From the Land of Sky Blue Waters

 

 

"With all the water and greenery we have in this state, no matter many refer to it as 'God's Country'"

I know I crab about this state. Maybe too much sometime. I crab about the seemingly endless winters. I crab about the confiscatory taxes on the wagon pullers. On the retirees. However, there is another side to Minnesota. Summer. Summer up in the north county of the state. Or as many of locals call it, just plain Up North.

When I have taken out of town visitors to northern Minnesota, they are simply amazed by the amount of water we have. Not just our fine fishing lakes, but also the grand daddy of them all - Lake Superior. All of this fresh water we love, and many times take for granted.

Now the down side. I remember when the last major drought hit the Midwest. Thirsty states who did not have our water resources, started looking north for relief.

Yes, I remember reading articles on how some of the water from our major lakes, or even Lake Superior, could be diverted south. And that was for not just other states - it was also for the southern part of our own state. Areas of our state where aquifers have become dangerously depleted due to increasing agricultural demand.

What does all this mean? Water wars might be in our future. We have developed better and better ways to produce food in the Midwest. We feed not only ourselves, but a good portion of the world as well. However, a very important ingredient in agriculture is water. Without enough water, even our best hybrid technology becomes moot. And we as a nation do a terrible job of water recapture. Every year billions of gallons of fresh water (in the form of rain or snowfall) come down so fast, the ground can't absorb it all. The excess water ends up being run-off. And often times there is so much run-off, destructive flooding results.

All that excess fresh water ends up going in the tributaries, and then into the streams, and finally the major rivers. Once that river water reaches the ocean, it is no longer fresh water. There has to be an efficient way to capture a portion of that excess water and then store it for the drier months. It can't be that hard.

I have written before about the Ogallala Aquifer. This monster underground lake, which feeds many Midwestern states, is becoming less of a monster every year. Without better management of this invaluable resource, the life expectancy of this aquifer is very short (in geographical time). How short? In our lifetime short. This aquifer has been "Plan B" for many decades with farmers in the Midwest. What is their Plan A? Rain. When the rain is not optimal (which it often is not), the Ogallala Aquifer is called upon to save the crop.

I want people in this country to look upon the Land of Sky Blue Waters as a treasure, and not a target. I don't want water wars in this country. I don't want water wars in this state. In California, they are already having them. We need cleaver thinking. New thinking. To ignore this issue will not only put our agri-business in jeopardy, but also the drinking water for millions.