No More Water: What If The American Southwest Runs Dry? 

These massive water projects enabled populations to live in numbers that are far beyond what they could ever normally support.

"Why they are running out of water" a 5 year old could answer that question. Building mega-Cities in the middle of the desert that could barely support a handful of small Towns is why.

Sometimes I curse the humidity on the east coast (where I live) but lately I’ve become much more appreciative of the fact that we have so much water. Our landscape is lush and green too. It makes me grateful for where I live and what I have.

Fossil records on trees were pulled and studied along the Colorado River. They were able to look back 15000 years. It showed that the river goes through dry and wet periods lasting 800 years on average. When these dams were built on the river back in the early 20th century the wet period was at its climax. The river is now only 100 years into its drying period, with possibly 700 years left to go. It could be centuries until water levels come back and the drought ends.

The Pueblo ruins were teaching the settlers a lesson they ignored at their own peril. This region cannot support large populations.

I stopped watering my lawn years ago. It turns brown in the dry season and quickly turns green when the rain comes.

The desert Southwest is an intrinsically limiting environment, even with a big river running through it. People in the area need to adapt to live sustainably with the resources they have, not the resources they were planning on. A desert is limiting in the same way as an island. We’d think the people in Hawaii or Fiji were crazy if they let immigrants move in unrestricted or allow farmers use as much water/land/anything as they wanted. The governments in desert environments need to adopt this island mindset too.

I was a propulsion engineer in the navy , my job was to maintain water system of fresh water form the oceans desalination systems

Maybe not having swimming pools everywhere in the desert, golfs, tennis court, almonds fields and such, and not washing our cars every week...might have been a good start? Maybe if we had lived as if we actually were living in a desert instead of ignoring it, might have avoided that problem ?

80% of California's water goes to agriculture under decades old contracts. Agriculture accounts for less than 1% of state GDP. Meanwhile Southern California continues to build tens of thousands of new homes every year despite inadequate water supplies.

Good information. Glad to see someone calmly explaining the situation with out panicking.

Well done defining the problem. Looking forward to hearing the solutions contemplated.

I was born, and spent the first 18 years of my life, in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Our water came from approximately 600 ft. deep wells. A lot of us took the water for granted when we were required by the administration of Atomic Energy Commission housing to maintain our lawns. Once housing became privatized, as well as the utilities, water bills went up about 400%. It took a shock like that to make residents cognizant of the preciousness of water resources.

The thing is Lake Mead was never meant to be a lake in the first place. It is a man made thing. It was meant to be part of the desert with a river passing through it. The south west is basically returning to what it originally was. A natural desert with a river passing through it. It was never meant to support so many people like it is right now.

I lived in that area for quite some time. Water is available, people simply need to learn how to manage monsoon rains, use that to reforest and keep the water there. Look for the bio-swales being built near 'washes' and you'll see. (The vid is called "The canal that accidentally grew a forest in the Arizona desert".)

It's a problem that really boils down to excessive population for the available resources. Also, politically it breaks down into two factions - farmers and developers. Generally, the municipalities want endless development because subdivisions full of houses generate a lot more tax revenue than orchards or farm fields do. The rural areas also want the increased development for tax revenue, but are hesitant to anger the farmers that comprise the wealthiest of the population in rural agricultural counties. The developers claim, with some validity, that it is totally irresponsible of farmers to grow water intensive crops like citrus and cotton in the desert. On its face, that seems a reasonable argument. However, the response of the farmers is that they've been growing these crops in this area for over 75 years and it was never a problem until the cities allowed tens of millions of people to move into the desert and build houses, golf courses, and swimming pools. Both sides make a valid point.

Here in Guadalajara Mexico when we rebuilt an old house in the city we installed a 3000 liter (800 gallons) in ground rainwater tank. During our wet season the tank can fill from empty in a single day/night of rainfall. We use this water for our avocado tree all year round as well as plants, cleaning etc In an emergency we can filter and pump it to our 1000 liter gravity feed water tank on the roof. There is also a 5000 liter (1300 gallons) in ground water tank for the municipal water at the front of our house which is a reserve to be pumped to the roof tank in the case of loss of pressure to the street fed water supply. Our problem in Guadalajara is there is too much water falling in the wet season and nothing the rest of the year. Water storage (both macro and micro) when it rains will become the key. Desalination is only a stop gap solution for coastal areas.

I never hear about all the water/ground water used by water bottling companies like Nestlé and Sparketts, not only in the U.S, but around the world. There's a movie on Netflix about this subject, but I can't remember the name. They are essentially pumping our water and reselling to us at outrageous prices.

I'm just sitting here wondering when these states are gonna remember that fognets exist. Panicking about all the lakes and rivers drying up, yet weirdly enough I don't hear about ANY fog nets being set up. Legalizing rainwater collection across the board would help too. We CAN do something about this, we just AREN'T

There are ways to pull water out of the air.... #1 is to save the water produced via air conditioning condensation. That can be a few gallons a day from a small window AC. You can get a gallon a day from your refrigerator, redirecting the defrost to a collection tank instead of the evaporation tray under the refrigerator. #2 is a "fog filter" to collect condensation (dew) in the mornings. You just need a place o put the filter media that will collect the moisture. #3 Peltier heat/cooling units can cause condensation and use little power, which could be generated by solar stored in batteries and set on timers to collect during the hours when it's typically most humid (near dawn) Rain catchment to tanks on property. This one the main expense is the tank(s) You need the roof anyway... just use a metal roof or you have to "first flush" a larger volume if using asphalt shingles. Part of the problem is the massive areas of concrete, asphalt and roof that cause increased runoff thus less soaking into the ground. Catch that and let it soak down into the aquifers that we've been pumping dry for generations... Get away from the green grass lawns. Those waste tremendous amounts of water just so the grass will grow so we can cut it to have it hauled off to landfills. Then buy fertilizer to replace the nutrients hauled away as grass clippings. Pure stupidity. We have much that we can do rapidly, cheaply...

Ontario Canada here. With Lake Ontario near where I live, various tributaries, and the melting snow you don’t see a lot of houses (even high end neighborhoods) with front and backyard sprinkler systems. When I visited California, the sidewalk was awash with precious water everyday between afternoons and evenings. It’s like a waterpark.

Western states take great pride and profit from growing crops in the desert and places that need flood irrigation to grow. This is where two thirds of the water goes. Which most of the water evaporates. And helps create rain in the Midwest and East. And the producers cry that drip irrigation would be labor intensive and thus expensive. But they prefer the income from these crops. Over the needs of residents.

It's really sad our region in New Mexico is totally in a drought, Thank goodness for these last few months of monsoon it has helped us out a lot.

The problem is because back in the 40s when farming was starting to get large, they put who knows hoe many miles of drain tile in the ground. The corps of engineers played a big roll. All the water that was supposed to go into the ground was redirected and went into drainage ditches through sediment ponds and into creaks, rivers. This happened all across the mid west- prime farm areas. In mn they cleared forests to make fields for crops. I've said this before and I'll keep saying it, Every time houmans try and control, manulipate the earth's weather, water, forests we mess it up.

Update for anyone watching this as it was made a couple months ago. Lake Mead dropped to inactive pool (below 1050ft) on Thursday June 24th (1043.8 was the June 24th measurement). Mead did install impellers that can generate power down to 950ft a few years ago, but currently is operating at about 30% of total power generation capacity. Dead pool, where no water can flow out of the dam, is at 895ft. We have 149ft left before dead pool, and last year lost 26ft of water in Lake Mead, a number that is expected to accelerate as federal officials work to keep Lake Powell from hitting dead pool. Lake Powell is the dam above Lake Mead, and will not be releasing 480,000 acre feet (156,408,480,000 gallons) that in previous years it has released to Lake Mead. We have maybe five years before Mead hits dead pool unless something drastically and immediately changes. I'm happy to answer any questions that I can. I'm not a climate scientist, but live in Arizona and have been closely following our water

When Hoover Dam was completed, it was designed to serve 4 million people! It is now serving close to 18 million people! Plus they talk about a drought, people forget, it is nearly all desert in the southwestern United States! Plus it is now used for irrigation too!

I live in ca. The drought in the 80s was way worse then we had a decade of rain then started drying up again. A cycle almost

I find this fascinating because I live in a part of Canada that is now having an almost too wet summer, after having a dought that last couple summers.

It’s very likely Kansas and Nebraska will be in a water crisis for agriculture in the near future, as the aquifers underlying them are being rapidly depleted.

I'm in Southern California. If you saw what's going on around here you'd realize there's no water "shortage". In Palm Springs they're planning on new communities with water parks, golf courses, and water surfing parks. Here in the San Gorgonio Pass they recently authorized the building of 5000 new houses. That's on top of the 20,000 built in the last 10 years. That is just in this area. Just last week Orange County nixed a $1b water desalination plant that's been in the works for 20 years. It'll upset the local fish. (it would have supplied OC with 16% of it's water supply) In Imperial County there's thousands of acres of alfalfa being watered with pumped ground water so the alfalfa can be sent to Saudi Arabia to feed their prize horses. (it's called green water exports) So, until we start acting like water is a finite resource, there is no shortage.

I drove thru New Mexico while on vacation in 1980, signs everywhere about water shortage. If you wanted water in a restaurant, you had to ask (signs on tables said won't serve glasses of water unless you ask). People in Texas have been suffering from droughts lasting yrs at a time, more seriously in last 20 to 30 years.

I'd have liked to hear if there was any progress on desalting ocean water and using that.All and all it was a pretty good video.

"When the last tree is cut down, the last fish eaten and the last river poisoned, you will realize that you cannot eat money." Mähsette Kuiuab

In the 1800's John Wesley Powell, the explorer and proto climatologist,produced a sort of water map of the West.Based on his findings he strongly advised against over settlement and development there due to the limited water recources,but was hounded and derided for his pains by the railway barons and other related interests.Now the chickens have come home to roost and he has been vindicated long after his death it seems.See the article "How the West was Lost" by John F.Ross [Atlantic Magazine Sept. 10th 2018 issue]

Thank you for sharing..

I think about drought all the time. Thanks for making this video

I read some 40 years ago, a book called "The Cadillac Desert," that predicted everything that is going on now in the Southwest and in California. It stated back then, Mans Greed will cause drought and loss of aquifers for building of homes and shopping centers will catch up to the point of the land being unable to restore water to reservoirs.

Gulf courses: California - 921, Arizona - 300, New Mexico - 88, Utah - 140, Colorado - 300. Which totals about 1700. Must be a major drought.

Northern Utah just had the wettest winter/spring on record, 2022-23. Potential flooding from melting snow is a threat.

That was cool to see Silver Falls in the video!

If you want to help with the underground reservoirs being depleted and keeping more water on the land, bringing the beaver back along as much of the river as possible would be a good start.

This is a good example of the dangers of unplanned growth. The Portland Metropolitan Complex avoided urban sprawl for a long time by tying up farmlands with a urban growth boundary. Moving that boundary is a very big deal and is not taken lightly. We are not in an unlimited water situation in Oregon as many seem to think.

I grew up in rural New England, so wet weather is normal for me. Ive lived in Phoenix, the PNW, and southern Idaho, and the differences are incredible. The most water wasteful area I've seen is southern Idaho. Phoenix was hotter and dryer, but acted like it. In Idaho, though, you are expected to have a lush green lawn, a clean car, and all the agriculture just sucks down so much water.

I find it a bit ridiculous that they decided to grow so many crops in a desert. Using more water for crops then in other regions.

I think we will see a decrease or slowing down of population growth in the South West as water becomes more regulated in the face of less and less water.

Having lived in Phoenix for a few years, King of the Hill was absolutely correct in stating "this city is a monument to Man's arrogance!"

Update it's been raining here in new Mexico for the last 6 weeks and it's so green only happens every 2 or 3 years.

Very Good Presentation. Thanks.

One of the things I focus on in geography education and using GIS is water. Water quality water availability etc. It boggles my mind how little students are taught in this crucial topic from primary to university level. I am trying to change that and so thanks for all that you do as well.

I currently live in the southwest. I can't move for two years, when I finish school, but as soon as I finish school and start working, I plan on finding a job somewhere in the coastal PNW or great lakes region. Climate refugees are already a thing, and it will only get worse in the near future.

I live in the state of Texas where there are a good number of secessionists. They fully believe Texas can be fully sustainable based on their oil reserves, this a state that has only one natural "lake",which is really a swamp. They fail to realize that there are plenty of proven, currently alternative energies to oil, but there are no alternatives to fresh water. Yet, my neighbors are running their sprinklers as per usual.

great video Mr Crusher

good video. I disagree that the SW won't "run out" of water soon. Lake Mead will be dead pool in 4-6 years IMO. Lake Powell about the same. 12 of the 17 turbines at Lake Mead will shut down this year, prolly in late May or early June. Lake Powell will stop generating power no later than summer 2023, according to my projections.

It is truly a sad situation. Even as early as 1990, when Fountain Hills, a Phoenix suburb, was developed there was talk of the need for better water management. This suburb is known for the World's Tallest Fountain, squirting almost 600 feet in height, in the largest most arid metropolitan area of the lower 48. A symbolic attempt to claim that the Phoenix residents had water to burn. There has been talk of conservation for 30 years but not embraced by the inhabitants. Attitude is the problem. Let me give you another example. In 2002 one of the Native American tribes in the Southwest asked the architectural firm that I worked at to submit a master plan for a new residential development. I was not involved in the project but all members of the company were invited to attend a presentation to the tribe. I decided to sit in the back of the meeting room that could accommodate 300. The tribe representatives were between me and the raised stage. The architect assigned to lead the proposal, had recently joined the company, relocated from a state in the mid-west. The PowerPoint showed the street layout and relation to the “Old Town” that had existed before arrival of the Mayflower. At the center of the development the architect planned a “Green Space” and actually was colored as green on the otherwise brown, black and white plan. Every time he said Green Space several tribe reps would whisper to each other. I did not intend to comment but felt the need to and raised my hand. It was my attempt, by example, to let the tribe members know that they could chime in anytime. The best that I could think to say in this touchy situation was “can we call it something other than Green Space?” To which the lead architect replied, “there has to be a Green Space, desert is so boring otherwise” in a matter of fact manner. I think you get the picture that he aspired to recreate Cincinnati’s Eden Park, or Chicago’s Portage Park but was limited by the reality of the budget. But, apparently, his dream. Also apparent, water was a very minor issue to the project team. As you might have guessed; for 1000 years this Native American old town did not have Green Space manicured lawn, nor fountains, nor sculptured hedges despite being founded on the banks of a river. That was not due to lack of budget, it was simply living with reality.

It is amazing how newbies do not understand that they cannot water a lawn using their well water. Their wells run dry. Except during drought years the natural desert grasses and flowering flora make a beautiful lawn area. We must be very careful how we use our water, period. From a born to it desert person.

And in Germany the Rhine river, major shipping route on the continent, is so low it is only capable of supporting half the shipped raw materials & goods. The Jordan also drying out.

A real possible problem with the lack of water. I started saving grey water to flush toilets and rain water, saved about 600 gallons for my garden vegetables, which will last me about 3 months, went to low water usage landscaping over 35 years ago which requires watering about once every 2 weeks during summer, once a month during spring and fall, zero during the winter.

Detroit & Michigan take all sorts of crap, from outsiders telling us how terrible it is to live here. Then the water runs out and you either want to steal Great Lakes water, or move here to use the water! Maybe some of the great lakes states should join Canada!

I work in civil defence. I regularly recomend that anyone who is able to leave this region do so asap! There are many excellent new videos and other data sources that fully explain the problem. There's one particular issue that there is no way possible to fix at this time, and it's not being discussed like it should! You must prepare to evacuate! Please leave if you can! You can always go back.

Thank you for always putting together such a great informative program. I am now a subscriber. I would hate to see that happen because the southwest is so beautiful especially California where I’m from I now live in Oregon and yes, we have quite a bit of water we’re having a huge rain storm right now, but there is no comparison to living in beautiful sunny California. There is a lot to be lost living here. It’s not that great.

That area of the country cannot support the population that it has, when it comes to water. There should only be 1/3rd the population (if that) in that region. But more and more people move to that area despite the warnings of several experts (who were laughed at) that said there would never be enough water. It isn’t because of climate change, it is due to to much usage.

I'm originally from Michigan, and currently live in AZ. I was a kid when we moved here. I didn't want to move, as I love the water, and don't like landlocked states. Since my husband died, I'm seriously thinking of selling everything and moving back to Michigan. I can live with my cousin, who said I can share her house with her and her family, And a job shouldn't be too hard to find there. I'm less than 5 years away from retirement. (Jan Griffiths).

I moved from California to Ohio for the very reasons you described. Thank you for this important call for preparation and planning.

As my mother always says What If's don't count. If you worry you wont ever achieve your goals or dreams. Proper planning prevents piss poor results. Life easy if you just put your heart in all you do, anything is possible

As a resident of considerable time in AZ and CA. The water table having fell out from under my childhood home long ago. I can only say "plan on it".

Great video! At some point watering grass is going to have to become a thing of the past and something needs to happen with the countless golf courses that use millions of gallons of water. Our food production should take top priority but unfortunately it isn't with many farmers having to abandon planting crops. It just doesn't make sense when an orchard or farm is not permitted to get water but a golf course does.

7:17 I suspect that the premise that "climate refugees" will be (on net) fleeing from the southwestern US states (due to lack of water), to wetter places like Cleveland Ohio, is probably wrong. It does not make economic sense at all to abandon a perfectly good existing house in a place like Phoenix Arizona, for a new construction house in a place like Cleveland. Doing this requires the construction of a new house, which can easily cost well over $100k. Meanwhile, the water crisis in the southwestern US states can easily be solved by spending vastly less than $100k/household worth of money on new water infrastructure in the region. Water itself is not a fundamentally restricted resource of the Earth. It is possible to increase supply of fresh water available to a region, by investing in the appropriate infrastructure. The "Claude "Bud" Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant" is located north of San Diego, in California, and began operations in 2015. It takes in sea water and uses reverse osmosis desalination, to produces enough clean drinking water for approximately 400,000 residents of San Diego County. The plant cost around $1 billion to build (so a one time cost of ~$2500 for each of the ~400k residents using the output), but also uses an additional ~13.6 Watt-hours of electricity per gallon of fresh water produced, which is non-negligible, but also very manageable and quite practical. Overall, the cost of the water produced by the plant is about $0.0032 per gallon more expensive than the "free" water that rains down from the sky and naturally collects in rivers and lakes (where available), but the water produced is still very economically practical and worthwhile. For average households (that have ~2.5 residents, and each use ~100 gallons/day), this results in a monthly water bill that is about $25 more expensive, compared to what residents would be expected to pay if they received their water entirely from "free" sources (ex: lakes/rivers) instead (if such water was available in sufficient quantity). It does not make any sense at all to abandon perfectly good houses (often "worth" over $300k at mid-2022 prices) in places like Phoenix Arizona, to immigrate to a place like Cleveland, and have to spend an additional ~$100k++ on a new house, when you could instead continue living in Phoenix, and instead just spend the extra money (ex: ~$25/month) necessary to build new clean water generation infrastructure. Although places like Phoenix Arizona do not have direct access to sea water for performing sea water desalination, there is a way to effectively receive more water from the Colorado River (via the existing Central Arizona Project [CAP] canal system - which takes water from the Colorado river near Parker Arizona and delivers it to the Phoenix and Tucson areas). This can be accomplished by funding a buildout of sea water desalination plant(s) in Los Angeles California. Currently, Los Angeles receives some of its fresh water needs from the Colorado River, via the Colorado River Aqueduct (CRA), which is a canal system that pulls water from the reservoir near Parker Arizona, and brings it across the southern California desert to Los Angeles. An agreement could be negotiated, whereby residents of Phoenix, Tucson, and Las Vegas could help pay for sea water desalination infrastructure to be built in Los Angeles. Doing so would enable California to reduce the amount of water it draws from the Colorado River (via the CRA), which would then free up that water, for increased use in places like Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Tucson, which all already have the necessary infrastructure in place for receiving water from the Colorado River. Therefore, no new canal systems or long pipelines would need to be built, as sea water desalination plant(s) in Los Angeles would be sufficient to materially reduce the water shortage stress in the whole southwestern US region.

To answer the title of this video: "What if vegetables start growing in my mouth? if vegetables were to grow in my mouth, my mouth would no longer be a mouth, it would be a vegetable garden"

We live in the desert in the Palm Springs CA area. They talk about this on the TV all the time, but they are building a ice skating rink and a water park here, not to mention new housing projects that have lawns and flower beds. IF we have a water shortage, the govt isn't acting like it and all this in the DESERT. We are also told to conserve electricity, but they urge electric cars and approve new building projects that are big electricity users. YOU can't have it both ways, someone is lying to us.

When I was honorably discharged from the USAF in 1980 I was stationed at Alamogordo, NM and saw the writing on the wall. With such a short supply of water, the SW US was not a viable long term home. My wife and I moved to Idaho, and 42 years later, although we are in a drought we do get a relatively reliable supply of water here in Idaho.

Great video.

I recently learned that Arizona and California have leased tens of thousands of acres to a saudi company to grow alfalfa to feed their dairy cows in saudi arabia. In Arizona alone they are pumping enough water annually to supply 54,000 homes. And it's all free. All they pay is $25 per acre a year and can pump as much as they can completely unregulated.

"What if the American Southwest runs dry?" Isn't that like asking "What if the Sahara gets covered in too much sand?

I actually was thinking of purchasing a condo in Phoenix but a few months ago I was reading about water shortages and think I'll hang out here in Ohio where everything is green for most of the year.

I have never understood why huge numbers of people would move to a desert with an unreliable source of water.

Best start running some huge desalination plants tomorrow! Ships use same technology as does space station! Store it back in every reservoir built to 'save' water!

As someone who has been living in Arizona just 2 years, I have watched Lake Powell and Lake Mead levels drop to historic lows. There are people who have to haul water now.

Amazing how mexico ( 130 mil) gets 10% but wyoming (0,5 mil) gets 14% whoever negotiated that deal for Wyoming did good.

In a broad sense, the Southwest's climate is mostly dry and hot, with much of the region characterized as arid. Dry conditions are common throughout the Great Plains, Colorado Plateau, and Basin and Range. Cold continental conditions dominate the higher altitudes, especially within the Rocky Mountains.

Wait a second im not a math wizard, but those percentages you listed for the 7 states adds up to more than 100%. Well there's your problem with the Colorado river running dry.

I am ready to become a climate refugee. I’ve watched the drought here for over 20 years; it won’t get better. Good video, but you could have mentioned the Central Arizona Project. Without that, we’d have run dry long ago. I’ve never felt putting millions of people into a desert was wise.

I love your enthusiasm! The same people who think that a prayer is enough will definitely support science!

A desalination plant powered by a small solar array at San Felipe, on the Gulf of California, sending water to Warren H. Brock Reservoir, California, which would enable distribution of the water throughout the Salton Basin thus raising the level of the Salton Sea. This would allow greater diversion of the Colorado River.

Water pumped for irrigation from the Ogallala Aquifer is the principal driver of the region's mostly agricultural-based economy (market value $35 billion) Unfortunately, intensive irrigated agriculture is draining the aquifer much faster than rainfall can replenish it. If the aquifer goes dry, more than $20 billion worth of food and fiber will vanish from the world's markets. And scientists say it will take natural processes 6,000 years to refill the reservoir.

Fun fact - scientists found a tree near the grand canyon that was 1,200 years old and what they found out was that the last 100 years was the wettest in recorded history. This is not a drought it's falling back to historic normalcy.. Bummer man..

I remember a few years ago when California was in so much drought towns that had been flooded by artificial lakes were been seen again there was talk about the southwest getting water from the Great Lakes. The governor of Michigan said the only way they would be taking water from the Great Lakes was in buckets!

Bring seawater to desert and evaporate, Capture the condensate and distribute. A works project of this magnitude would be helpful to economy . The brine left behind could be transported by train to colder regions and used for road salt ect.

Anyone ever heard of The Yellowhouse Canyon project ? Mile high view of it was a diversion of the Mississippi River from Arkansas Oklahoma into West Texas Panhandle. The excess water that feeds the dead zone of the Gulf of Mexico would have been re diverted back up through the Arkansas and Red River(s) and some pipelines into a massive Reservoir that would started out as Yellowhouse Canyon. My understanding is that the Senators from the Corn Belt (Iowa Illinois Minnesota Nebraska Indiana and Ohio) killed it in DC. They didn't want Texas and Oklahoma raising as much Corn as up North. Yes of course... money!

I have lived in Phoenix for 30 years and looking to move back to NC soon. Along with lower water tables, the summers are getting hotter. That combination is going to cause some major migration changes. It's not if, it is when it is going to happen.

The Dust Bowl, also known as “the Dirty Thirties,” started in 1930 and lasted for about a decade, but its long-term economic impacts on the region lingered much longer. Severe drought hit the Midwest and Southern Great Plains in 1930. Massive dust storms began in 1931.

Water shortage is caused by fracking. Many fracking countries are facing earthquake, river drought and underwater contamination problems. Both Diyarbakir(fracking area in Turkey) and Gaziantep are the affected areas of 7.8 earthquake due to the Arabian tectonic plates are moving northwards.

The best option would be machinery that extracts water 💦 from the air..... There are designs for home use, office use and farm use as well.... Engineering the air to water facilities would be ideal.... In fact farming water from air might even be a good business opportunity for entrepreneurs who do business in these areas.

I still can't get over the fact they're growing cotton in Arizona.

Though I was born and lived most of my life in Upstate NY, which has plenty of water, I have lived in dry country and learned how to live with far less than most Americans do. We Americans are enormously wasteful of water. I have lived with "walking water" as opposed to running water and know just how little you really need to get by. And we are enormously careless with it - pollution contaminates more of what we have every year. Factory wastes, agricultural wastes and chemicals, medicines, garbage, even raw sewage as out-of-date sewer plants go offline or flood out - all of it goes into the ground water and into the streams and rivers we depend on for drinking water. Potable water will become a real problem long before actual water shortages do.

The scary thing about internal migrations is that it would affect the people already living in the better areas who live on a fixed income and/or low income. They'd have to go homeless or flee to a cheaper country, the latter of which I already did in 2018.

I’m a climate refugee of Oregon. I hated the constant clouds, so I moved to Arizona! 🎉

Deprivitize water. Companies like Arrowhead water sucks up California water and sells it all over the country in polluting plastic bottles. I grew up in CA, and wondered since childhood where all the water is that will support the thousands of people moving here in the 1960's-70's. Compost toilets and eliminating lawns would help a lot! I've been through so many droughts and water rationing, people sure freak out when they have to cut back.

Indeed. Cadillac desert is one of the foundational books on this topic.

Almost every year there are areas in the USA that experience major flooding. Every few years the Mississipi. River reaches flood stage in louisiana and Mississipi and other states. Rather than let this water run back into the ocean,I would like to see the USA develop a reservoir plan to store this excess water to be used during times of drought. Tax payer money would be better used doing this than spending billions of dollars on wars that change nothing r

Imagine that, its dry in the dessert. This area was not historically an area suitable for growing lush green vegetables,fruits, nuts. This area is not able to support the huge population growth from Vegas to the Pacific. This years record snowfalls and rain has filled the resevoirs but having access to clean water will always be an issue in dry climates/deserts.