THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2021 WATER ISSUES - PART II

 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2021 WATER ISSUES

Yesterday, I started a two-day excursion into water issues.  (And, no, I am not some kind of water control expert!!!)

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WATER CONSERVATION

Sure we can conserve water (or, maybe more appropriately - TRY to conserve water).  When it gets hot in Central Texas governments ask us to conserve water and, in particular, not to water our lawns three times a week.  There are some “teeth” in such practices - but rarely does a person get fined for violating water conservation practices.  In an area with many new houses and new residents, people want to get the grass in their yards to grow.  The concept says -I put down sod, and it must be watered sufficiently to get it to grow.  Between a choice of a dead lawn or a rich green lawn, many people will opt for higher water prices and if necessarily fines.  

My sister and brother-in-law moved to the Phoenix area and almost all the lawns in their area are rock, gravel, and some lower water usage plants.  (In our drives in their area, only one of two houses had grass, although golf courses and parks did.).  In my Texas neighborhood, if one house had a gravel lawn, neighbors would complain that it is lowering the property values.  But, when almost all have gravel lawns, that is not an issue in Arizona.  Yard conservation can include plants that take less water and are drought tolerant.

In both of the houses, I visited in Arizona are water-conserving toilets.  There are buttons with low flow and higher flows.  Since I live alone, I flush only when really needed.  

Over the years there have been other tongue-in-check conservation methods -like showering with a friend, using beer to shower, and don’t shower at all.  (I tend to shower at the Georgetown Community Recreation Center - one that helps save on my water bill - but maybe more relevant they are nicer showers.  After three years at my apartment you’d think I’d be able to get the water temperature just right but I’m not there yet.)

Many houses in Arizona have personal pools (not saving water there) - but if people used community pools and didn’t have their own pools that could help as well.

The community rec center has signs that they use reclaimed water to water their grasses.  

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Water is a big deal in agriculture.  When I visit my son and family in central Nebraska, many farmers are using sprinkler systems to irrigate their crops.  When I picture the Imperial Valley in California where many vegetable crops are grown, I think they are using irrigation systems.  I think those that have irrigation systems might prefer NOT to get any regular rainfall as they can mess with their irrigation analysis.  

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Piping water from a point where there is water to a place there isn’t enough water can take extra energy to pump the water as well as the infrastructure of pipes.  

There is the story of William Mulholland (see: Mulholland: L.A.’s great visionary (irishecho.com) who bought up land and water rights to make Los Angeles into a viable location because of water.  

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Maybe if I (we) return in 2500, all rainfall will be controlled.  Rain can dump its valuable water into aquifers, reservoirs, and lakes. Weather will be controlled by artificial intelligence - so that ski areas get snow in winter (but just the right amount of powder snow), farms, ranches, and properties can have green lawns and green crops; and no hurricanes or tornados!!  But, that sounds like humans trying to “play God”.

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My personal bias is that water rights will be a growing concern for the future.  Where Herbert Hoover said “A chicken in every pot”, maybe the new slogan will be “and water in every glass”.

LOVE WINS

Karen

James 5:17-18  Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.