US Drought and Water Usage Problems

Drought is presently stretching from coast to coast, with 61% of the country suffering some level of water deficiency. In preparation, water restrictions are already in effect in many states before the summer season begins. It’s the highest level of drought in four years. No, I’m not blaming global warming; that’s just an easy excuse.

One Arizona town, Kearny, home to about 2,000 people, is warning its residents they could officially run out of water by July, The town is asking residents to conserve water by not washing vehicles (though I think a bucket wash should be fine), restricting lawn watering (which I have always supported except for new seeding), or filling your pool. Take shorter showers, and if possible, fewer laundry days.

At least once per year, I have used my former podcast, and now blog, to warn people of future water issues that our progeny will have to deal with. It’s also one of the major reasons I oppose water-hungry data centers.

As severe drought conditions continue to persist across Colorado, many cities and municipalities have declared water restrictions to preserve limited water supplies. Most are at least recommending voluntary restrictions, which generally include limiting outdoor watering. Others have enacted mandatory water restrictions, including fines, such as Denver Water. This follows the worst snow pack on record for the state. I emphasize “on record”.

Much of the problem is… we, the people. Ever since Europeans crossed the seas to “discover” an already inhabited country, we have tried to make nature bend to our wishes instead of learning how to live with nature. The indigenous respected the land far more than the Bilaga’ana* ever have. Deserts have never been water havens, but thanks to irrigation, Las Vegas has fountains, non-native crops are grown where native species should be, and greed has ignored the fact that abundance of anything can only last so long.

Without going into details of various cities’ request or restrictions, what can the average citizen do? Simple:

Reuse water whenever possible; “grey water” can be used for most plants and gardens. Plant native species. Fix leaky faucets. Take shorter showers. Cover pools and spas to limit evaporation. Only do full loads of laundry resulting in less loads. Only water newly seeded lawns and only do so early in the morning or late in the evening. Ignore watering grass in favor of trees and shrubs which are costly to replace. Use a bucket to wash your car avoiding the car wash (sorry car wash owners).

Oh… and oppose data centers. Larger ones can use up to 2.5 million gallons a day. If I recall correctly, that a little more than my small town of 1,200+ uses… per month! Most water and drought rules were enacted prior to the demand for AI‑scale cooling, so encourage your town to revisit water rules to limit data center usage. You’re right… I hate data centers. All your cloud storage could be kept locally on your computer – no water required!

*Din'e (Navajo) for "white man"

Source used: USA Today