The colorado river is in crisis, and it's getting worse every day (Denver: landscaping, to buy)

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by pikabike

Do you really think most people would LIVE like that permanently, as opposed to going for a boat trip or other temporary living situation?

We monitor our home water usage.

Long term average is 7 gal / day for (2) adults in a huge rural home.

I have renters that use over 100g / day EACH for family of 5.

Most adult tenants use ~ 20 - 40g / day.

National building / septic code is to provide 100g / day / person,

Irrigation is another issue.

[Phil P]

This article here:

https://stacker.com/stories/3989/how...last-100-years

succinctly shows EXACTLY why there's a water crisis, the farmed acreage has remained roughly constant since 1920, but WHERE it happens has shifted significantly. Essentially the entirety of the eastern US has given up farmland (which reverted to forest) while the arid west and plains have soaken up what the east used to farm. Case in point, Arizona had 5.8 million acres farmed in 1920, that's now up to 26.2 million acres.

So, all that irrigated farmland is what allows Georgia to have so many darn trees now. The below picture was farmland 100 years ago, look at it now. So on one hand we do have a crisis out west, but that overexploitation is what's allowed the eastern US to literally bounce back biologically.

[Pahn]

Originally Posted by pikabike

Do you really think most people would LIVE like that permanently, as opposed to going for a boat trip or other temporary living situation?

They're not going to have a choice, at some point. It's either that or have no water at all.

[pikabike]

Originally Posted by Pahn

They're not going to have a choice, at some point. It's either that or have no water at all.

I am not opposing reductions in water use, just stating that if GeoffD’s amounts were imposed on people now, there would be a lot of violations, to say the least.

People keep wishing for tech miracles to save them from having to conserve, whether water, fuel, or any resource at all. I can’t believe the lengths to which US residents go to avoid mere inconvenience.

And you can be sure any water conservation program would be distorted into a political issue (blame game) rather than an all-encompassing, long-term, universal need to change.

[hikernut]

Water conservation can be coerced with tiered water rates. See Lafayette’s example:

https://www.lafayetteco.gov/2722/Res...al-Water-Rates

[jwiley]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

As an RE agent, the guy you talked to is heavily invested in denial. His career depends on it. Thanks for posting.

I wish I believed that, but it is a common thought process in Arizona. Mesa just went to tier 1 water restrictions, which means the city itself plans to cut water usage by 5% due to the drought. No restrictions on homeowners or private businesses, and it is that way throughout the valley.

I live next to a guy with a full back yard of Kentucky blue grass, he waters daily. The water here is tiered cost so he pays more for the higher usage, but he said he has never heard of restrictions only allowing watering at certain times on certain days. He couldn't believe that everywhere I have lived in Colorado for the last 30 years has those restrictions every summer.


A lot of Arizona residents believe that Colorado is holding out water on them and that when the drought gets worse Colorado will be forced to pay up. Between pools, yards, and golf courses I would bet that the Phoenix metro area uses more water than the entire Colorado front range, and yet it isn't enough for them here.

[waltcolorado]

I always assumed the water war would be between California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah. Colorado could just "lay low"..

This must be making recreational boaters on Blue Mesa happy.. Not really "holding out"..

https://www.cpr.org/2022/05/18/blue-...s-lake-powell/

The marinas at Colorado’s largest reservoir will stay closed this boating season because of the looming possibility that Lake Powell on the Utah-Arizona border might need more water

[DOUBLE H]

Originally Posted by waltcolorado

I always assumed the water war would be between California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah. Colorado could just "lay low"..

This must be making recreational boaters on Blue Mesa happy.. Not really "holding out"..

https://www.cpr.org/2022/05/18/blue-...s-lake-powell/

I've been through hwy 50 many a time, Walt is right. No boats on Blue Mesa, was through there last week on my way back home. And the reservoir itself? As low as I've ever seen it.

[xeric]

Originally Posted by jwiley

I wish I believed that, but it is a common thought process in Arizona. Mesa just went to tier 1 water restrictions, which means the city itself plans to cut water usage by 5% due to the drought. No restrictions on homeowners or private businesses, and it is that way throughout the valley.

I live next to a guy with a full back yard of Kentucky blue grass, he waters daily. The water here is tiered cost so he pays more for the higher usage, but he said he has never heard of restrictions only allowing watering at certain times on certain days. He couldn't believe that everywhere I have lived in Colorado for the last 30 years has those restrictions every summer.


A lot of Arizona residents believe that Colorado is holding out water on them and that when the drought gets worse Colorado will be forced to pay up. Between pools, yards, and golf courses I would bet that the Phoenix metro area uses more water than the entire Colorado front range, and yet it isn't enough for them here.

The Colorado Front Range is NOT in any way a poster child for good water stewardship. Almost everybody has Kentucky bluegrass lawns - not just one or 2 neighbors (its probably Bermuda or another warm season turf grass in Phoenix but no matter). I’m also not familiar with any Front Range city that has water restrictions every summer - can you enlighten me on this? Maybe once every 10 years if we are in a prolonged drought. Not defending Phoenix here but just pointing out that the Front Range is just as wasteful when it comes to water. And since half of our water supply comes from the Colorado River Basin, we’re not going to be able to dodge this bullet anymore then the downstream states in the southwest are.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by Colorado Rambler

You have a point there and the fact that Arizona is a heavily Republican state doesn't help matters. Forbidden words like "climate change" never pass anyone's lips.

Arizona is no longer heavily Republican. It's a swing state now. Besides, politics matter very little when it comes to the water situation. Arizona attracts a fair share of weather weary transplants who move primarily for a sunny, warm climate. Unfortunately, many of these transplants aren't very blessed in the intelligence department, and they don't realize that all that sunshine, warmth, and lack of precipitation which they moved for has contributed to the drought conditions. "Duhhhh, what drought? As long as water flows from the faucet, everything is just fine & dandy."

Originally Posted by Phil P

This article here:

https://stacker.com/stories/3989/how...last-100-years

succinctly shows EXACTLY why there's a water crisis, the farmed acreage has remained roughly constant since 1920, but WHERE it happens has shifted significantly. Essentially the entirety of the eastern US has given up farmland (which reverted to forest) while the arid west and plains have soaken up what the east used to farm. Case in point, Arizona had 5.8 million acres farmed in 1920, that's now up to 26.2 million acres.

So, all that irrigated farmland is what allows Georgia to have so many darn trees now. The below picture was farmland 100 years ago, look at it now. So on one hand we do have a crisis out west, but that overexploitation is what's allowed the eastern US to literally bounce back biologically.

Much of the land used for farming in Arizona took place in the mid 20th Century (after WWII). Arizona has less farm land now compared to 20+ years ago due to developers buying out, bulldozing, and replacing agriculture with large master planned communities. This is especially true on the outskirts of metro Phoenix where a lot of farm land and open desert have become sprawling suburbia.

Being mostly an arid state, Arizona really has no business having so much farm land, especially in the desert regions. We need farms for our food supply, but many of Arizona's farms ship products out of state and don't serve much benefit to local residents. Also, agriculture consumes a whopping 74% of the available water supply in Arizona. I'm really not a big fan of sprawl development, but it would actually save water to get rid of most of the remaining agriculture in Maricopa & Pinal Counties & replace it with housing, shopping, and entertainment.