Southwest has plenty of water for a while. Lots of rain, lots of snow on the mountains.
The cities trucking in their water are unique. They built their cities incorrectly, or are very old. I truck water in, but it’s because drilling a well is a lot more expensive and the water isn’t great unless it’s treated.
Southwest has plenty of water for a while. Lots of rain, lots of snow on the mountains.
The cities trucking in their water are unique. They built their cities incorrectly, or are very old. I truck water in, but it’s because drilling a well is a lot more expensive and the water isn’t great unless it’s treated.
they have pumped out so much groundwater that the earth is caving in in massive swaths. Over 169 miles of fissures mapped so far. https://www.sciencealert.com/giant-cracks-emerging-across-us-southwest-scientists-warn
Much of the water in the SW is drawn from the colorado river which it turns out they were overestimating since the beginning how much water it contains, and the amount is growing smaller every year even as populations increase https://www.denverpost.com/2024/02/16/colorado-river-compact-negotiations-states-water-use-climate-change/amp/
https://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/121523_colorado_water_pressure/water-pressure-builds-between-upper-lower-basins-over-future-distribution-colorado-river/
https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/climate-change-throwing-water-cycle-chaos-us-rcna137892
https://grist.org/housing/arizona-rio-verde-foothills-water-wildcat-subdivisions/
‘for a while’ indeed but I suspect it’s less of a while than most folks realize
Much of the water in the sw is from the ground and mountains.
Water from the Colorado is used because it’s easier to access. It’s going to be the fire to go and the most observable.
In the desert communities , if you live near a mountain range that gets snow then you’re likely sitting on top of a lot of water.