Thirty-Six U.S. States to Face Water Shortages in the Next Five Years

NaturalNews) At least 36 states are expected to face water shortages within the next five years, according to U.S. government estimates. Available freshwater supplies are dwindling across the country due to rising temperatures and droughts, while increasing sprawl, population and inefficient resource usage are leading to rising demand.

"Is it a crisis? If we don't do some decent water planning, it could be," said Jack Hoffbuhr, executive director of the American Water Works Association. Rising temperatures due to global warming have increased evaporation rates across the country and reduced the availability of important water sources. One of these is the Sierra Nevada snowpack, which supplies a significant portion of California's water. Across the West, similar trends are expected to reduce flows of the Colorado River, which supplies water for seven states.

Meanwhile, rising sea levels are expected to cause saltwater to infiltrate freshwater aquifers in coastal states, rendering that water unusable.

California uses about 23 trillion gallons of fresh water per year. The United States as a whole uses more than 148 trillion gallons for all purposes, including agriculture, manufacturing and other uses.

Other threatened regions include the Midwest, where the Great Lakes are shrinking, and upstate New York, where reservoir levels have fallen to record lows. Georgia's crisis has already arrived, and Florida's is expected to hit soon.

While Florida has no shortage of rainfall, widespread draining and paving of the region's natural wetlands has left the water unable to drain back into the soil. As a consequence, the state is forced to flush millions of gallons of water into the ocean per year to avert floods. The state's environmental chief, Michael Sole, has asked the Florida legislature to increase the use of reclaimed wastewater. Other states are encouraging measures such as desalinization, but it is widely accepted that conservation is the cheapest alternative.

Even with such measures, the forecast is not expected to improve. "Unfortunately, there's just not going to be any more cheap water," said Randy Brown, utilities director for Pompano Beach, Fla.

http://www.naturalnews.com/022915.html

Just thought this was interesting. In Canada we are also restricted during the summer months.

We should just encourage more abortions, execute everyone on death row NOW, and nuke the state of michigan in an effort to reduce our dependance on water. America is addicted to water.

Where is FeatherHead when we need someone to tell us that GlobalWarming is just a myth, per Rush Limbaugh.

Wait a minute. Am I reading this right? Global warming is going to cause the Great Lakes to evaporate in 5 years? And yet sea levels are rising infiltrating freshwater supplies. Apparently, global warming causes freshwater to evaporate but has the opposite effect on saltwater. No offense intended but this is the biggest load of crap I have seen in a long time.

Rising temperatures due to global warming have increased evaporation rates across the country and reduced the availability of important water sources.

Did anybody find the word RAIN anywhere? "Georgia's crisis" was due to drought conditions. Gotta wonder if David Gutierrez and CB_Brooklyn are the same person. Help the sky is falling!

There's a certain amount of chicken little here... I didnt see the part where the great lakes were going to evaporate in 5 years. But... it doesnt have the opposite effect on sea water... sea ice melts into the ocean... rissing levels infiltrate fresh water.

You take any topic and you can find freakish viewpoints on it....

Other threatened regions include the Midwest, where the Great Lakes are shrinking.

You're right Pez. It doesn't specifically say the Great Lakes are going to evaporate in 5 years. I inferred a couple things from the quote -

1. that they are saying the Great Lakes are shrinking due to global warming. Okay, maybe that's not what they are saying, but it just seemed that way to me. If not, my bad.

2. the only way this shrinkage is going to cause a "water shortage" within 5 years is if the lakes completely evaporate. I realize the lakes are used for more than a water supply, but to suggest this will cause a crisis is comical. If I go to one of the beaches off Lake Michigan that I used to go to all the time and see the water line is now miles away, then I will start thinking we have a problem.

Desalination plants all along the coast should reverse the drought aspects. Water will just cost a little more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desalination

http://www.tampabaywater.org/watersupply/tbdesal.aspx

Then ship the salt to the midwest for the winter driving season.

Meh. I'll probably be dead by the time we see any real crisis. Let YOUR children deal with it. :-)

Scooby01_98 wrote:Desalination plants all along the coast should reverse the drought aspects. Water will just cost a little more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desalination

http://www.tampabaywater.org/watersupply/tbdesal.aspx

Then ship the salt to the midwest for the winter driving season.

Good stuff. They've been using this process on nuclear submarines for years. I believe the process will continue to grow as the fresh water supplies dwindle and are contaminated.

Jugomugo wrote:

Scooby01_98 wrote:Desalination plants all along the coast should reverse the drought aspects. Water will just cost a little more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desalination

http://www.tampabaywater.org/watersupply/tbdesal.aspx

Then ship the salt to the midwest for the winter driving season.

Good stuff. They've been using this process on nuclear submarines for years. I believe the process will continue to grow as the fresh water supplies dwindle and are contaminated.

Not just nuclear or sub but any ship that stays out to sea for extended periods. My last ship was just 270' long and we had an RO system that made 300 to 400 gallons an hour. It was also really small about the size of a home heater.

Markwes wrote:

Other threatened regions include the Midwest, where the Great Lakes are shrinking.

You're right Pez. It doesn't specifically say the Great Lakes are going to evaporate in 5 years. I inferred a couple things from the quote -

1. that they are saying the Great Lakes are shrinking due to global warming. Okay, maybe that's not what they are saying, but it just seemed that way to me. If not, my bad.

2. the only way this shrinkage is going to cause a "water shortage" within 5 years is if the lakes completely evaporate. I realize the lakes are used for more than a water supply, but to suggest this will cause a crisis is comical. If I go to one of the beaches off Lake Michigan that I used to go to all the time and see the water line is now miles away, then I will start thinking we have a problem.

I agree with you (I think I do anyway). There's quite a bit of doom and gloom stories coming out about anything from global warming causing a global famine in the next 25 minutes (as predicted by nostradamus). I dont like this attitude as I think it's not doing anything to reverse the client change trend, and if you look further, it's providing lots of ammo to the "it's a myth" crowd.

I do believe that climate change is real. There is very basic and straightforward data that confirms it to me-- though the data may be less convincing to others.

[quote="pezThere's quite a bit of doom and gloom stories coming out about anything from global warming causing a global famine in the next 25 minutes (as predicted by nostradamus). I dont like this attitude as I think it's not doing anything to reverse the client change trend, and if you look further, it's providing lots of ammo to the "it's a myth" crowd.

I do believe that climate change is real. There is very basic and straightforward data that confirms it to me-- though the data may be less convincing to others.[/quote]
And the media is too quick/willing to report the doom and gloom. Doom & Gloom = ratings! Ratings = more viewers. More viewers = Higher Ad Rates. Vicious cycle. The press doesn't want to report the good stuff, just primarily the negative stuff.

I don't need the science to know that somethings not right when you can't take a deep breath around our big cities because of the smog. I think your foolish to believe that this doesn't have a bigger effect on the globe. What exactly that effect is.. I have no clue, and I don't trust any scientist who says they can prove one way or the other definitively.

Regardless, I think we need to figure out a better way to live.

Good point Cardi.

We want to live wasteful lives and stick our heads in the sand. My belief is that each of us has free will to choose if we are wasteful or not.

Funny enough here is another article about Canada needing to protect our water from the US...LOL.

http://news.sympatico.msn.ctv.ca/TopStories/ContentPosting.aspx?feedname=CTV-TOPSTORIES_V2&showbyline=True&newsitemid=CTVNews%2f20080403%2fwater_report_080403

Exactly Card. And what is it about big cities that are different? Large factories pouring soot into the skies, companies dumping sewage into lakes and rivers... But our federal and local governments decide that all will be better if we make incandescent light bulbs illegal and other measly things like that.

Sorry but any organization that mentions global warming as a cause and not a possible cause loses credibility with me.