Saturday, August 26, 2017

One glass, many straws...









"Back when I was young, some families used the same bath water for everyone in the family. Baths were on Saturday night, and the lucky ones got to hop in the tub first. Will things get that bad again? I hope not. Now is a good time to get going on a problem which does not have to become one."



One of my friends who is interested in water issues in this country wanted to know if I would post any more about this very important issue. I thought about it, and it seemed like a good idea. After all, water seems to be constantly in the news. Too much, too little, where to get it, water rights, and of course after what happened in Flint - the safety of our drinking water.

One of the first posts I did when I started this blog was on water. In particular our shrinking aquifers. That post is http://veryangrybird.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-slow-passing-of-ogallala.html . I focused on the biggest aquifer we have - the Ogallala. It is not only our biggest, it is also one of the biggest in the world.

The Ogallala is dying a slow death. We are pumping out more water than it can regenerate. What happens when it goes dry in twenty years or less? We will be in a world of hurt. Many states in the Midwest rely heavily on this giant body of water. Not only to service people's needs, but also to service the vibrant agri-business presence in that part of the country. The frustrating part is that we have known for quite a while now that this aquifer, along with many others, are getting smaller. And yet we have done - nothing. 

Sure, we can make water through the desalination process. That technology has been around for decades. But it is expensive. A cheaper solution if we could figure out how to do it would be to recapture excess rainwater and then distribute it to areas of the country which need it. With now what is estimated to be a trillion gallons of rain water coming down with the Texas hurricane, a large portion of that water will just be run off. Wasted, when it could have been shipped via pipeline to areas in the country which are bone dry.

Somebody once said our aquifers are like a glass of water with many straws coming out. I like that analogy. If we don't figure out smart irrigation, water recapture, and looking at our ground water as finite, we are going to be in big trouble by 2050. Maybe sooner. 

Back when I was young, some families used the same bath water for everyone in the family. Baths were on Saturday night, and the lucky ones got to hop in the tub first. Will things get that bad again? I hope not. Now is a good time to get going on a problem which does not have to become one.

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for posting a water article.
    I went back and read your 2012 post. Very interesting, since then: the Ogallala is now supposed to be dry in 2028.
    North Texas has given up irrigation, to expensive to drill so deep and run pumps.
    Kansas has switched to Sunflowers and all other states are getting to get serious about water use.
    It is illegal to collect rainwater in 3 western states and difficult regulations in other western states. We need to follow Las Vegas lead and get several uses out of each gallon.

    And Job 1, change our diet:

    A 1/3-pound burger requires 660 gallons of water. Most of this water is for producing beef.

    1 pound of beef requires 1,799 gallons of water, which includes irrigation of the grains and grasses in feed, plus water for drinking and processing.

    1 slice of bread requires 11 gallons of water. Most of this water is for producing wheat.

    1 pound of wheat requires 132 gallons of water

    1 apple requires 18 gallons of water. It takes 59.4 gallons of water to produce 1 cup of apple juice.

    1 orange requires 13 gallons of water. It takes 53.1 gallons of water for 1 cup of orange juice.

    1 pound of chicken requires 468 gallons of water.

    1 pound of pork requires 576 gallons of water.

    1 pound of sheep requires 731 gallons of water.

    1 pound of goat requires 127 gallons of water.

    1 pound of rice requires 449 gallons of water.

    1 pound of corn requires 108 gallons of water.

    1 pound of soybeans requires 216 gallons of water.

    1 pound of potatoes requires 119 gallons of water.

    1 egg requires 53 gallons of water.

    1 gallon of milk requires 880 gallons of water, or 54.9 gallons of water for 1 cup. That includes water for raising and grazing cattle, and bottling and processing.

    1 pound of cheese requires 600 gallons of water. On average it requires 1.2 gallons of milk to make 1 pound of cheese.

    1 pound of chocolate requires 3,170 gallons of water.

    1 pound of refined sugar requires 198 gallons of water.

    1 gallon of tea requires 128 gallons of water, or 7.9 gallons of water for 1 cup.

    1 gallon of coffee requires 880 gallons of water, or 37 gallons of water for 1 cup.

    I may have more later,
    David Gjerdingen

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  2. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which handles international water disputes, says 263 river basins are contested globally.

    The groundwater has been so depleted that China’s capital city, home to more than 20 million people, could face serious disruptions in its rail system, roadways, and building foundations, an international team of scientists concluded earlier this year.
    Beijing, despite tapping into the gigantic North China Plain aquifer, is the world’s fifth most water-stressed city and its water problems are likely to get even worse.

    As regions and nations run short of water, economic growth will decline and food prices will spike, raising the risk of violent conflict and waves of large migrations.
    Unrest in Yemen, which heavily taps into groundwater and which experienced water riots in 2009, is rooted in a water crisis. Experts say water scarcity also helped destabilize Syria and launch its civil war.
    Jordan, which relies on aquifers as its only source of water, is even more water-stressed now that more than a half-million Syrian refugees arrived.

    I could go on and on, but you get the picture.
    The nuclear NORK may occupy your mind this year, but our children and grandchildren may have to take up arms to defend the Great Lakes.

    Dave Gjerdingen

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