Climate Change Effects and The Future of Clean Water

The time is now to take a realistic look at the current availability of clean water sources in the U.S. and how we should consider all avenues to ensure an adequate water supply for our ever-growing population and future generations.

I live in the Southwestern part of the United States. As you can see from the map below, we have had a high influx of new residents moving to the area over the past decade and a half while we simultaneously are experiencing extended droughts that are drying out our forests and landscape, which inevitably are leading to massive wildfires.

How much water do we use per person per year? According to the USGS we utilized a total of 322 billion gallons of water per day in 2015. The graph above depicts two things: the colors show the amount of water used per day per person and the % shows the population growth from 2000 to 2015. As you look at this map, you can draw a few conclusions. First, people are moving to the western third of the country, where droughts are occurring more often and for longer periods coupled with significantly less rainfall which means less water reserve.

The city of Phoenix, AZ, ranked as the 8th fastest growing city last year. This creates not only a short-term but a long-term problem. Where is the water needed for the population growth going to come from?

Where our water comes from

The U.S. uses water from two sources: Surface water which comes from rain and snow that falls onto the ground, and underground aquifers, water that has filtered through the earth and exists in underground pockets.

When we have droughts, such has been the trend in the Western U.S. We have to rely more heavily on our underground resources to provide sufficient water for daily use.

Water Uses

As you can see from this stylized pipe diagram, we primarily count on surface water to supply most of our needs. Still, as the effects of climate change continue to escalate, surface water is not falling in the amounts it has in the past because atmospheric conditions continue to shift.

Where is the rainfall in the U.S.?

Historically most of the rain falls in the Eastern half of the country. As you can see from this map, the Western U.S., excluding the Northwest coast, receives 20- 30 inches of annual precipitation per year while the East coast receives 20 to over 100 inches per year.

Climate change will continue to alter this pattern in ways we don’t yet fully comprehend. To provide for long-term uses of water, it may require a new way to redistribute water after it reaches the ground. Water that falls on the ground is naturally gathered by rivers and drainages into basins throughout the U.S.

What are our natural water basins?

Water basins are important for many reasons, not the least of which is that there are different laws in different parts of the country that determine who owns the rights to the water.

Here are the 18 major water basins designated by the U.S. Water Resources Council. For example, I am located in New Mexico, and we fall under the Rio Grande River Basin. Unfortunately, the water in this basin is also claimed by parts of Texas and Mexico. Water rights are a major issue in this area because of the drought, population migration, and the continued depletion of the groundwater aquifers.

Moving water between basins

There is nothing simple about the use or potential movement of water in the U.S. As the saying goes, “someone’s ox is going to get gored” when we move water from East to West. Even in the Southeast, where water is overabundant, it would be difficult to move any excess water to other parts of the country because of the legal and economic hurdles and impacts.

Can each basin support the people who live there?

The simple answer is “no.” We are heading for trouble. Seven out of the 18 water basins will be highly stressed or in the stressed category by 2040, based on the study by the American Society of Civil Engineers. It is fairly obvious from the maps above that most of these affected basins will be located in the West. Population shifts due to rising seawater levels and rainfall deficits will only exacerbate the problems.

6 reasons to be concerned about the effects of climate change on our water supply

1. Clean potable water along our coasts will become saltier every year and less drinkable. With less rainfall and rising tides, the oceans are creeping inland.
2. Climate change is changing rainfall and snowfall patterns throughout the U.S. changing drought and flooding patterns.
3. Water required for food production is going to increase as our population grows. Climate change will make some of our current crop areas unusable in the future.
4. Population growth and location require more water. As populations increase or relocate they can place a burden on local water supplies. The continued growth of population especially in the Southwest will eventually deplete the water supply.
5. Contaminated water supplies along the coast and in our groundwater are a growing concern.
6. Lack of basic sanitation could become more common and lead to increasing health issues.

What solutions are currently in use?

Desalination is the removal of salt from saltwater. It can be done in many ways. Reverse osmosis is one way used in the Southwest to remove small solids from the drinking water to make it purer. One of these solids is salts. To remove the solids the water is passed through a membrane that the water molecules can pass through, but the solids cannot pass through, resulting in drinkable water.

Another method is the building of large-scale water desalination plants along with the coastal areas where climate change will have the most effects. These plants exist today in the world but are highly expensive to run. The Claude Lewis plant in Carlsbad, California creates 50 million gallons per day of fresh water from seawater. Unfortunately, this is just a drop in the 330 billion gallons per day we are using. We will need to improve our technologies and lower the cost before we lose the battle with climate change.

Inter-basin transfers are the moving of water from a donor watershed or basin to a recipient basin that needs the water. There are limited efforts in this area at this time. Some of the barriers that must be overcome: 1. It is costly to move water, 2. It may change the ecosystems and river flows in the donor watershed and subsequently affect the economic conditions of communities downstream. Because of these barriers and others the donor watersheds must be carefully studied and chosen to mitigate these impacts. Areas that seem most viable are those where there is currently regular flood damage annually.

The Way Forward

The way forward revolves around several ideas.

1. Using what we have more wisely.
2. Using technology to reduce waste and spot leakages. This could include the use of robotics in smarter homes to spot waste and leakage in systems.
3. New ways to take the salt out of the water that doesn’t cause pollution such as wave-powered desalination processes.
4. Using remote sensing to determine when we need water for our plants rather than providing water when the streams flow.
5. Better utility water management and maintenance systems through technology and robotics.
6. And lastly the human element. We as humans have to find ways to conserve, use less water, and reuse water.

Solving water problems is an important part of living with climate change. Find out the water facts that impact the area in which you live. Be an activist in your community to foster awareness and the necessary dialogue around what needs to be done now to ensure ample and safe water sources for decades to come.