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- Farms and cities have begun imposing water restrictions, but Western states are facing a threat that goes deeper than a single bad year. The hotter climate is shrinking water supplies, no matter what the weather brings. Warming temperatures make it less likely for a raindrop or snowflake to reach a reservoir due to increased evaporation.
www.npr.org/2021/06/09/1003424717/the-drought-in-the-western-u-s-is-getting-bad-climate-change-is-making-it-worse
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Aug 26, 2021 · Higher temperatures heat the ground and air faster, and the increased evaporation dries the soil and decreases the amount of precipitation that reaches reservoirs. Warming also leads to less of the snow-pack needed to replenish rivers, streams, reservoirs and moisten soil in spring and summer.
A rise in temperature leads to increased evaporation of surface water and baking of the earth, decreasing soil moisture. New normal. This is part of a wider trend affecting hundreds of millions of people across the planet.
- Agriculture Will Be Hit The Hardest
- Alternative Solutions Like Desalination and Groundwater Aren't Always Feasible
- Water Management and Conservation May Be The Strongest Solutions
- Conservation Mandates Are Imminent
Farming uses the largest chunk of water supply, accounting for 80% of consumptive water use in the U.S. and more than 90% in many Western states, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and would likely be the first casualty if supply in the West were strained. In Utah, up to 90% of the water used in the state goes to agriculture, The Salt...
As water levels in reservoirs continue to drop, officials are also exploring other options to retrieve water. In Arizona, groundwater is the state's largest water supply, Saffell said. Lawmakers passed legislation in 1980 in which municipalities agreed to not overdraw the groundwater. In the past, when there was not enough surface water and water i...
Water management and conservation have already proven to be the most effective tactics in maintaining water supplies in the West, experts said. Arizona water management is well-equipped to ensure supplies to the desert community, Saffell said. The state has been at a Tier Zero level of shortage, the highest classification for a lake shortage, for t...
Officials have already begun to lay down the law on curbing water usage, and additional restrictions are imminent, experts say. Newsom requested that residents voluntarily use 15% less water after signing an executive order adding nine counties to the state’s drought emergency on Thursday. The governor encouraged people to practice "common sense th...
- Julia Jacobo
- 2 min
Jan 30, 2024 · The West's scorching heat and festering water crisis are part of new problem, study says. Cities scorching in 110 degree heat for days as water reserves dry up — that's life in the West now....
Dec 26, 2021 · December 26, 2021. GARDEN CITY, Kan.— A century after the Dust Bowl, another environmental catastrophe is coming to the High Plains of western Kansas. The signs are subtle but unequivocal: dry...
Feb 14, 2023 · For the most part, there’s less snowpack in the mountains that provide snowmelt to the Colorado River. So in that sense, climate change has been a negative and hurting the situation. Rising temperatures also increase evaporation and transpiration by plants, reducing the available amount of water.
