Lake Mead water level video

[slo town]

How about they cut California off and make them build bigger desalination plants? It isn't new and unproven technology. Gosh, there's smart people who figured out how to get Mexico's poop out of the water in the 19th century.

California's "gold" is its snowpack melt. Cali's long entrenched political party sees that 28% of that snowpack water flows to the ocean. More locally to where I live we have two large reservoirs; Lake Nacimiento and Lake San Antonio. Those same political powers mandate that water from those reservoirs drain all summer long into the Salinas River to protect to protect fish in a river that no one fishes. Let me add that until Nacimiento and San Antonio were dammed, the Salinas River ran dry during the summer time.

Scott

 

[Pew]

What happens when well water starts drying up ?

That's the future generation's problem /s.

They'll have to be plumbed into a water source. My township's aquifers were drying out but luckily we're pretty close to Chicago so we just plumbed into their system few years ago. Increase of water costs for us, but what can we do....although Chicago does not charge its residents for water though, so that's cool.

The places that were big on mining are screwed though, poisoned chemicals and elements leeching back into the ground water.

 

[2005jettatdi]

What happens when well water starts drying up ?

That is our concern and that is why the people of the greater Kingman area were opposed when out of area farmers came in and started drilling big wells to irrigate crops in our desert. However, antiquated Arizona laws protect the farmer's "right" to that water and they cannot be stopped. The people doing the drilling could not understand the unfriendly response they got when they announced they were here to drill those wells.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

The way you say that, it comes across as if you actually believe it. First of all, the article is casino industry propaganda from casino.org. Next, according to the article, the 70% figure is specifically for the casinos. The casinos are not nearly as big a problem as the uncontrolled growth.

I do not in any way wish to say Las Vegas is the only problem. California is the biggest problem, but not he only problem. Someone suggested the water draw be cut by 30% across the board. That is more like it.

Kingman gave up its rights to Colorado River water decades ago. We subsist on well water, which is being depleted by new farms. Arizona gives priority for water to farms and mines. That law needs to be changed. But then, Arizona also has uncontrolled population growth.

The properties are the biggest user. Anyways how about 99 percent of indoor water usage is recycled in Clark County.
https://www.fox5vegas.com/2024/12/1...lower-cost-alternative-rural-water-recycling/

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Nestle already does that. Due to certain treaties, only states surrounding the lakes are able to use them as a water source. But companies like Nestle can come in and take as much as they want and sell them to different regions.

Edit: on that note I would never take water from the Mississippi River if given an option. The contamination from decades of factory discharge is immense. This is why Chicago has their water intake located far off shore in Lake Michigan.



From the South Nevada Water Authority: Approximately 40 percent of the water in the Water Authority's service area is used indoors. Of that, about 99 percent is recycled, either for direct or indirect use. The problem this does not address is the water used outdoors which is not recycled which we can assume is the other 60%.


View attachment 341569

Outdoor is changing. Some properties use ground water for outdoor water features.

 

[SC Maintenance]

The allotment per state is defined by the compact. Nevada gets almost none of the Colorado river water, so complaining about Casino's is a fools errand. The biggest user is California's ag industry. Nothing will change until its drawn down past its ability to be used at all. I thought we were going to get there a couple years ago but one year of good rains kicked the can down the road for a few more.

The Ogallala Aquifer in the great plains is being drawn down. So are the aquifers in Florida. Its another generational thing - the generations doing it won't live to see the consequences - so they don't care. Similar to other such macro problems like too much debt or nuclear waste that lasts 1000 years.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Yep. The problem is capital. How do you compensate residents for the capital they've invested so they can move elsewhere. I was reading a story about New Orleans and Louisiana where scientists are saying that the city needs to begin relocating residents starting now.

With regards to Louisiana upstream flood control which provides water for the petro-chemical industry along the Mississippi River is causing the bottom half of the state to sink into the Gulf of Mexico. The entire state from I-10 south may need to be abandoned but where do you send all the people?

Well you could do nothing and eventually they would move on their own? Same with beach repleneshment - socialize the costs, privatize the profits.

The Army Corps of engineers have been fighting the Mississippi for decades. It really wants to bypass New Orleans and exit into the gulf via the Atchafalaya River - which from the geological record has seemed to be its path during most of its history. This of course would render the Port of New Orleans and all its infrastructure worthless. https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/A...ississippi-Rivers-Old-River-Control-Structure

Mother nature always wins in the end, and is patient until she is not.

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

It's an unnatural lake, why do we think it should be full? If it was empty, that would actually be normal. They built it to use it, they are using it.

 

[CleanSump]

It's an unnatural lake, why do we think it should be full? If it was empty, that would actually be normal. They built it to use it, they are using it.

You have a point and got me thinking. I'd have to say it was made to provide electric power and act as a water reserve and supply. So if it gets too low, it is useless.

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

You have a point and got me thinking. I'd have to say it was made to provide electric power and act as a water reserve and supply. So if it gets too low, it is useless.

Design flaw. Also having the lake altered the entire ecosystem upstream and down. The Grand Canyon is not even remotely the same.

 

[SC Maintenance]

It's an unnatural lake, why do we think it should be full? If it was empty, that would actually be normal. They built it to use it, they are using it.

It would be normal but the people using the water would be out.

It got very close to being below the water intakes in 2022 - which means they would not have been able to use it at all.

But to your point, its a man created issue both ways.

 

[CKN]

It would be normal but the people using the water would be out.

It got very close to being below the water intakes in 2022 - which means they would not have been able to use it at all.

But to your point, its a man created issue both ways.

https://www.snwa.com/infrastructure-improvements/intake3-pumping-station/index.html

 

[The_Jeff]

Time to quit playing golf in Las Vegas.

IIRC all the fountains in Vegas are supplied with water from tanker trucks from Canada!

They also do something with reclaimed/ non-potable water there for irrigation.

 

[The_Jeff]

How about they cut California off and make them build bigger desalination plants? It isn't new and unproven technology. Gosh, there's smart people who figured out how to get Mexico's poop out of the water in the 19th century.

California would do well to re-jigger water rights that go to almond farmers and other wasteful crops. Their problem to solve!

 

[Hermann]

This will happen when you have 4 or 5 major metro areas + agriculture all claiming rights to what little water is available. This will only get worse as it's looking like we may be entering a new dust bowl era in the plains. A western Nebraska farmer on Youtube has no soil moisture 4 ft down. He has not planted since 2022. The KC area is listed as a semi-arrid region.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Well you could do nothing and eventually they would move on their own? Same with beach repleneshment - socialize the costs, privatize the profits.

The Army Corps of engineers have been fighting the Mississippi for decades. It really wants to bypass New Orleans and exit into the gulf via the Atchafalaya River - which from the geological record has seemed to be its path during most of its history. This of course would render the Port of New Orleans and all its infrastructure worthless. https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/A...ississippi-Rivers-Old-River-Control-Structure

Mother nature always wins in the end, and is patient until she is not.

You could but then there would be a route and a valid claim could be made that access to water was at least implicitly guaranteed by the USG.

 

[Rmay635703]

Yes, it's a pretty bad situation. We don't typically regulate where people can live, so how do we fill it back up?

Much of the country can condemn and take your home if you can’t prove you have running water or if you refuse electric/gas connections.

That might bite Cali in the arse.

There are already communities that no longer have water and bets on when various other cities will loose water access.

 

[danstraylee]

This is perfectly normal fluctuations for a man made lake. The Hoover dam was built to control the Colorado River after the creation of Salton Sea disaster.

https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g4000/hourly/mead-elv.html

As you can see by the chart, normal climate changes are what cause the fluctuations. It has a long way to go before dead pool level where hydropower can no longer be produced.

Hoover Dam was carefully engineered to take into consideration the extreme climate variables.

Right now local Boulder City and Nelson Hills solar grids are being activated to make up for some of the reduced hydropower that exists. Currently the Dam is producing well in excess of 1,000 mega watts which is more than enough power for Boulder City and sells the rest. So no need to panic over the grid.

 

[SC Maintenance]

You could but then there would be a route and a valid claim could be made that access to water was at least implicitly guaranteed by the USG.

Well "acts of god" are force majeure in any contract. So the implicit guarantee would be void. Of course if they could make the case that it was government action upriver that caused there problem that would be different, but again its government action that keeps the river ending in New Orleans to begin with. What a mess!

New Orleans is interesting. In the 1930's they blew up a levy in the poor end of town, flooding it out, in order to take pressure off the levy's in the wealthy end of town.