Water is Life

If you've lived in the American Southwest for any length of time you've heard about the importance of water. If you're a rancher or farmer, builder/developer or a municipal water manager you probably have strong opinions about water. The underlying issue is a simple one - in the arid American west there are more users for water than the supply can support. While the problem of greater demand than supply of water is simple, the devil is in the details. Jon Gertner recently wrote The Future Is Drying Up for the New York Times Magazine (registration required) which serves as an excellent primer on water in the West.

Mr. Gertner spoke with environmental engineers, water managers and climatologists among others to draw a picture of water issues in the American West. He explores the potential impacts of Global Warming and Climate Change on snowpack and water supplies in the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada. Jon Gertner also explores the
competing interests of agriculture and cities for scarce water. Rather than trying to sum up the entire article I strongly encourage you to read 'The Future is Drying Up'.

While Mr. Gertner doesn't provide any clear answers, he does help explain the Southwest's water problems. We will continue to explore water issues and will discuss more efficient and effective ways to use water personally including water saving fixtures and appliances. As they say here in New Mexico, 'La agua es la vida'.

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Further Reading:

The Future Is Drying Up by Jon Gertner