/original/file-20210415-14-1e6n98a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395354/original/file-20210415-14-1e6n98a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395354/original/file-20210415-14-1e6n98a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395354/original/file-20210415-14-1e6n98a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395354/original/file-20210415-14-1e6n98a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Drought conditions in the continental U.S. on April 13, 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/data/png/20210413/20210413_conus_text.png">U.S. Drought Monitor</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Utah stakes a claim</h2>
<p>The most controversial proposal comes from one of the nation’s fastest-growing areas: St. George, Utah, home to approximately 90,000 residents and lots of golf courses. St. George has <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-18/st-george-utah-is-booming-and-guzzling-water">very high water consumption rates and very low water prices</a>. The city is proposing to augment its water supply with a <a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/john-wesley-powell-great-explorer-of-the-american-west/">140-mile pipeline from Lake Powell</a>, which would carry 86,000 acre-feet per year.</p>
<p>Truth be told, that’s not a lot of water, and it would not exceed Utah’s unused allocation from the Colorado River. But the six other Colorado River Basin states have protested as though St. George were asking for their firstborn child. </p>
<p>In a joint letter dated Sept. 8, 2020, the other states implored the Interior Department to refrain from issuing a final environmental review of the pipeline until all seven states could “<a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/475439148/Six-States-Letter-to-SOI-Sep-8-2020#from_embed">reach consensus regarding legal and operational concerns</a>.” The letter explicitly threatened a high “probability of <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/475439148/Six-States-Letter-to-SOI-Sep-8-2020#from_embed">multi-year litigation</a>.”</p>
<p>Utah blinked. Having earlier insisted on an expedited pipeline review, the state asked federal officials on Sept. 24, 2020 <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2020/09/24/after-insisting-expedited/">to delay a decision</a>. But Utah has not given up: In March 2021, Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill creating a <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2021/03/04/utah-senate-backs-new/">Colorado River Authority of Utah</a>, armed with a US$9 million legal defense fund, to protect Utah’s share of Colorado River water. One observer predicted “<a href="https://tucson.com/news/local/colorado-river-outlook-darkens-dramatically-in-new-study/article_15e0185d-60d7-597d-ba7f-366b8e69920e.html">huge, huge litigation</a>.”</p>
<p>How huge could it be? In 1930, Arizona sued California in an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona_v._California">epic battle</a> that did not end until 2006. Arizona prevailed by finally securing a <a href="https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/pao/pdfiles/scconsolidateddecree2006.pdf">fixed allocation from the water apportioned to California, Nevada and Arizona</a>. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rWpui1P9cAY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Southwest Utah’s claim to Colorado River water is sparking conflict with other western states.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Litigation or conservation</h2>
<p>Before Utah takes the precipitous step of appealing to the Supreme Court under the court’s original jurisdiction over disputes between states, it might explore other solutions. Water conservation and reuse make obvious sense in St. George, where per-person water consumption is <a href="https://islandpress.org/books/unquenchable">among the nation’s highest</a>.</p>
<p>St. George could emulate its neighbor, Las Vegas, which has paid residents up to $3 per square foot to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/1d38cf067394498fac0f9f623892eab6">rip out lawns</a> and replace them with native desert landscaping. In April 2021 Las Vegas went further, asking the Nevada Legislature to <a href="https://tucson.com/news/state-and-regional/las-vegas-pushes-to-become-first-to-ban-ornamental-grass/article_1771f7c0-dde6-53e1-9ccc-3c27e0729eb6.html">outlaw ornamental grass</a>. </p>
<p>The Southern Nevada Water Authority estimates that the Las Vegas metropolitan area has eight square miles of “nonfunctional turf” – grass that no one ever walks on except the person who cuts it. Removing it would <a href="https://tucson.com/news/state-and-regional/las-vegas-pushes-to-become-first-to-ban-ornamental-grass/article_1771f7c0-dde6-53e1-9ccc-3c27e0729eb6.html">reduce the region’s water consumption by 15%</a>. </p>
<p>Water rights litigation is fraught with uncertainty. Just ask Florida, which thought it had a strong case that Georgia’s water diversions from the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin were harming its oyster fishery downstream. </p>
<p>That case extended over 20 years before the U.S. Supreme Court ended the final chapter in April 2021. The court used a procedural rule that places the burden on plaintiffs to provide “clear and convincing evidence.” Florida <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/20O0142">failed to convince the court</a>, and walked away with nothing.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159092/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert Glennon received funding from the National Science Foundation in the 1990s and 2000s.</span></em></p>
The Supreme Court recently dealt defeat to Florida in its 20-year legal battle with Georgia over river water. Other interstate water contests loom, but there are no sure winners in these lawsuits.
Robert Glennon, Regents Professor and Morris K. Udall Professor of Law & Public Policy, University of Arizona
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/152002
2020-12-21T22:23:51Z
2020-12-21T22:23:51Z
Even in a ‘water-rich’ country like New Zealand, some cities could face water shortages this summer
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374936/original/file-20201214-13-1fafyl0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=41%2C118%2C3894%2C2454&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">MNStudio/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>After eight months of drought rules, Auckland finally <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/auckland-council-relaxes-water-restrictions-after-drought-rules/RXYUKBMJORMNR3ZDD75WRJFCYA/">relaxed water restrictions</a> last week, but as New Zealand heads into <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/429468/marine-heatwaves-higher-tropical-cyclone-risk-what-la-nina-means-for-new-zealand-this-summer">another La Niña summer</a>, other cities can expect serious water shortages both now and in the future.</p>
<p>Although this summer’s projected rainfall should keep Auckland’s water supply levels sustainable in the short term, Wellington could be <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/wellington/123472555/universal-water-metering-in-wellington-necessary-to-avoid-droughtlike-summer-conditions-report-says">running dry within the next six years</a>. </p>
<p>For both cities, addressing the gap in water supply and demand is an immediate and ongoing problem. Growing populations and increasingly variable climate conditions, combined with ageing infrastructure, mean local authorities will have to think about how they can either increase supply or change patterns of consumption. </p>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.motu.nz/our-expertise/environment-and-resources/nutrient-trading-and-water-quality/review-of-policy-instruments-for-freshwater-management/">new working paper</a>, we explore the merits and limitations of options available to policymakers to help navigate the changing water landscape.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/extreme-heat-and-rain-thousands-of-weather-stations-show-theres-now-more-of-both-for-longer-141869">Extreme heat and rain: thousands of weather stations show there's now more of both, for longer</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Policy solutions to address water (short)falls</h2>
<p>For two of New Zealand’s largest cities, Auckland and Wellington, curbing demand is likely to be a more cost-effective approach than increasing water supply. Building reservoirs or constructing desalination plants is costly compared with adopting a range of targeted policy instruments that could encourage a change in individual use. </p>
<p>The benefits of taking a multi-faceted policy approach to curbing demand is evident when comparing water consumption patterns in Auckland and Wellington. </p>
<p>Aucklanders had water meters installed in the 1990s and are charged per unit of water consumed. They use <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/wellington/123472555/universal-water-metering-in-wellington-necessary-to-avoid-droughtlike-summer-conditions-report-says">30% less water per person</a> than Wellington users, who don’t have meters and are charged a flat rate for use. </p>
<p>Coupled with this, Auckland Council has run targeted campaigns to educate users about ways to conserve water and household water bills include information about use patterns that are designed to “nudge” users towards conservation.</p>
<p>In other regions of New Zealand, the merits of a cost-driven approach are also clear. The Kāpiti Coast in the lower North Island has had a <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/wellington-water-discovers-leak-of-20000-litres-a-day-as-consumption-spikes/QEFK32XFMT64LUGQX5K4EYPSJI/">26% reduction in water use</a> since water meters, pricing and targeted education campaigns were introduced in 2014.</p>
<p>The evidence suggests that a policy approach that combines pricing incentives with education campaigns and regulation encourages users to conserve water.</p>
<h2>Looking ahead to warmer and drier summers</h2>
<p>However, even with the implementation of a range of water-saving policies, New Zealand city dwellers are not achieving the reductions needed to close the demand gap, particularly given the projections of warmer, drier summers. Most cities will need to adopt further policy changes.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Map of expected temperatures this summer." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374929/original/file-20201214-19-1oczm23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374929/original/file-20201214-19-1oczm23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374929/original/file-20201214-19-1oczm23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374929/original/file-20201214-19-1oczm23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374929/original/file-20201214-19-1oczm23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374929/original/file-20201214-19-1oczm23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374929/original/file-20201214-19-1oczm23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Warmer-than-usual temperatures are forecast for all of New Zealand this summer, and the warming trend is expected to continue.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">NIWA</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The patterns of water consumption in Australia’s two largest cities, Melbourne and Sydney, provide some insight into how further behavioural changes could be achieved in New Zealand. </p>
<p>First, Australia’s arid climate leaves few in doubt about water’s value and its scarcity. Second, this is reinforced through higher price signals, some of which rise and fall with dam levels. The <a href="https://watersource.awa.asn.au/community/customers/why-sydney-residents-use-30-more-water-per-day-than-melburnians/">result</a> is that Melburnians, who pay progressively more per litre the more water they use, use 150 litres per person per day. Sydneysiders, who <a href="https://www.ipart.nsw.gov.au/Home/Industries/Water/Reviews/Metro-Pricing/Prices-for-Sydney-Water-Corporation-from-1-July-2020">until recently</a> paid a flat price for residential water, use 210 litres per person per day.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-sydney-residents-use-30-more-water-per-day-than-melburnians-117656">Why Sydney residents use 30% more water per day than Melburnians</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>For New Zealand policymakers, the challenge lies not only in bringing about changes in the choices water users make through prices that more accurately reflect scarcity, but also in engineering a shift in values around water consumption. For too long, New Zealanders have thought the country is <a href="https://www.waternz.org.nz/Attachment?Action=Download&Attachment_id=4358">water-rich</a>, ignoring the fact this applies only to certain regions and seasons.</p>
<p>Achieving a long-term shift in behaviour will require an acknowledgement that <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/63/3/164/228159">values influence policy and vice versa</a>. For most cities, the starting point in this transition will be identifying targeted policy options to reduce the growing supply-demand gap and engender a shift in values. </p>
<p>For Auckland, this might mean reviewing the pricing structures that determine patterns of water use. For Wellington, the most cost-effective approach is likely to be the introduction of meters and volumetric pricing. </p>
<p>For residents of all urban areas, internalising the fact that water is scarce can’t come soon enough.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/152002/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julia Talbot-Jones works for Victoria University of Wellington and is an affiliate of Motu Economic and Public Policy Research. Through Motu, she received funding from the Aotearoa Foundation to complete this research. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sophie O'Brien and Suzie Greenhalgh do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Given long-term forecasts for growing urban populations and an increasingly variable climate, local authorities will have to think about how best to encourage people to conserve water.
Julia Talbot-Jones, Lecturer, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Sophie O'Brien, Research Analyst, Motu Economic and Public Policy Research
Suzie Greenhalgh, Portfolio Leader (Society, Culture & Policy), Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/145501
2020-11-09T13:13:56Z
2020-11-09T13:13:56Z
Farmers are depleting the Ogallala Aquifer because the government pays them to do it
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367092/original/file-20201102-21-1nlp9jp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=3%2C1%2C1274%2C848&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A center-pivot sprinkler with precision application drop nozzles irrigates cotton in Texas.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Center_pivot_sprinkler_with_low_energy_precision_application_drop_nozzles_irrigates_cotton_growing_in_wheat_residue_used_as_a_cover_crop._(24486394864).jpg">USDA NRCS/Wikipedia</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A slow-moving crisis threatens the U.S. Central Plains, which grow <a href="https://rrbwp.nebraska.gov/Reference/OCIA%20-%20Analysis%20of%20High%20Plains%20Resource%20Risk%20and%20Economic%20Impacts%20%282%29.pdf">a quarter of the nation’s crops</a>. Underground, the region’s lifeblood – water – is disappearing, placing one of the world’s major food-producing regions at risk. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-014-9567-6">Ogallala-High Plains Aquifer</a> is one of the world’s largest groundwater sources, extending from South Dakota down through the Texas Panhandle across portions of eight states. Its water supports <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/2013EF000107">US$35 billion</a> in crop production each year.</p>
<p>But farmers are pulling water out of the Ogallala faster than rain and snow can recharge it. Between 1900 and 2008 they drained some <a href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2013/5079/">89 trillion gallons</a> from the aquifer – equivalent to two-thirds of <a href="https://www3.clevelandwater.com/your-water/lake-erie">Lake Erie</a>. Depletion is threatening drinking water supplies and undermining local communities already struggling with the <a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/coronavirus/article245598760.html">COVID-19 pandemic</a>, the <a href="https://www.hpj.com/bickel/dairy-farmer-tells-of-his-son-s-opioid-addiction-along-with-his-own/article_0df84cae-762b-11e8-b864-b3e07a63df7e.html">opioid crisis</a>, <a href="https://www.kmuw.org/post/rural-kansas-loves-its-hospitals-keeping-them-open-only-gets-harder">hospital closures</a>, soaring <a href="https://www.kcur.org/agriculture/2019-10-18/get-big-or-get-out-farming-has-left-kansas-towns-struggling-for-survival">farm losses</a> and <a href="https://www.kcur.org/2020-02-26/kansas-suicide-rates-are-climbing-especially-in-the-states-most-rural-areas">rising suicide rates</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/366732/original/file-20201030-22-1q5ov9i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Map showing changing Ogallala Aquifer water levels over the past century" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/366732/original/file-20201030-22-1q5ov9i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/366732/original/file-20201030-22-1q5ov9i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=777&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366732/original/file-20201030-22-1q5ov9i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=777&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366732/original/file-20201030-22-1q5ov9i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=777&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366732/original/file-20201030-22-1q5ov9i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=976&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366732/original/file-20201030-22-1q5ov9i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=976&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366732/original/file-20201030-22-1q5ov9i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=976&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Changes in Ogallala water levels from before the aquifer was tapped in the early 20th century to 2015. Gray indicates no significant change. Water levels have risen in some areas, especially Nebraska, but are mostly in decline.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.climate.gov/sites/default/files/ogallala_NCA_figure10_3_lrg.png">NCA 2018</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In Kansas, “Day Zero” – the day wells run dry – has arrived for about <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1220351110">30% of the aquifer</a>. Within 50 years, the entire aquifer is expected be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1220351110">70% depleted</a>. </p>
<p>Some observers blame this situation on periodic <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2013/03/18/in-drought-ravaged-plains-efforts-to-save-a-vital-aquifer">drought</a>. Others point to farmers, since irrigation accounts for <a href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2011/5089/pdf/SIR2011-5089.pdf">90% of Ogallala groundwater withdrawals</a>. But our research, which focuses on social and legal aspects of water use in agricultural communities, shows that farmers are draining the Ogallala because state and federal policies encourage them to do it.</p>
<h2>A production treadmill</h2>
<p>At first glance, farmers on the Plains appear to be doing well in 2020. Crop production increased this year. Corn, the largest crop in the U.S., had <a href="https://www.nass.usda.gov/Newsroom/2020/08-12-2020.php">a near-record year</a>, and farm incomes increased by <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-economy/farm-sector-income-finances/farm-sector-income-forecast">5.7% over 2019</a>. </p>
<p>But those figures hide massive government payments to farmers. Federal subsidies increased by <a href="https://www.agweb.com/article/usda-says-farm-income-increasing-gov-payments-are-record">a remarkable 65%</a> this year, totaling $37.2 billion. This sum includes money for <a href="https://theconversation.com/most-us-farmers-remain-loyal-to-trump-despite-pain-from-trade-wars-and-covid-19-146535">lost exports from escalating trade wars, as well as COVID-19-related relief payments.</a> Corn prices were too low to cover the cost of growing it this year, with federal subsidies making up the difference. </p>
<p>Our research finds that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/socpro/spy011">subsidies put farmers on a treadmill</a>, working harder to produce more while draining the resource that supports their livelihood. Government payments create a vicious cycle of overproduction that intensifies water use. Subsidies encourage farmers to expand and buy expensive equipment to irrigate larger areas. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365415/original/file-20201026-23-1091bmx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Irrigation pump in field" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365415/original/file-20201026-23-1091bmx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365415/original/file-20201026-23-1091bmx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365415/original/file-20201026-23-1091bmx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365415/original/file-20201026-23-1091bmx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365415/original/file-20201026-23-1091bmx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365415/original/file-20201026-23-1091bmx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365415/original/file-20201026-23-1091bmx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Irrigation pump in Haskell County, Kansas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Matthew Sanderson/Kansas State University</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>With <a href="https://www.agweb.com/markets/futures">low market prices for many crops</a>, production does not cover expenses on most farms. To stay afloat, many farmers buy or lease more acres. Growing larger amounts floods the market, further reducing crop prices and farm incomes. Subsidies support this cycle.</p>
<p>Few benefit, especially small and midsized operations. In a 2019 study of the region’s 234 counties from 1980 to 2010, we found that larger irrigated acreage <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-019-00390-9">failed to increase incomes or improve education or health outcomes</a> for residents. </p>
<h2>Focus on policy, not farmers</h2>
<p>Four decades of federal, state and local conservation efforts have mainly targeted individual farmers, providing ways for them to voluntarily <a href="https://agriculture.ks.gov/divisions-programs/dwr/managing-kansas-water-resources/wca">reduce water use</a> or <a href="https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs/financial/eqip/">adopt more water-efficient technologies</a>. </p>
<p>While these initiatives are important, they haven’t stemmed the aquifer’s decline. In our view, what the Ogallala Aquifer region really needs is policy change. </p>
<p>A lot can be done at the federal level, but the first principle should be “do no harm.” Whenever federal agencies have <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/1230/all-info">tried to regulate groundwater</a>, the backlash has been swift and intense, with farm states’ congressional representatives <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2015-06-19/pdf/2015-15151.pdf">repudiating federal jurisdiction over groundwater</a>. </p>
<p>Nor should Congress propose to eliminate agricultural subsidies, as some <a href="https://www.ewg.org/agmag/subsidies">environmental organizations</a> and <a href="https://www.cato.org/blog/five-reasons-repeal-farm-subsidies">free-market advocates</a> have proposed. Given the thin margins of farming and longstanding political realities, federal support is simply part of modern production agriculture. </p>
<p>With these cautions in mind, three initiatives could help ease pressure on farmers to keep expanding production. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s <a href="https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/conservation-programs/conservation-reserve-program/">Conservation Reserve Program</a> pays farmers to allow environmentally sensitive farmland to lie fallow for at least 10 years. With new provisions, the program could reduce water use by prohibiting expansion of irrigated acreage, permanently retiring marginal lands and linking subsidies to production of less water-intensive crops.</p>
<p>These initiatives could be implemented through the <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/farmbill">federal farm bill</a>, which also sets funding levels for nonfarm subsidies such as the <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program">Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program</a>, or SNAP. SNAP payments, which increase needy families’ food budgets, are an important tool for addressing poverty. Increasing these payments and adding financial assistance to local communities could offset lower tax revenues that result from from farming less acreage. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RHJsdtLZGoY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A 40-year sequence of false-color satellite images shows the spread of center-pivot irrigation around Dalhart, Texas from 1972 to 2011. The equipment creates circular patterns as a sprinkler rotates around a well pivot.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Amending <a href="https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/farm-loan-programs/">federal farm credit rates</a> could also slow the treadmill. Generous terms promote borrowing for irrigation equipment; to pay that debt, borrowers farm more land. Offering lower rates for equipment that reduces water use and withholding loans for standard, wasteful equipment could nudge farmers toward conservation.</p>
<p>The most powerful tool is the tax code. Currently, farmers receive <a href="https://www.irs.gov/publications/p225#en_US_2020_publink1000218297">deductions for declining groundwater levels</a> and can write off depreciation on irrigation equipment. Replacing these perks with a tax credit for stabilizing groundwater and substituting a depreciation schedule favoring more efficient irrigation equipment could provide strong incentives to conserve water. </p>
<h2>Rewriting state water laws</h2>
<p>Water rights are mostly determined by state law, so reforming state water policies is crucial. Case law demonstrates that simply owning water rights <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/224/107/">does not grant the legal right to waste water</a>. For more than a century courts have upheld state restrictions on waste, with <a href="https://law.justia.com/cases/california/supreme-court/2d/3/489.html">rulings that allow for adaptation</a> by modifying the definitions of “beneficial use” and “waste” over time. </p>
<p>Using these precedents, state water agencies could designate thirsty crops, such as rice, cotton or corn, as wasteful in certain regions. Regulations preventing unreasonable water use <a href="https://law.justia.com/cases/california/court-of-appeal/2020/c085762.html">are not unconstitutional</a>. </p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>Allowing farmers some flexibility will maximize profits, as long as they stabilize overall water use. If they irrigate less – or not at all – in years with low market prices, rules could allow more irrigation in better years. Ultimately, many farmers – and their bankers – are willing to exchange lower annual yields for a longer water supply. </p>
<p>As our research has shown, the vast majority of farmers in the region <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/gwat.12940">want to save groundwater</a>. They will need help from policymakers to do it. Forty years is long enough to learn that the Ogallala Aquifer’s decline is not driven by weather or by individual farmers’ preferences. Depletion is a structural problem embedded in agricultural policies. Groundwater depletion is a policy choice made by federal, state and local officials. </p>
<p><em>Stephen Lauer and Vivian Aranda-Hughes, former doctoral students at Kansas State University, contributed to several of the studies cited in this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/145501/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew R Sanderson has received funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Burke W. Griggs has received funding from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jacob A. Miller has received funding from the National Science Foundation.</span></em></p>
An invisible crisis is brewing in US farm country as the overpumped Ogallala-High Plains Aquifer drains. The key drivers are federal farm subsidies and the tax code.
Matthew R Sanderson, Professor of Sociology and Professor of Geography and Geospatial Sciences, Kansas State University
Burke Griggs, Associate Professor of Law, Washburn University
Jacob A Miller-Klugesherz, PhD Student in Sociology, Kansas State University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/145278
2020-09-02T12:20:40Z
2020-09-02T12:20:40Z
In a last-minute rule change, the Trump administration rolls back water-saving standards for showerheads
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375751/original/file-20201217-15-1fuhvm1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4172%2C2847&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">High-efficiency showerheads save water and energy.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/shower-with-running-water-drops-royalty-free-image/134723415?adppopup=true">mppix/iStock via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For more than 25 years, Congress has directed U.S. government agencies to set <a href="https://www.energy.gov/eere/buildings/history-and-impacts">energy</a> and <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/ed-osann/celebrating-25-years-water-efficiency">water</a> efficiency standards for many new products. These measures conserve resources and <a href="https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2017/01/f34/Appliance%20and%20Equipment%20Standards%20Fact%20Sheet-011917_0.pdf">save consumers a lot of money</a>. Until recently, they <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/462332-energy-efficiency-cannot-be-a-partisan-issue-for-washington">had bipartisan support</a>. </p>
<p>But President Trump has turned efficiency standards into symbols of intrusive government. His administration has opposed many of these rules, including standards for <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/20/climate/trump-light-bulb-rollback.html">light bulbs</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/after-three-years-and-a-lawsuit-trump-administration-publishes-efficiency-standards-for-big-equipment/2020/01/10/d641474a-33c3-11ea-9313-6cba89b1b9fb_story.html">commercial boilers, portable air conditioners</a> and <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/473450-trump-calls-for-review-of-water-efficiency-standards-saying-people">low-flow toilets</a>. His latest target: showerheads.</p>
<p>The Energy Policy Act of 1992, passed by a Democratic Congress and signed by Republican President George H.W. Bush, set the maximum flow rate for showers at <a href="https://www.nwf.org/%7E/media/PDFs/Eco-schools/matrix508.ashx">2.5 gallons per minute</a>. Now the Trump administration has <a href="https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2020/12/f81/showerheads-final-rule.pdf">increased that rate</a>, which Trump calls inadequate to wash his “<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/13/politics/donald-trump-hair-water-pressure/index.html">beautiful hair</a>.” </p>
<p>It may sound funny, but it’s not. <a href="https://robertglennon.net/">As someone who writes and teaches about</a> water law and policy, I know that the U.S. water supply is <a href="https://islandpress.org/books/unquenchable">finite and exhaustible</a>. Most Americans <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-us-drinking-water-supply-is-mostly-safe-but-thats-not-good-enough-115028">take water for granted</a>, but as population growth and climate change <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2018EF001091">exacerbate water shortages</a>, experts increasingly argue that water policy should <a href="http://uswateralliance.org/sites/uswateralliance.org/files/publications/One%20Water%20for%20America%20Policy%20Framework%20Executive%20Summary.pdf">promote conservation</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355559/original/file-20200831-24-9xbhg6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="EPA graphic describing water and energy savings from efficient showerheads." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355559/original/file-20200831-24-9xbhg6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355559/original/file-20200831-24-9xbhg6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355559/original/file-20200831-24-9xbhg6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355559/original/file-20200831-24-9xbhg6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355559/original/file-20200831-24-9xbhg6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355559/original/file-20200831-24-9xbhg6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355559/original/file-20200831-24-9xbhg6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Trump administration is rolling back a regulation that has spurred manufacturers to produce high-efficiency showerheads.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EPA_WaterSense#/media/File:Save_Energy,_Save_Money_(15812223659).jpg">EPA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>When is a showerhead not a showerhead?</h2>
<p>On Aug. 13, 2020, the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EERE-2020-BT-TP-0002-0001">amend the existing standard</a> for showerheads. The document’s definition of showerheads exemplified the byzantine logic behind this policy shift. </p>
<p>For example, it provided <a href="https://beta.regulations.gov/document/EERE-2020-BT-TP-0002-0001">three images</a> of fixtures with between three and eight heads attached to a single pipe coming out of the wall. So long as none of the individual heads had a flow greater than 2.5 gallons per minute, the measure asserted that each fixture satisfied Congress’ quest for water and energy conservation.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355556/original/file-20200831-14-1hc71jt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Images of shower outlets with multiple heads." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355556/original/file-20200831-14-1hc71jt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355556/original/file-20200831-14-1hc71jt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=160&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355556/original/file-20200831-14-1hc71jt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=160&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355556/original/file-20200831-14-1hc71jt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=160&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355556/original/file-20200831-14-1hc71jt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=202&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355556/original/file-20200831-14-1hc71jt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=202&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355556/original/file-20200831-14-1hc71jt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=202&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Under the Trump administration’s rule, each of these fixtures can produce up to 2.5 gallons of water per minute from each separate nozzle. Prior law limited the entire device to 2.5 gallons per minute.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://beta.regulations.gov/document/EERE-2020-BT-TP-0002-0001">DOE</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>How can the Energy Department allow shower fixtures with as many as eight heads, each emitting 2.5 gallons per minute? For context, <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/showerhead#:%7E:text=%3A%20a%20fixture%20for%20directing%20the%20spray%20of%20water%20in%20a%20bathroom%20shower">Webster’s dictionary</a> defines a showerhead as a “fixture for directing the spray of water in a bathroom shower.” </p>
<p>But the Trump rule interpreted “showerhead” to mean “an accessory to a supply fitting for spraying water onto a bather.” With this sleight of hand, a congressional rule limiting showerhead flows can be deftly avoided by installing a hydra-headed fixture with multiple “showerheads,” each flowing at 2.5 gallons per minute.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355558/original/file-20200831-17-r9mgr6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Vertical column with seven nozzles." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355558/original/file-20200831-17-r9mgr6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355558/original/file-20200831-17-r9mgr6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355558/original/file-20200831-17-r9mgr6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355558/original/file-20200831-17-r9mgr6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355558/original/file-20200831-17-r9mgr6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=975&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355558/original/file-20200831-17-r9mgr6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=975&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355558/original/file-20200831-17-r9mgr6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=975&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The new rule classifies this device as a ‘body spray,’ not a showerhead.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://beta.regulations.gov/document/EERE-2020-BT-TP-0002-0001">DOE</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The agency also released a <a href="https://beta.regulations.gov/document/EERE-2020-BT-TP-0002-0001">fourth image</a> of a wall fixture with seven nozzles, which the new rule would not subject to the 2.5 gallons per minute maximum. The Energy Department deemed these fixtures a “body spray” rather than a showerhead because they are “usually located” below the bather’s head. (Of course, the person showering may be short, or the plumber may install the fixture high on the shower wall.) Body sprays may have <a href="https://www.signaturehardware.com/arin-thermostatic-shower-system-with-hand-shower-6-jets.html">six or eight nozzles</a> with no flow limits.</p>
<p>The sad part of this foolishness is that the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/watersense">Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense program</a>, which identifies water-efficient projects and promotes water conservation, has been spectacularly successful, at virtually no cost to consumers or the regulated community. Showers constitute <a href="https://www.epa.gov/watersense/showerheads">17% of residential water use</a>. That’s 40 gallons per day for the average family, or 1.2 trillion gallons annually in the United States. </p>
<p>WaterSense fixtures and appliances have saved Americans <a href="https://www.epa.gov/watersense/accomplishments-and-history">more than 4.4 trillion gallons of water and US$87 billion in water and energy expenses</a> since the program began in 2006. Low-water-use fixtures – including showerheads, toilets and washing machines – are now the accepted norm across the United States.</p>
<p>Some early products, such as the first high-efficiency toilets, had some hiccups. But that was 20 years ago. Today, notwithstanding President Trump’s declaration that “<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/07/politics/trump-americans-flushing-toilets-intl/index.html">people are flushing toilets 10 times, 15 times, as opposed to once</a>,” consumers embrace low water-use fixtures because they <a href="https://www.acesolvesitall.com/the-low-down-on-low-flow-plumbing-fixtures/">work well, save money and reduce water and energy consumption</a>.</p>
<p>[<em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=experts">Expertise in your inbox. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter and get expert takes on today’s news, every day.</a></em>]</p>
<h2>Tapped out</h2>
<p>Today the United States faces serious water problems. Georgia and Florida are fighting a prolonged battle over <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/florida-v-georgia-2/">flows in the Apalachicola River</a>, which the two states share. Excessive groundwater pumping is causing <a href="https://islandpress.org/books/water-follies">water levels in wells to plummet and springs to dry up</a>. As I explain in my book, “<a href="https://islandpress.org/books/unquenchable">Unquenchable: America’s Water Crisis and What To Do About It</a>,” farmers are competing with cities for water. </p>
<p>COVID-19 has helped to make the affordability of water a national issue. Some rural areas, such as the Navajo Nation, where many people need to <a href="https://www.navajopublicwater.navajo-nsn.gov/Community-Corner/Water-Hauling">haul water to their homes and villages</a>, have higher rates of coronavirus infection. People who have lost their jobs find themselves <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/01/water-shutoffs-us-coronavirus-utilities-economy">unable to pay their water bills</a>, which in turn compromises the financial stability of water providers. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mYBnFfrB05M?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">More than 2 million Americans don’t have running water in their homes, according to a 2019 report.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Allowing showers to use more water will have several unfortunate consequences for cities across the country. It will increase the amount of water cities must treat; raise the chances of raw sewage overflows at water treatment plants – especially in cities such as Washington, D.C. that <a href="https://www3.epa.gov/region1/eco/uep/cso.html#:%7E:text=Combined%20sewer%20systems%20are%20sewers,wastewater%20in%20the%20same%20pipe.&text=These%20overflows%2C%20called%20combined%20sewer,%2C%20toxic%20materials%2C%20and%20debris.">combine storm and sewer water</a>; and increase the amount of energy used to pump and treat water.</p>
<p>Disrupting low-flow fixture rules will create special hardships for western cities, such as <a href="http://savethedropla.com/about-the-drought">Los Angeles</a> and <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/is-customer-based-water-conservation-a-drop-in-the-bucket-in-southern-nevada">Las Vegas</a>, that have struggled with water shortages for decades. Both cities <a href="https://www.lamayor.org/los-angeles-achieves-mayor-garcetti%E2%80%99s-goal-20-percent-water-savings">remarkably reduced</a> their <a href="https://www.lvvwd.com/conservation/measures/index.html">total water use</a> between the 1980s and 2020, despite rapid population growth, partly by converting residences to low water-use fixtures.</p>
<p>Water is not just another natural resource. Without it our bodies cease to function, our crops dry up, and our economy grinds to a halt. We can’t make any more water, so it makes sense to use the water we have wisely.</p>
<p><em>This is an updated version of an article originally published on September 1, 2020.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/145278/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert Glennon received funding from the National Science Foundation in the 1990s and 2000s. </span></em></p>
The Trump administration is rolling back a regulation that requires showerheads to conserve water, which saved owners an average of US$70 and nearly 3,000 gallons of water yearly per showerhead.
Robert Glennon, Regents Professor and Morris K. Udall Professor of Law & Public Policy, University of Arizona
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/124879
2019-11-13T23:27:34Z
2019-11-13T23:27:34Z
Water prices increasingly unaffordable for low-income households
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301156/original/file-20191111-194624-lz2r3k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=849%2C100%2C4741%2C3631&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">As utilities upgrade their systems, some households are facing steep rate hikes for the cost of water.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Environmentalists and water economists have long argued that <a href="https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/canadas-water-challenges/water-pricing-infrastructure-grants-hinder-necessary-reform/">Canadian households have not conserved water in part because it is priced at excessively low levels</a>. </p>
<p>Somewhat lost in the water-pricing discussion are the challenges that higher water rates present for low-income households. Over the past few decades, the prices charged by municipalities for residential water and wastewater services in many Canadian cities have increased much faster than increases in the rate of inflation. </p>
<p>The cost of municipal water and wastewater services in 93 Canadian cities shows that residential water and wastewater utility charges in 22 of those cities are <a href="https://www.kelmanonline.com/httpdocs/files/WCW/westerncanadawaterfall2019/index.html">exceeding international affordability benchmarks for low-income households</a>. More than 130,000 low-income households in these 22 cities are already paying more for water than they can afford. </p>
<p>Over the next decade, water is likely to become increasingly unaffordable for low-income households.</p>
<h2>Varied pricing</h2>
<p>The study shows that cities in Alberta and Saskatchewan tend to have the most expensive water in the country. Calgary and Regina, for example, have the second- and third-highest prices among the 93 cities surveyed. </p>
<p>A two-person household using 12.2 cubic metres (12,200 litres) of water per month (<a href="https://www.waterrf.org/research/projects/residential-end-uses-water-version-2">a conservative indoor-only volume</a>) would pay $1,265 in Calgary or $1,229 in Regina per year. The community with the highest charges was Saint John, N.B., at $1,368 per year. At the other end of the continuum, water charges in Torbay, N.L. are $300 per year regardless of how much water a household consumes.</p>
<p>The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) affordability benchmark that recommends that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264099890-en">water and wastewater services for low-income households should not exceed five per cent of their after tax income</a>. Seven of the 22 cities where rates exceed the OECD affordability benchmark are in Alberta and five are in Saskatchewan.</p>
<h2>Wastewater upgrades</h2>
<p>One of the principal drivers of high rates in Alberta and Saskatchewan compared to the other provinces is the quality of the available source water. In the drier parts of the Prairies, for example, the distance from the source to the municipality may be longer than for other water-rich regions. </p>
<p>Wastewater treatment may also cost more as a number of cities in the Prairies discharge their sewage into streams that other communities then use as source water. Regina, for example, is required by the Government of Saskatchewan to take greater care about the quality of wastewater discharge it produces than is the case for some cities in other provinces. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301396/original/file-20191112-37430-108jar8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301396/original/file-20191112-37430-108jar8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=373&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301396/original/file-20191112-37430-108jar8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=373&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301396/original/file-20191112-37430-108jar8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=373&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301396/original/file-20191112-37430-108jar8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301396/original/file-20191112-37430-108jar8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301396/original/file-20191112-37430-108jar8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A sign warns people to avoid contact with the St. Lawrence River in November 2015 when Montréal dumped eight billion litres of untreated wastewater into the river as it repaired parts of its sewage system.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Similarly, the high water utility charges in Saint John, N.B., reflect the significant wastewater infrastructure investments undertaken to protect the waters of the Bay of Fundy. A city like Victoria, B.C., on the other hand, has lower costs because it is allowed to simply discharge untreated wastewater directly into the ocean. </p>
<p>Federal regulations made under the Fisheries Act in 2014 require that cities cease releasing untreated or inadequately treated effluent into natural water bodies by 2020. This means <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/victoria-sewage-treatment-plant-construction-regulations-1.5123974">a number of cities such as Victoria and Montréal will be required to make significant wastewater infrastructure investments</a> that could have an effect on their water rates. A new plant being built for Victoria is scheduled to be completed this year.</p>
<h2>Protect the source</h2>
<p>Some municipalities are taking measures to reduce the impact of escalating rates on low-income households. Several cities, such as Saskatoon, Edmonton and Hamilton, Ont., have adopted systems that offer lower rates for basic household water needs and higher rates for consumption levels that reflect discretionary uses such as watering lawns and filling swimming pools. </p>
<p>What has been most effective are measures that lower the cost of utility infrastructure improvements for municipalities. The federal and provincial governments have provided <a href="https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/investments-2002-investissements/index-eng.html">hundreds of municipalities with water and wastewater infrastructure grants over the past two decades</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lead-tainted-water-how-to-keep-homes-schools-daycares-and-workplaces-safe-126815">Lead-tainted water: How to keep homes, schools, daycares and workplaces safe</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>However, these funding programs are offered irregularly and often change or disappear with election cycles. More reliable financial support from federal and provincial governments could help contain the costs for all residential consumers in the future. Another option is for municipalities and governments to more directly subsidize the water bills of low-income households. </p>
<p>Another way to contain water utility costs is to better protect natural water sources from contamination. High-quality source water is less expensive to treat. Most provinces now appear to recognize the importance of <a href="https://saskwatersheds.ca/about/mission/">developing plans that protect source water at the watershed level</a>.</p>
<p>[ <em>You’re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation’s authors and editors.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/ca/newsletters?utm_source=TCCA&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=youresmart">You can read us daily by subscribing to our newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/124879/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jim Warren is a member of the American Water Works Association.</span></em></p>
The prices households pay for drinking water and wastewater services have been rising faster than the rate of inflation.
Jim Warren, Assistant Professor Sociology and Social Studies, University of Regina
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/118277
2019-06-05T12:53:13Z
2019-06-05T12:53:13Z
Financial incentives could spur cities and land owners to protect wetlands
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278107/original/file-20190605-40731-taejm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>New York City processes about <a href="https://data.cityofnewyork.us/Environment/Water-Consumption-In-The-New-York-City/ia2d-e54m">1 billion gallons</a> of water every day. To do so, it doesn’t rely on water filtration plants alone. It also depends on the natural filtration capacity of the upstream <a href="http://smapp.rand.org/ise/ourfuture/NaturesServices/sec1_watershed.html">Catskill Catchment</a>. </p>
<p>The catchment’s soils and wetlands act like carbon filters and kidneys. They purify water, providing a sustainable supply of clean water to the city’s residents. </p>
<p>This happens because water managers in New York realised that water quality and security wasn’t purely dependant on built infrastructure. <a href="http://biodiversityadvisor.sanbi.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/2013_Ecological-infrastructure-factsheet.pdf">Valuable ecological infrastructure</a> like ecosystems are crucial too. </p>
<p>Years ago they set about ensuring protection of this ecological infrastructure in the Catskill Catchment, through sustainable management, planning and land acquisition. </p>
<p>Most importantly, the city partnered with landowners. Landowners received financial assistance to adopt more sustainable land-use practises and to place portions of their land into conservation easements. </p>
<p>As a result, New York was able to fend off the need to spend significant capital (<a href="http://smapp.rand.org/ise/ourfuture/NaturesServices/sec1_watershed.html">US$ 6 billion dollars</a>) on a new water treatment plant by investing upfront in nature. </p>
<p>This approach is known as <a href="http://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/where_we_work/black_sea_basin/danube_carpathian/our_solutions/green_economy/pes/">Payments for Ecosystem Services</a>. These are market-based incentives offered to landowners in exchange for sustainably managing their land and providing <a href="https://www.iucn.org/commissions/commission-ecosystem-management/our-work/cems-thematic-groups/ecosystem-services">ecosystem services</a> to downstream beneficiaries, such as landowners, cities and businesses. </p>
<p>In addition to its water-related benefits, this investment into ecological infrastructure also reduces risks to disasters such as floods and fires, and has biodiversity benefits. In South Africa, there is at least one possible type of ecological infrastructure that a market-based incentive could be applied to: wetlands. </p>
<h2>Wetlands as ecological infrastructure</h2>
<p>Wetlands are often referred to as the Earth’s kidneys. That’s because they provide the same vital functions as these organs. This includes <a href="https://sciencing.com/do-wetlands-purify-water-7585568.html">water purification</a> and <a href="https://dec.vermont.gov/watershed/wetlands/functions/water-quality">water flow regulation</a>. </p>
<p>Despite their value, wetlands are being destroyed by <a href="http://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/scientists-argue-human-activity-threatens-vital-ecosystems/">human threats</a> and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Richard_Cowling/publication/236841333_Are_We_Destroying_Our_Insurance_Policy_The_Effects_of_Alien_Invasion_and_Subsequent_Restoration/links/545f569f0cf295b561619f78.pdf">invasive species</a>. <a href="http://biodiversityadvisor.sanbi.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/NBA2011_TechnicalReport_Vol2Freshwater.pdf">The National Biodiversity Assessment 2011</a> found that over 65% of South Africa’s wetlands and river systems have been damaged and half have been lost. </p>
<p>In light of the rapidly disappearing wetlands, we took a closer look at the <a href="https://journals.co.za/docserver/fulltext/waterb_v17_n4_a4.pdf?expires=1558614578&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=D21A945252C367B3C2ED54148B1C2D2A">ecosystem services</a> provided by one threatened wetland type: South African Palmiet wetlands. Our research found that there is a strong case to strategically set aside Palmiet wetlands for the ecosystem services that they provide. </p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.sun.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10019.1/71967/rebelo_ecological_2012.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y">Palmiet wetlands</a> are typically unchannelled <a href="http://www.wrc.org.za/wp-content/uploads/mdocs/2346-1-17.pdf">peatlands</a>. They occur in the bottom of valleys, dominated by the unique and endemic plant species, Palmiet (<a href="http://pza.sanbi.org/prionium-serratum"><em>Prionium serratum</em></a>). They’re found mostly throughout the southern Cape and southern KwaZulu-Natal. </p>
<p>Palmiet wetlands occur mainly on privately-owned land, where landowners are incentivised to enhance food production. Some of this land falls within <a href="http://www.wrc.org.za/wp-content/uploads/mdocs/TT%20754-1-18.pdf">South Africa’s Strategic Water Source Areas</a>, which make up only 8% of the country’s area, but accounts for half of its water supply.</p>
<p>The rich soils associated with Palmiet <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780124095489007417?via%3Dihub">peat-beds</a> are favourable for agriculture. But many of the valley-bottom areas associated with these wetlands are not suitable for agriculture, as they’re relatively narrow and face high risks of frequent flooding. This risk is likely to be <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/wcc.295">exacerbated by anthropogenic climate change</a>. </p>
<p>The flip side is that wetlands transformed for agriculture are often <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11273-018-9638-3">degraded</a> by extensive erosion. This results in lower water tables (less water available in the soil to plants) – and that translates to decreased agricultural productivity. </p>
<p>Furthermore, the perception of wetlands as “wastelands” has resulted in Palmiet being mechanically removed, which is widely believed to “improve river flow”. In reality, wetland degradation is neither beneficial to landowners nor to downstream beneficiaries.</p>
<h2>Water or food?</h2>
<p>Ecosystem services are a <a href="https://www.nap.edu/read/11139/chapter/2#10">valuable tool</a> to objectively analyse the trade-offs to society presented by different land-use scenarios. </p>
<p>We compared ecosystem services between wetlands used for agriculture and pristine Palmiet wetlands. Wetlands included the Theewaterskloof and Goukou wetlands in the Western Cape, and the Kromme wetland in the Eastern Cape. </p>
<p>We <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X18309762">found</a> that pristine Palmiet wetlands provide a far greater suite of water-related ecosystem services to downstream beneficiaries, and that agriculture in these wetlands is marginal. <a href="https://open.uct.ac.za/handle/11427/12188">Previous research</a> in the Kromme valley has shown that only about 50% of the landowners are able to make ends meet by farming alone. </p>
<p>Some landowners only derive profit by protecting their crops in the wetlands from floods, by performing illegal mass-reconstruction of the valley-bottom. They channelise and dredge wetlands and build berms. These <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2794053/">unsustainable farming practises</a> have major implications for water quality and security for downstream beneficiaries. </p>
<h2>Farming water</h2>
<p>Two of the Palmiet wetlands studied occur upstream of important water sources for large cities – Churchill Dam for Port Elizabeth; Theewaterskloof Dam for Stellenbosch and Cape Town. Protecting the Palmiet wetlands through a payments for ecosystem services system would be a beneficial strategic move.</p>
<p>There needs to be collaboration between private landowners struggling with marginal agriculture and decision makers in cities threatened by water shortages, failing infrastructure and debt, to ensure the most <a href="https://www.capenature.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Wetlands.pdf">effective</a> use of South Africa’s critical ecological infrastructure.</p>
<p><em>Courtney Morris, MSc in Conservation Ecology & Entomology at Stellenbosch University, co-authored this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118277/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alanna Rebelo is currently working on a project entitled 'The socio-economic benefits of investing in ecological infrastructure', funded by the Danish International Development Agency. She is also a volunteer member of the conservation group: Friends of Tokai Park. </span></em></p>
With partnerships between landowners, the government and businesses, South Africa can invest in its wetlands and boost the country’s potable water reserves.
Alanna Rebelo, Postdoctoral researcher, Stellenbosch University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/111249
2019-02-12T19:15:59Z
2019-02-12T19:15:59Z
When water is scarce, we can’t afford to neglect the alternatives to desalination
<p><em>This is the second of two articles looking at the increasing reliance of Australian cities on desalination plants to supply drinking water, with less emphasis on the alternatives of water recycling and demand management. So what is the best way forward to achieve urban water security?</em> </p>
<hr>
<p>An important lesson from the <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/updates/articles/a010-southern-rainfall-decline.shtml">Millennium Drought</a> in Australia was the power of individuals to curb their own water use. This was achieved through public education campaigns and water restrictions. It was a popular topic in the media and in daily conversations before the focus turned to desalination for water security. </p>
<p>Water authorities were also expanding the use of treated wastewater – often a polite term for sewage – for “non-potable” uses. These included flushing toilets, watering gardens, and washing cars and laundry. </p>
<p>Today, the <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/water/npr/docs/2016-17/national_performance_report_2016_17_urban_water_utilities_lowRes_update.pdf">emphasis on recycling wastewater in some locations is declining</a>. The arguments for increased water recycling appear to be falling away now that desalinated water is available. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cities-turn-to-desalination-for-water-security-but-at-what-cost-110972">Cities turn to desalination for water security, but at what cost?</a>
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<hr>
<p>This trend ignores the fact that the potential supply of recycled water increases as populations grow. </p>
<p>Today most Australian wastewater is treated then disposed into local streams, rivers, estuaries and the ocean. In Sydney, for example, the city’s big three outfalls <a href="https://www.sydneywater.com.au/SW/water-the-environment/how-we-manage-sydney-s-water/wastewater-network/wastewater-treatment-plants/index.htm">dump nearly 1 billion litres (1,000 megalitres, ML) a day into the ocean</a>.</p>
<h2>Where has recycling succeeded?</h2>
<p>Australia has several highly successful water recycling projects. </p>
<p>Sydney introduced the <a href="https://www.sydneywater.com.au/SW/education/Wastewater-recycling/Water-recycling/rouse-hill-water-recycling-plant/index.htm">Rouse Hill recycled water scheme</a> in 2001. Highly treated wastewater is piped into 32,000 suburban properties in distinct purple pipes. Each property also has the normal “potable” drinking water supply. </p>
<p>Rouse Hill is considered a world-leading urban recycling scheme. South Australia (<a href="https://www.environment.sa.gov.au/about-us/our-plans">Mawsons Lakes</a>) and Victoria (<a href="https://www.yvw.com.au/help-advice/recycled-water">Yarra Valley Water</a>, <a href="https://southeastwater.com.au/LearnAboutWater/TypesWater/Pages/RecycledWater.aspx">South East Water</a>) have similar projects. </p>
<p>Our farmers often struggle to secure water for irrigation. <a href="https://theconversation.com/damning-royal-commission-report-leaves-no-doubt-that-we-all-lose-if-the-murray-darling-basin-plan-fails-110908">Chronic water shortages across the Murray-Darling river system</a> vividly demonstrate this. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/damning-royal-commission-report-leaves-no-doubt-that-we-all-lose-if-the-murray-darling-basin-plan-fails-110908">Damning royal commission report leaves no doubt that we all lose if the Murray-Darling Basin Plan fails</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Recycled water can play an important role in agricultural schemes. There are successful examples in South Australia (<a href="http://www.recycledwater.com.au/index.php?id=84">Virginia Irrigation Scheme</a>), Victoria (<a href="https://www.melbournewater.com.au/community-and-education/about-our-water/recycled-water">Werribee</a>) and New South Wales (<a href="https://www.sydneywater.com.au/SW/water-the-environment/what-we-re-doing/current-projects/improving-our-wastewater-system/picton-water-recycling-plant/index.htm">Picton</a>). </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/it-takes-a-lot-of-water-to-feed-us-but-recycled-water-could-help-55502">It takes a lot of water to feed us, but recycled water could help</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/more-of-us-are-drinking-recycled-sewage-water-than-most-people-realise-92420">Perth has gone further by embracing water recycling</a> for urban use with plans to treat it to a drinking water standard. Part of the extensive treatment process involves <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_osmosis">reverse osmosis</a>, which is also used in desalination. The treated <a href="https://www.watercorporation.com.au/water-supply/our-water-sources/groundwater-replenishment">water is then pumped into groundwater aquifers</a> and stored. </p>
<p>This “groundwater replenishment” adds to the groundwater that contributes about half of the city’s water supply. The Water Corporation of Perth has a long-term <a href="https://www.watercorporation.com.au/water-supply/our-water-sources/recycled-water">aim to recycle 30% of its wastewater</a>. </p>
<p>Southeast Queensland, too, has developed an extensive recycled water system. The <a href="https://www.seqwater.com.au/water-supply/water-treatment/purified-recycled-water">Western Corridor Recycled Water Scheme</a> also uses reverse osmosis and can supplement drinking water supplies during droughts.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/more-of-us-are-drinking-recycled-sewage-water-than-most-people-realise-92420">More of us are drinking recycled sewage water than most people realise</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Demand management works too</h2>
<p>Past campaigns to get people to reduce water use achieved significant results. </p>
<p>In Sydney, <a href="http://www.sydneywater.com.au/web/groups/publicwebcontent/documents/document/zgrf/mdq3/%7Eedisp/dd_047419.pdf">water use fell steeply under water restrictions</a> (2003-2009). Since the restrictions have ended, consumption has increased under the softer “water wise rules”. Regional centres including (<a href="http://www.tamworth.nsw.gov.au/Water-and-Sewerage/Water-Restrictions/Current-Water-Restrictions/Current-Water-Restrictions">Tamworth</a>) outside of Sydney are under significant water restrictions currently with limited relief in sight. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257668/original/file-20190207-174883-1srhgp8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257668/original/file-20190207-174883-1srhgp8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257668/original/file-20190207-174883-1srhgp8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257668/original/file-20190207-174883-1srhgp8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257668/original/file-20190207-174883-1srhgp8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257668/original/file-20190207-174883-1srhgp8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257668/original/file-20190207-174883-1srhgp8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257668/original/file-20190207-174883-1srhgp8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Despite a 25% increase in Sydney’s population, total demand for drinking water remains lower than before mandatory restrictions were introduced in late 2003.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.sydneywater.com.au/web/groups/publicwebcontent/documents/document/zgrf/mdq3/~edisp/dd_047419.pdf">© Sydney Water, used with permission</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Victorian government appears to be the Australian <a href="https://marketing.conference-services.net/resources/327/2958/pdf/AM2012_0124_paper.pdf">leader in encouraging urban water conservation</a>. Across Melbourne water use per person averaged <a href="https://www.water.vic.gov.au/liveable-cities-and-towns/using-water-wisely/target-155-target-your-water-use">161 litres a day over 2016-18</a>. Victoria’s “<a href="https://www.water.vic.gov.au/liveable-cities-and-towns/using-water-wisely/t155">Target 155</a>” program, first <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/environment/sustainability/dumped-target-155-water-scheme-was-working-20110302-1bewe.html">launched in late 2008</a> and <a href="https://clearwatervic.com.au/news/victorian-government-reactivates-target-155-water-efficiency-program.php">revived in 2016</a>, aims for average use of 155 litres a day. </p>
<p>In a <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/water/npr/docs/2016-17/02_Comparison-of_major_urban_centres.pdf">comparison of mainland capitals</a> Melbourne used the least water per residential property, 25% less than the average. Southeast Queensland residents had the second-lowest use, followed by Adelaide. Sydney, Perth and Darwin had the highest use. </p>
<p>Although Melbourne water prices are among the highest of the major cities, lower annual water use meant the city’s households had the lowest water bills in 2016-17, <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/water/npr/">analysis by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology</a> found.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/258422/original/file-20190212-174861-4illbp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/258422/original/file-20190212-174861-4illbp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/258422/original/file-20190212-174861-4illbp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258422/original/file-20190212-174861-4illbp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258422/original/file-20190212-174861-4illbp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258422/original/file-20190212-174861-4illbp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258422/original/file-20190212-174861-4illbp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/258422/original/file-20190212-174861-4illbp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.bom.gov.au/water/npr/docs/2016-17/nationalPerformanceReport2016_17UrbanWaterUtilitiesHigherRes.pdf">Calculated from Bureau of Meteorology data</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What impact do water prices have?</h2>
<p>Clearly, water pricing can be an effective tool to get people to reduce demand. This could partly explain why water use is lower in some cities.</p>
<p>Water bills have several components. Domestic customers pay a service fee to be connected. They then pay for the volume of water they use, plus wastewater charges on top of that. Depending on where you live, you might be charged a flat rate, or a rate that increases as you use more water.</p>
<p>The chart below shows the pricing range in our major cities.</p>
<hr>
<p><iframe id="xIJQR" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/xIJQR/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<hr>
<p>Flat charges for water per kilolitre (where a kL equals 1,000 litres) apply in Sydney (<a href="https://www.sydneywater.com.au/SW/accounts-billing/understanding-your-bill/prices-for-your-home/index.htm">$2.08/kL)</a>), Darwin (<a href="https://www.powerwater.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/165198/Water,_sewerage_and_power_tariffs_-_Effective_from_1_July_2018.pdf">$1.95/kL</a>) and Hobart (<a href="https://www.taswater.com.au/Your-Account/Water-and-Sewerage-Charges">$1.06/kL</a>. </p>
<p>However, most water authorities charge low water users a cheaper rate, and increased prices apply for higher consumption. The most expensive water in Australia is for Canberra residents – <a href="https://www.iconwater.com.au/about/our-pricing.aspx">$4.88</a> for each kL customers use over 50kL per quarter. The cheapest water is Hobart (<a href="https://www.taswater.com.au/Your-Account/Water-and-Sewerage-Charges">$1.06/kL</a>).</p>
<p>Higher fees for higher residential consumption are charged in Canberra, Perth, Southeast Queensland, across South Australia and in Melbourne. In effect, most major water providers penalise high-water-using customers. This creates an incentive to use less. </p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://www.yvw.com.au/help-advice/help-my-account/understand-my-bill/fees-and-charges">Yarra Valley Water customers in Melbourne</a> using less than 440 litres a day pay $2.64/kL. From 441-880L/day they are charged $3.11/kL. For more than 881L/day they pay $4.62/kL – 75% more than the lowest rate.</p>
<h2>Is recycled water getting priced out of business?</h2>
<p>Recycling water <a href="http://www.sydneywater.com.au/web/groups/publicwebcontent/documents/document/zgrf/mdu3/%7Eedisp/dd_057020.pdf">may not be viable for Sydney Water</a>. It can cost over $5 per 1kL to produce, but the state pricing regulator, <a href="https://www.ipart.nsw.gov.au/Home/Industries/Water/Setting-water-prices/Current-water-prices">IPART</a>, sets the cost of recycled water to Sydney customers at <a href="http://www.sydneywater.com.au/SW/accounts-billing/understanding-your-bill/our-prices/index.htm">just under $2 per kL</a>. That’s probably well below the cost of production. </p>
<p>Recycled water, where available, is a little bit more expensive ($2.12/kL) in South Australia. </p>
<p>Subsidies are probably essential for future large recycling schemes. This was the case for a 2017 plan to expand the Virginia Irrigation Scheme. South Australia <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-10/recycled-water-extension-proposed-in-adelaides-north/8430522">sought 30% of the capital funding</a> from the Commonwealth. </p>
<h2>Where to from here?</h2>
<p>Much of southern Australia is facing increasing water stress and <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/water/dashboards/#/water-storages/summary/state">capital city water supplies are falling</a>. Expensive desalination plants are gearing up to supply more water. Will they insulate urban residents from the disruption many others are feeling in drought-affected inland and regional locations? Should we be increasing the capacity of our desalination plants? </p>
<p>We recommend that urban Australia should make further use of recycled water. This will also reduce the environmental impact of disposing wastewater in our rivers, estuaries and ocean. All new developments should have recycled water made available, saving our precious potable water for human consumption. </p>
<p>Water conservation should be given the highest priority. Pricing of water that encourages recycling and water conservation should be a national priority. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/this-is-what-australias-growing-cities-need-to-do-to-avoid-running-dry-86301">This is what Australia's growing cities need to do to avoid running dry</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><em>You can read the first article, on cities’ increasing reliance on desalination, <a href="http://theconversation.com/cities-turn-to-desalination-for-water-security-but-at-what-cost-110972">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/111249/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Cities relied entirely on conserving and recycling water to get through the last big drought. We now have desalination plants, but getting the most out of our water reserves still makes sense.
Ian A. Wright, Associate Professor in Environmental Science, Western Sydney University
Jason Reynolds, Senior Lecturer, Western Sydney University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/109434
2019-01-22T03:20:54Z
2019-01-22T03:20:54Z
Curious Kids: how is water made?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254644/original/file-20190120-100261-1gwv1gf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=147%2C6%2C4095%2C2818&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Chemicals poured down the sink or pumped into the atmosphere can eventually end up in the groundwater, which means less available fresh water for us to use.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/paszczak000/15174712771/in/photolist-p7WnqP-ahpUdR-4HVUCr-qM7S2Z-aCt9bU-oHXW4S-e6wmjC-ohmRLt-bTv2AF-8Qx6Nx-aohzY1-bpHhjs-9fZCP8-oHDr6x-HS2qFa-4N8vKM-nACaoM-KyDN-dLSz2D-sctt9P-27ttzZC-r2yj33-LbpZSJ-eMUCnQ-UJxDFT-cdTWpb-5Sez8v-CCi9E-K9RF3s-MrMSX8-2dRAkbf-hYUtqE-n6rHjj-28CaFdj-2A9xy6-V3jKx-Z1hHPC-9dSPT8-6W3gsr-2dRwavG-29KtqC1-eNAZjJ-83eECN-6Hx72n-udhUdN-najxb9-8Httba-8fNVE7-86W6ZG-287FkTV">Flickr/Kamil Porembiński</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/curious-kids-36782">Curious Kids</a> is a series for children. Send your question to curiouskids@theconversation.edu.au. You might also like the podcast <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/kidslisten/imagine-this/">Imagine This</a>, a co-production between ABC KIDS listen and The Conversation, based on Curious Kids.</em> </p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>How is water made? – Clara, age 8, Canberra.</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Hi Clara. That’s a really great question. If we could make large quantities of water cheaply, cleanly and safely, it would solve a lot of the world’s problems. Unfortunately, it is not that easy.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-where-do-clouds-come-from-and-why-do-they-have-different-shapes-102404">Curious Kids: where do clouds come from and why do they have different shapes?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What is water and where did it come from?</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254648/original/file-20190120-100276-1t8y4z9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254648/original/file-20190120-100276-1t8y4z9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254648/original/file-20190120-100276-1t8y4z9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=653&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254648/original/file-20190120-100276-1t8y4z9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=653&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254648/original/file-20190120-100276-1t8y4z9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=653&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254648/original/file-20190120-100276-1t8y4z9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=821&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254648/original/file-20190120-100276-1t8y4z9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=821&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254648/original/file-20190120-100276-1t8y4z9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=821&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Water is made of two hydrogen atoms bonded to an oxygen atom.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>You’ve probably heard of atoms, the tiniest building blocks of all matter in the Universe. We are all made of atoms stuck together (or, as scientists would say, “bonded”). Atoms bonded together form molecules.</p>
<p>A molecule of pure water is made of two hydrogen atoms bonded to an oxygen atom. As explained in <a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-how-was-the-ocean-formed-where-did-all-the-water-come-from-98382">a previous Curious Kids article</a>, scientists think the water on Earth may have come from the melting of water-rich minerals during the formation of the planet and icy comets that, billions of years ago, smashed into Earth and melted.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254646/original/file-20190120-100279-1wscpdb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254646/original/file-20190120-100279-1wscpdb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254646/original/file-20190120-100279-1wscpdb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254646/original/file-20190120-100279-1wscpdb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254646/original/file-20190120-100279-1wscpdb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254646/original/file-20190120-100279-1wscpdb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254646/original/file-20190120-100279-1wscpdb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254646/original/file-20190120-100279-1wscpdb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Scientists believe water may have come to us from rocks melting during formation of the Earth and icy comets.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/75487768@N04/6809540467/in/photolist-bnJF98-F3yeR6-yBjZG-bs7UNa-gBX3-294WG2k-pdpG84-6Ly5Vq-a2eqzy-7nhNbp-qCNcP-2A8xmQ-2c2nviS-4uKEko-fvWsTx-7R41DK-7KRPTi-5jM9T-6CcBkM-7JzupG-dYFny6-529TQJ-csob6A-adArFA-3d9Ue-28kxnZQ-fxJikv-S1zuVN-ewxkWF-UX2TN3-2nXUZc-8zkLtC-4oozQQ-d4Azcm-RT8fHo-c6Bd3S-cGbfgC-fDZeDC-JvgDQQ-8kVZj4-6thm3z-29EijAS-7PxCwA-TKK3Mr-jFhpDD-WDWXZP-55TYSa-oWcjgV-KvDXQw-op81gi">Flickr/barnyz Follow</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why can’t we just make more?</h2>
<p>While making small volumes of pure water in a lab is <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/making-water-from-hydrogen-and-oxygen-4021101">possible</a>, it’s not practical to “make” large volumes of water by mixing hydrogen and oxygen together. The reaction is expensive, releases lots of energy, and can cause really massive explosions.</p>
<p>While the <a href="http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Water_cycle">total volume of water on Earth</a> stays about the same, water continually changes location and state. That means sometimes it is a liquid (like the water we drink), a solid (ice) or a gas (water vapour such as steam).</p>
<p>Scientists call this process of change the hydrologic (water) cycle, which is where water constantly moves around the world by cycling between the air, the ground and the ocean. </p>
<h2>Round and round</h2>
<p>The cycle begins when water is evaporated from the ocean (or lakes, rivers and wetlands) and enters the atmosphere (the air all around us) as water vapour (gas). </p>
<p>As warm, water-rich air rises, it cools down and can hold less water. </p>
<p>As a result, clouds form. Eventually, the water vapour changes back to liquid water and falls to Earth as rain. Rain that’s not immediately evaporated back into the atmosphere either flows into the ocean as runoff or is absorbed into the earth and becomes groundwater - water stored underground in the tiny spaces within rocks. </p>
<p>Plants can suck up groundwater with their roots, and push water out through tiny holes in their leaves (this is called transpiration). </p>
<p>Groundwater flows slowly through the earth to the ocean and the cycle begins again.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254645/original/file-20190120-100264-3jveb6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254645/original/file-20190120-100264-3jveb6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254645/original/file-20190120-100264-3jveb6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254645/original/file-20190120-100264-3jveb6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254645/original/file-20190120-100264-3jveb6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254645/original/file-20190120-100264-3jveb6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254645/original/file-20190120-100264-3jveb6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254645/original/file-20190120-100264-3jveb6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This is the water cycle.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The hydrologic cycle is sensitive to changes in temperature and pressure. For example, if it is hot and windy, more evaporation occurs. Therefore, climate change impacts the hydrologic cycle. Regions that were once wet can become dry (and vice-versa) because clouds drop their rain into the ocean instead of upon the land where it can be collected and used.</p>
<h2>Two tiny drops of drinking water</h2>
<p>We drink fresh water, but most water on Earth is salty. And the vast majority of available fresh water on Earth is actually hidden underground as groundwater.</p>
<p>In fact, if you imagine all the water on Earth could fit into a one litre milk carton, it would all be ocean water except for only two tablespoons of fresh water. </p>
<p>Of the two tablespoons of fresh water, slightly less than three quarters would be frozen solid into ice and most of the rest would be groundwater.</p>
<p>The fresh water we see and use in rivers, swamps and lakes would only amount to less than two drops of the water in the world. </p>
<p>Therefore, protecting large fresh water sources like groundwater is very important because removing salt from ocean water can cost lots of money and energy. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254647/original/file-20190120-100292-1mw9qvo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254647/original/file-20190120-100292-1mw9qvo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254647/original/file-20190120-100292-1mw9qvo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254647/original/file-20190120-100292-1mw9qvo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254647/original/file-20190120-100292-1mw9qvo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254647/original/file-20190120-100292-1mw9qvo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254647/original/file-20190120-100292-1mw9qvo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254647/original/file-20190120-100292-1mw9qvo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Most water is salty and is found in the ocean.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/beana_cheese/2764129033/in/photolist-5dfTg8-bvtJQ1-25FutBh-Ep2Vt-Ub9Trf-MveMLr-7bX1Qu-2ctedM8-EpwF8-EpxpG-7VcqaU-e994d-7TBCsf-5KsuDB-22fRe1f-oLNYKB-5tHR4S-ckDeGu-29mt3j-dMnEXt-uGXV4J-bHi5un-7nkX4n-5VEnXp-Jnh8EL-hajCG-4hqA2f-22fRfSw-8n4wkc-9F912w-pNUYgh-274nhvU-dV2JJN-6V7KuT-5FAfP7-qi4oQv-23W5djS-279yVhs-5opfvN-22fRoi3-8Fo25F-rskzpz-dR1p9q-q8PPBD-7Vcmkb-4iWVQw-pEp1UH-9eqPyB-5wE2j1-aPaHWn">Flickr/beana_cheese</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The atmosphere, Earth and ocean are interconnected and things we do in one place can affect the quality of water in other places. </p>
<p>Chemicals poured down the sink or pumped into the atmosphere can eventually end up in the groundwater, which means less available fresh water for us to use. </p>
<p>Although we can’t “make” more water, we can make the best of the water we have by conserving and protecting it.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-how-was-the-ocean-formed-where-did-all-the-water-come-from-98382">Curious Kids: How was the ocean formed? Where did all the water come from?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
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<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>Please tell us your name, age and which city you live in. You can send an audio recording of your question too, if you want. Send as many questions as you like! We won’t be able to answer every question but we will do our best.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/109434/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emma Kathryn White does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
While making small volumes of pure water in a lab is possible, it’s not practical. The reaction is expensive, releases lots of energy, and can cause really massive explosions.
Emma Kathryn White, PhD Candidate, Infrastructure Engineering, The University of Melbourne
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/106190
2018-11-05T15:06:56Z
2018-11-05T15:06:56Z
More experiments may help explore what works in conservation
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243808/original/file-20181104-83654-18ospjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/clouds-moving-through-andes-mountains-ecuador-136289690?src=3i2ipNhlhUSr6EIrlLeeFw-1-8">Glenn R. Specht-grs photo/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>All over the world, countless conservation projects are taking place, attempting to achieve aims from reducing habitat loss, to restoring populations of threatened species. However there is <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2017/11/experience-or-evidence-how-do-big-conservation-ngos-make-decisions/">growing awareness</a> that conservationists have <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.0040105">not always done a good enough job</a> at evaluating whether the things they do really work. </p>
<p>Efforts that fail to make things better for species and ecosystems waste the limited resources available for conservation, and result in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169534704000734%22%22">missed opportunities</a> to stem the loss of biodiversity. Given that monitored populations of wildlife species have declined by <a href="https://www.wwf.org.uk/updates/living-planet-report-2018">60% in the last 50 years</a>, and large scale <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/361/6407/1108">loss of forest continues</a>, this is bad news. So, research to show whether conservation efforts work really matters. And those doing conservation need <a href="https://www.conservationevidence.com/">easy access</a> to the results of this <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05472-8%22%22">vital evidence</a>.</p>
<p>In many fields, when researchers want to know whether something works they conduct an experiment. For example, <a href="https://www.nature.com/subjects/randomized-controlled-trials%22%22">patients are often randomly assigned</a> to receive a new drug (or not) and the results are compared to determine if the new treatment has the potential to help people. Despite calls for more use of experiments in conservation, <a href="https://www.thegef.org/sites/default/files/council-meeting-documents/C.41.Inf_.18_Experimental_Project_Design_in_the_GEF__5.pdf%22%22">they remain extremely rare</a>.</p>
<h2>Experiments changing practice</h2>
<p>One common approach to conservation is encouraging owners to manage their land in a way which provides benefits for the environment. This has been done in the UK for decades. For example, farmers are paid to maintain hedgerows and leave stubble on fields <a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/acv.12386">to help farmland birds</a>. These kinds of payments for ecosystem services schemes are increasingly <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877343515000536">used in the tropics</a> as well. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243712/original/file-20181102-83626-1t8p7si.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243712/original/file-20181102-83626-1t8p7si.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243712/original/file-20181102-83626-1t8p7si.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243712/original/file-20181102-83626-1t8p7si.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243712/original/file-20181102-83626-1t8p7si.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243712/original/file-20181102-83626-1t8p7si.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243712/original/file-20181102-83626-1t8p7si.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243712/original/file-20181102-83626-1t8p7si.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The forests in the Bolivian Andes contain stunning biodiversity but are becoming fragmented due to small-scale farming.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Patrick Bottazzi</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In 2017, <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/357/6348/267">an experiment in Uganda</a> revealed that paying farmers not to chop down trees was a cost effective way to slow deforestation. Now <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/5753/">we have published</a> the results of only the second experiment at such a scale. <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/5753/" title="""">Our study</a> evaluates whether providing incentives to farmers to protect forest and keep cattle out of streams improves water quality. </p>
<p>The research focuses on the efforts of the <a href="http://www.naturabolivia.org/en/home/%22%22">Bolivian NGO Natura</a>, which has been working with communities in the Andes to help protect the area’s incredible forests. These are home to spectacled bears and other wonderful wildlife, and are seen locally as important for supplying clean water. In Natura’s <a href="https://www.weadapt.org/knowledge-base/transforming-development-and-disaster-risk/watershared-adaptation-mitigation-watershed-protection-and-economic-development-in-latin-america">Watershared</a> programme, upstream landowners were offered incentives to shift their livelihood activities away from clearing forest or letting cattle graze untended in the forest. Natura wanted to know if their innovative approach to conservation was working, so they took the unusual step of setting up an experiment to find out. </p>
<p>In 2010, 129 communities were randomly placed in a control group, or given the chance to enrol their land in Watershared agreements. Households in the latter “treatment communities” could then choose to enrol as much of their land as they wished in the programme. <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/5753/%22%22">Analysing the results of this experiment</a>, we found that while keeping cattle out of rivers is (perhaps unsurprisingly) good for water quality at the location where it happens, the treatment communities did not have cleaner water in their taps. Further investigation revealed that this was at least in part because of the low level of uptake of the programme, and that the land most likely to be important for improving water quality was often not enrolled.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243714/original/file-20181102-83632-foe5kc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243714/original/file-20181102-83632-foe5kc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=700&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243714/original/file-20181102-83632-foe5kc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=700&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243714/original/file-20181102-83632-foe5kc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=700&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243714/original/file-20181102-83632-foe5kc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=880&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243714/original/file-20181102-83632-foe5kc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=880&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243714/original/file-20181102-83632-foe5kc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=880&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"><em>Tremarctos ornatus</em>, the spectacled bear.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/tremarctos-ornatus-spectacled-bear-andean-158118350?src=nJt1BO8c9QxtUr2-wXsBaA-1-1">Bildagentur Zoonar GmbH/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Natura is already implementing the results of this research to improve the design of Watershared. They are working with communities to ensure that protection is targeted to areas most likely to benefit water quality. And our experience with running such a large-scale experiment holds useful lessons for others interested in increasing knowledge about what works in conservation.</p>
<h2>Doesn’t everyone like an experiment?</h2>
<p>Away from conservation, there has been an <a href="https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300236125/randomistas">explosion in the use of randomised experiments</a> to evaluate the impact of other large scale interventions – in <a href="https://www.evidenceaction.org/dewormtheworld/">development</a> and <a href="https://rady.ucsd.edu/docs/Sadoff_Experimentation_Education_Policy_OxREP_2014.pdf">education</a>, for example. However, there has been backlash from opponents who have pointed out, among other things, that these kinds of investigations will not always provide valid answers <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953617307359">to the most important questions</a> because these experiments can only normally answer the question “does it work?”, rather than “why does it work?”, and so can’t really answer the other key question, “will it work in other situations?”. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03085147.2018.1432153?scroll=top&needAccess=true">This debate</a> has got quite heated, and even acrimonious, at times.</p>
<p>Running an experiment to evaluate the impact of a large-scale conservation intervention is <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-environ-101813-013230%22%22">certainly very challenging</a>. It is often not possible to randomise which areas receive a new conservation project (can you imagine a government randomly allocating where it puts national parks?). There are also issues with achieving adequate replication, and there can be <a href="http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/87/10/08-051060/en/%22%22">ethical concerns</a> which prevent experimentation.</p>
<p>However, given the importance of knowing <a href="https://www.conservationevidence.com/">what works in conservation</a>, more high quality evaluations (<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/conl.12180">which won’t always</a> be <a href="https://conservationevaluation.org/%22%22">experiments</a>) are certainly needed. Only by learning from current practice can the future effectiveness of conservation be improved.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106190/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julia P G Jones was funded by The Leverhulme Trust to conduct her research on the Watershared Randomized Control Trial.</span></em></p>
Experiments into the effectiveness of conservation can help us learn what works best.
Julia P G Jones, Professor of Conservation Science, Bangor University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/92612
2018-03-01T14:09:46Z
2018-03-01T14:09:46Z
Cape Town’s plans for what happens after Day Zero just won’t work. Here’s why
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/208454/original/file-20180301-152572-1fg32mc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Capetonians wait to fill up water containers.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Nic Bothma</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The world <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/business-42626790">is watching Cape Town</a>, counting down to Day Zero. This represents the point at which the municipality will turn off most of the city’s water distribution system. The date is not certain; it has shifted several times, and is currently predicted <a href="http://coct.co/water-dashboard">to arrive on July 9</a>.</p>
<p>There are measures in place to manage Day Zero and beyond. The city has broadcast a <a href="http://www.capetown.gov.za/Family%20and%20home/Residential-utility-services/Residential-water-and-sanitation-services/critical-water-shortages-disaster-plan">disaster management strategy</a>. It will establish 200 water distribution points across the city, at which citizens can collect their 25 litre daily water allocation.</p>
<p>But is this strategy robust or even feasible? </p>
<p>We used system dynamics, a modelling approach, to understand how the water collection plan might work. The idea was to simulate water collection as per the city’s plan over the course of a single day (24 hours).</p>
<p>We made some key assumptions about population size, the number of taps per distribution site and other factors. Taking these into account, the model found that it would require 12.5 hours to provide water to Cape Town’s entire population per day. And the real figure might be even higher if “random shocks” like conflict happen at the water points. </p>
<p>Our findings suggest that the city’s best technical intervention would be to double the number of distribution points to 400. This would save time and ensure that Cape Town’s whole population can be serviced. Another, perhaps more practical approach, would be to keep 200 distribution points but increase the number of taps and the water pressure at each of them.</p>
<p>But even these strategies won’t help if Cape Town doesn’t address the reality of conflict and related delays. These are unpredictable and incalculable. They are also the greatest indication for why Day Zero should be avoided at all costs.</p>
<h2>Assumptions and insights</h2>
<p>These are the assumptions we made in developing the model:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Cape Town’s population is estimated at <a href="https://www.westerncape.gov.za/assets/departments/treasury/Documents/Socio-economic-profiles/2016/City-of-Cape-Town/city_of_cape_town_2016_socio-economic_profile_sep-lg.pdf">4 million people</a>. Of these, 700 000 live in two areas that won’t have their taps turned off. These include strategic sites, like hospitals, and informal settlements. Another 800 000 people live in close proximity to informal settlements and could potentially source water there. Based on these assumptions we calculated that 2.5 million people will be required to collect water at designated water points.</p></li>
<li><p>The city plans to set up 200 distribution points with an <a href="http://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/Procedures,%20guidelines%20and%20regulations/Disaster%20and%20demand%20FAQ.pdf">average of 50 taps</a> per site. Equal distribution of people per water distribution point is assumed. </p></li>
<li><p>Water distributed is <a href="http://www.capetown.gov.za/Family%20and%20home/Residential-utility-services/Residential-water-and-sanitation-services/critical-water-shortages-disaster-plan">25 litres per person</a>. Individuals are able to collect up to 100 litres a day to cover four days of consumption or share with other members of their household. The model assumes that the whole population must receive their allocation. </p></li>
<li><p>Initial water pressure is assumed at a level which allows outflow of 10 litres per minute, which implies it requires 2.5 minutes to fill 25 litres or service one person</p></li>
<li><p>A waiting delay of half a minute (30 seconds) from changing between containers and people is assumed.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Once the model had been run using the above assumptions, and the result of 12.5 hours was observed, we ran possible scenarios to shorten the time. These are outlined in figure 1 below.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/208503/original/file-20180301-152564-22w4sm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/208503/original/file-20180301-152564-22w4sm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/208503/original/file-20180301-152564-22w4sm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208503/original/file-20180301-152564-22w4sm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208503/original/file-20180301-152564-22w4sm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208503/original/file-20180301-152564-22w4sm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208503/original/file-20180301-152564-22w4sm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208503/original/file-20180301-152564-22w4sm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Figure 1: Population serviced per distribution point scenarios.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A combined scenario of 75 taps per site and increasing water pressure to 20 litres to 30 litres per minute, while maintaining the 200 sites (as indicated by the green line), shows that the population would be serviced much faster: within six hours. Doubling distribution points would drop the service time to five hours, which suggests that the combined scenario is more practical. </p>
<h2>Social factors</h2>
<p>The insights outlined in figure 1 would function perfectly as technical solutions. But what happens when social and political factors are introduced into the model?</p>
<p>For instance, how can the city ensure that people are taking the allocated amount of water? How would military order, which has <a href="https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/police-army-will-help-secure-day-zero-water-distribution-points-zille-20180124">been proposed</a> at distribution points, look in practice? What is the extent of conflict arising at the water points due to long queues? How does this compromise the ability to service people at a distribution point? </p>
<p>These dynamics change the aggregate impact from the well-organised technical solutions proposed above. They can be represented as random shocks, referred to here as “<a href="http://www2.bi.no/library/tadc/ELE3744_9780071179898_191-230.pdf">disruption noise</a>”. This could dramatically increase the time needed to service each person, implying that fewer people are serviced per hour. This is illustrated in figure 2. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/208504/original/file-20180301-152555-96qm39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/208504/original/file-20180301-152555-96qm39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/208504/original/file-20180301-152555-96qm39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208504/original/file-20180301-152555-96qm39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208504/original/file-20180301-152555-96qm39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208504/original/file-20180301-152555-96qm39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208504/original/file-20180301-152555-96qm39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208504/original/file-20180301-152555-96qm39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Figure 2: Average population serviced per hour due to disruption noise.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And, if random shocks happen, the time needed to service the population per distribution point will shoot up to 25 hours. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/208506/original/file-20180301-152584-1r2iibl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/208506/original/file-20180301-152584-1r2iibl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/208506/original/file-20180301-152584-1r2iibl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208506/original/file-20180301-152584-1r2iibl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208506/original/file-20180301-152584-1r2iibl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208506/original/file-20180301-152584-1r2iibl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208506/original/file-20180301-152584-1r2iibl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208506/original/file-20180301-152584-1r2iibl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Figure 3: Comparison of Population Serviced per Distribution in Base and Disruption Noise Scenarios.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Lessons for other cities</h2>
<p>Cape Town has managed the use of water from the demand side, for a long time. But hasn’t made many interventions on the supply side, which partly has led to the crisis. </p>
<p>Other cities need to learn from this. Better planning is needed, through focusing on the root cause of problems and not their symptoms, identifying the most desirable interventions, and understanding its effect.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/92612/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
There are measures in place to manage Day Zero and beyond. Models show that these will not work.
Josephine Kaviti Musango, Associate Professor, Stellenbosch University
Paul Currie, Researcher, Stellenbosch University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.