By Joe Parmagiani, Alliance Intern from Dartmouth College ‘28
Most of us tend to think we have plenty of water in our own region and that water shortages are primarily in the Southwest. But as you will see and we were surprised to find, we’re in the midst of a much greater challenge than most of us comprehend. Fortunately, there is a way out.
Yes, the Southwest Is Beset
There are serious challenges in the region from California to western Texas due to its arid climate and rising population. Southwestern states have gone to great lengths to secure water, pumping over the Tehachapi Mountains to serve Los Angeles and running canals through vast deserts to serve Arizona. But there is a literal water war taking place between parched states.
The Colorado River, running through the heart of the region, is contested by several states and was consequently rerouted to serve large population centers in the Southwest, like Phoenix and Los Angeles. While people living in these areas are constantly pressured to conserve water, they still have lawns and there’s not adequate water for both people and agriculture.
But It Ain’t Just the Southwest: Wake Up Midwest, Northwest, East and South!
But what about the rest of the country? Is there a problem in abundant water places like the Midwest, Northwest, East and South? Most residents in these places aren’t thinking much about water use because water is so cheap and is perceived as plentiful, although many cities in these regions implement water restrictions during droughts.
But climate change is causing more droughts and floods than ever, dramatically decreasing water availability due to shortages and contamination. There is also a significant increase in water demand from population growth and new water requirements from fracking, ethanol and AI data centers.
These challenges, plus cost and energy concerns, make it urgent for the entire country to conserve water as we’ve never done before. Let’s briefly examine each of the major water challenges, the benefits of water conservation and successful solutions we can all implement.
Expected and Surprising Water Losses from the Climate Crisis
Human-caused climate change creates a higher frequency of extreme weather events that is increasingly harming our freshwater supply. High winter temperatures cause early snow melts and low snow packs, and warmer temperatures elicit higher evaporation rates, which can exacerbate drought across the country.
Take New Jersey, for example. A recent drought has caused many wells in the state to go dry and require deeper drilling. The NJ DEP issued a drought warning, and Governor Phil Murphy even recommended residents “use only a water can to water flowers or allow them to go dormant for the season.” Doesn’t this sound similar to what is being required in California?
Even in rain-deluged coastal regions of the Pacific Northwest, where the sun barely shines 60 days a year, droughts are a problem. Historic drought conditions were reached in 2015, and an unprecedented heat wave in 2021 caused extreme evaporation from reservoirs.
The heat wave, which saw temperatures above 115ºF in the parts of the Pacific Northwest, was determined to be 150 times more likely due to human-caused climate change. This means we’re in for more droughts, so we need to conserve water, even in seemingly water-rich areas.
Ironically, Climate Change Causes Water Shortages from Flooding
At the same time, climate change contributed to the disastrous flooding that has contaminated surface and ground water across the country. For example, back-to-back record-setting floods ravaged the state of Vermont each of the past two summers, and many wells and reservoirs were deemed unusable for long periods.
Vermonters found themselves under similar guidelines to the Southwest: conserve, conserve, conserve. We are in a “new normal” where all of us are vulnerable regardless of where we live.
Water Unavailability from Overuse, Climate-Induced Sea Level Rise and Drought
Climate change doesn’t just impact surface water. It also contributes to groundwater depletion. Groundwater extraction is already unsustainable and drought further reduces low rates of replenishment.
Sea level rise, another consequence of human-caused climate change, furthers saltwater intrusion into coastal surface water and groundwater sources, making the water unusable for agriculture and drinking.
Nearly half of America relies on groundwater to drink, and wells everywhere are in danger. In states across the country, from Oregon and Illinois to Maine, they’ve been running dry. With aquifers in such a precarious position, every American needs to conserve.
Population Growth and Demand Fuel Water Shortages
Demand continues to increase from population growth. There are more of us than ever that depend on water sources for food and livelihood. In some regions, new development and building is no longer allowed because there are not adequate water resources. This has serious economic consequences for developers and limits the amount of available housing.
Innovations in technology are also spiking demand. There is a growing new challenge across the country as mega-data centers are being built which demand huge amounts of water for cooling the servers.
This is true even in Minnesota, the “Land of 10,000 Lakes,” which has a huge freshwater supply. At least 11 massive AI data centers are on the way. These proposed centers are warehouse-like facilities with rows of computers that generate large amounts of heat.
To cool these data centers, an incredible amount of freshwater (often sourced from groundwater) is necessary. The daily water use at peak times to cool just one data center is projected to equal the daily use of 11,600 homes, which is more than the actual number of homes in some of the affected communities. With such a large amount of water used, there is fear by many locals that their wells will run dry.
The Benefits of Conserving Water: Saving Money and Energy
In addition to helping assure the sustainability of our water resources, there is another big benefit: water conservation simply saves money. Demand is sky-high, and it certainly isn’t getting cheaper to extract water, whether it’s surface water or groundwater. The incredible cost of water use can be addressed through conservation.
It’s an energy issue, too. The US is a country predominantly powered by nonrenewable fossil fuels, and water use and energy use go hand in hand. Pumping water, whether it’s through a well, an irrigation system, or even a municipal system, requires huge amounts of energy. Most people are not aware that in nearly every city, the biggest energy use is pumping water. If Americans in every corner of the country use less water, we’ll also cut back on unsustainable energy use, reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that are exacerbating droughts and floods.
Simple Steps We Can Take
The good news is it’s not hard to cut back on our water use. Just look at examples from the drought-stricken American Southwest. Las Vegas is making massive cuts on its water use – cars cannot be washed more than once per week, personal fountains and decorative ponds are prohibited and sidewalk and median grass will be removed by 2026.
A city like Chicago certainly shouldn’t need to ask residents to rip up their grass like Las Vegas, but municipalities can easily cut wasteful water use by reducing unneeded irrigation, addressing leaky infrastructure and saving potable water for household use.
Individuals and corporations can also play a big role with money-saving actions, such as faucet aerators, leak fixes, shortened showers, and lowered red meat consumption. And instead of handwashing your car, using a car wash saves significant water because the water is reused. These are conservation practices every American can adopt.
Car washes generally consume 30 to 45 gallons of water for every car (though it varies due to the vehicle) due to water-saving technology such as high-pressure nozzles and recycling systems, hand washing can use up to 140 gallons of water or more.
We can’t look at the Southwest and leave the water conservation to them. It’s up to the whole country to take action to assure we have water for us and future generations.