Water Wars: What It Will Be Like When Your Tap Runs Dry

As the Western United States faces the prospect of suffering through a decades spanning drought, we can only guess as to what that may entail for the average person. While this sort of thing used to be considered unthinkable in the United States, recent news has given us a tiny glimpse of what the future may hold.
We've seen for the first time, residents of California, Ohio, and Detroit lose access to their clean water supply. As our infrastructure crumbles, and weather conditions worsen, many of us can expect to see water scarcity become a part of every day life. If this problem continues to escalate, it could quickly turn our standard of living upside down. If it spreads to the urban cores of our nation, things could get pretty ugly in a very short order.

If you need help imagining such a situation, look no further than India, where the city of New Delhi has been facing a desperate water crisis over the past few weeks. This situation is especially telling, because the shortage has nothing to do with the weather or pollution, but through government mismanagement and a rotting infrastructure that squanders 40% of the water that runs through the system. What's really shocking though, is how that number lines up with the percentage of the city that has no running water:

The most urgent problem, though, is getting water to the sprawling neighborhoods of illegally constructed buildings, home to 40 percent of the city's residents and largely without water lines. The city's water agency, the Delhi Jal Board, sends 900 tankers onto the crowded roads every day. In some neighborhoods, a tanker passes every few minutes, its load sloshing down its sides.

But it's nowhere near enough. Tankers usually stop for just 15 minutes, while dozens of people crowd around waving buckets and plastic tubes. Tempers flare in the fierce heat; fights are frequent. In some areas, people get just 3 liters (quarts).

The system is so broken that the only way to receive any water, is by dealing with the thousands of unlicensed vendors that sell water in the back alleys of the city. And unfortunately for the residents of New Delhi, beggars can't be choosers:

In a recent case, cockroaches were found in water drums supplied to the headquarters of the East Delhi Municipal Corp. After a probe, the supplier was found to be an illegal operator. But the unit could not be traced as there was no record with the industry association. In another case, a house fly was found in water supplied to a media organisation in Noida.

Could you imagine having to deal with that just to get a drink of water? Even if you're considered wealthy in that city, you can only expect a couple hours of running water every day. Like their impoverished neighbors, they also have to resort to illegal means to attain their utilities.

Thousands of homeowners and construction workers have to illegal tap into the cities infrastructure if they want running water. And anyone who can't buy water from a vendor or steal it from the municipal supply has to tap into the polluted ground water, which is being rapidly depleted. The most baffling part of all of this, is that there  is plenty of water to go around:

Still, critics say the city — which is close to two major rivers and has a significant water table — shouldn't be running short. In theory, as the World Bank noted, New Delhi should have more water available per capita than Paris.

While the government is quick to blame black market vendors and illegal tapping of public utilities for the shortage, it's very clear that these people are only filling the void that public utilities have left behind. They're in charge of a region that is saturated with water, and yet they have completely failed to deliver it to the population.

So how would a similar situation play out in the United States?

Well, it already has to some some extant. In California, there have been several cases of thieves tapping into the public water supply:

The city of Lemoore says at least four fire hydrants have been tampered with and, in one case, the perpetrator didn’t even bother to clean up the evidence.

“There was a hydrant that had a hose on it and whoever was there has left the hose,” Lemoore Public Works Director Dave Wlaschin told ABC station KFSN-TV in Fresno.
Wlaschin said he’s also aware of people who have filled up tanks of water to sell in other drought-stricken areas.

On a final note, I should add that there is an additional effect to this scarcity, that has yet to unfold on a larger scale. Many researchers and historians have suggested that in the future, devastating wars will be fought between governments, indigenous peoples, and corporations, over the dwindling and mismanaged water supplies of our planet. In the United States, the precursors of this conflict can be seen today along the U.S.-Mexican border:

Mexico owes the U.S. 380,000 acre-feet of water, equivalent to the amount consumed by 1.5 million Texans over the course of a year.

Since 1945, The United States and Mexico have abided by a water utilization treaty, which was put in place to settle disputes between the neighboring countries over the allocation of water supplies between the Colorado River and the Rio Grande. Together the two rivers make up two thirds of a 1,954 mile long U.S.-Mexico border.

Recently, Mexico has been struggling to uphold its end of the 70-year-old deal, which is especially problematic considering Texas is in the middle of a drought.

What's worse, the race for water in the region doesn't show any signs of stopping. The American Meteorological Society predicts that the likelihood of a decade-long drought impacting the southwestern United States this century is at over 90 percent.

Throughout history there have been many wars fought over fertile farmland, cities, trade routes, minerals, and oil, etc. While you could say that water gave us access to those resources in one form or another, rarely has a war been fought for water itself. Unfortunately, that historical trend may be about to change.

Delivered By The Daily Sheeple

California's Drought Has Reached a Grave New Milestone

 

The residents of the San Joaquin Valley are facing an ominous crises due to California's drought. Unlike most communities in the drought stricken state, the unincorporated town of East Porterville isn't just running low on water. For some residents, they've completely run out.

At least 182 of the 1400 households in the town have run out of well water, prompting the county to provide 12 gallons of water for each resident that is facing water scarcity. With the help of the Red Cross, the bottled water was supplied at the cost of 30,000 dollars, and is expected to last 3 weeks. For some residents, the shortage is just too much.

East Porterville resident Angelica Gallegos fought back tears as she described being without water for four months in the home she shares with her husband, three children and two other adults.
"It's hard," she told The Bee. "I can't shower the children like I used to."
Farmworker Oliva Sanchez said she still gets a trickle from her tap, but dirt started coming out with the water about a week ago.
"I try to use the least possible. I'll move if I have to," she said.

If you can believe it, the number of properties with dry wells may in fact be higher. Some residents are afraid to report these issues for fear of being evicted by their landlords, or possibly having their kids taken away by CPS.

As insane as that sounds, it may be the least asinine part of this whole situation. Perhaps it's fitting that these folks are receiving their aid in the form of bottled water, because nearly every water bottle company is situated in some of the most drought stricken places in California. Apparently, California is one of the few states that doesn't protect groundwater usage, so corporations are free to bottle it up from the local springs or the municipal water supply.

It's total madness when you really think about it. These companies are still bottling up precious water so it can be sold across the country. And there isn't even anything special about it, since nearly half of all bottled water is nothing more than tap water. In parts of the country where people do have plenty of water, they can buy California's dwindling supplies at a significantly higher price than their tap water, even though it is essentially the same thing. As reported by Mother Jones:

Despite the fact that almost all US tap water is better regulated and monitored than bottled, and despite the hefty environmental footprint of the bottled water industry, perhaps the biggest reason that bottling companies are using water in drought zones is simply because we're still providing a demand for it: In 2012 in the United States alone, the industry produced about 10 billion gallons of bottled water, with sales revenues at $12 billion.

Perhaps running out of drinking water isn't the only major milestone of this drought. We have now reached the same situation that countries like India have been dealing with for decades, where the Coca Cola Corporation can build a bottling plant that soaks up all the groundwater from the region, leaving the locals high and dry. The drought is showing Californians what it's like to live in a third world country for the very first time.

Delivered By The Daily Sheeple

 Five Frugal Ways You Can Cut Back on Your Water Bill

As California's drought continues to hammer the state, water prices are going through the roof. As state officials continue to beg residents to cut back on their water, local governments are discussing the possibility of hiring water cops to inspect private properties, and fine those who are wasteful. In my locale, I've seen the water table drop to frightening levels. The creek that runs all the way through the city is so low that it has been consumed by algae, and I can see trash at the bottom that hasn't seen the light of day in decades. (note to self, I wonder if there's any antiques down there?)

Of course, these problems aren't just restricted to California. There are numerous cities, mainly situated in the Western United States, that are completely unsustainable in this dry climate. Drought or no drought, there is simply not enough water to sustain our population at this usage rate. Everybody is going to have to cut back in a very big way, or migrate away from this region. The situation is dire to say the least. Fortunately there are quite a few ways you can cut back on your water, including a few you may have never considered.

Replace Your Shower Head

While there's certainly a lot of merit in getting a low flow shower head, the other option is to buy one of the trigger activated heads. It's basically the same kind of fitting you see on a garden hose, with a trigger that controls the flow of water, and a long flexible hose so you can spray the water wherever you need to. They're very common in motor homes and trailers, which often have less than a 100 gallons of water storage at their disposal. I can't say it would be the most comfortable shower, but you'll always be able to meter out the exact amount of water you need.

Water Heaters

When you need hot water from the tap, how long do you have to leave the water running before it becomes warm? You may be wasting anywhere from a half gallon to two gallons whenever you do that, depending on how cold your house is and how far away the water heater is from the sink. When I shave in the morning, I'm often appalled at how much water has to go down the drain, just so I can splash my face with hot water, or if I need to wash my hands. There's a couple different options you can choose from to shorten this lag time.

You can buy a point-of use-water heater, which is basically a tiny water heater that holds anywhere from 1.5 to 7 gallons of water, and only provides water to the sink you're using. I suspect that in the future as water becomes even more scarce, many homes may stop installing a central water heater, and instead have several smaller heaters scattered throughout the house. Doing so would save water, and potentially save quite a bit of electricity as well. The larger the container, the more energy it's going to take to keep it at a certain temperature even when it's not being used. You would have the choice of turning off certain heaters in parts of the house that aren't being used, reducing your overall electrical load.

The other option is to build a dedicated water pipe from the heater to the sink. Normally pipes are structured the same way the veins in your body are. A small number of large pipes feeding water into various smaller pipes throughout the house. When that main line gets cold, it takes the sinks and showers a long time to flush the cold water out. So by building a line that runs straight from the heater to the sink, bypassing all that mess, you'll get your hot water a lot faster. Depending on how your home is structured, it could be very complicated and expensive, or in this persons case, far cheaper than buying a point-of-use heater.

Rain Barrel 

I'll admit, this probably isn't the first time the readers of Ready Nutrition have considered rain collection, but it's worth mentioning again for anyone new here. It's such a simple idea that can save you quite a bit of money in the summer months. Granted, with the drought in full swing you may have to wait a while before you get any rain. Rest assured though, you'll be helping your wallet, and helping to alleviate the water shortage in your area when the dry months come again. There are many different ways to set one up, and it's a system that's easy to customize depending on the state of your property, and the budget you have in mind.

A friend of mine down the street managed to score a couple dozen 5 gallon buckets for free. He had a hose running from the collection tank, and into the buckets. In total, it probably cost him less than a hundred dollars to set up. And that's the beauty of harvesting rainwater. Anyone with any budget can set up a system, and they'll be saving some money, saving their plants, and creating a supply of water that can be consumed in an emergency with very little treatment needed.

Deep Watering

When there are no drought conditions, most people will make full use of their water supply. They'll make sure to water their lawns and gardens as often as they think is needed. The only problem is that frequently watering your plants, even if it's not hurting the plant, doesn't prepare them for drought conditions.

When you give a plant a little bit of water every day, the roots don't grow as deep into the soil. And why should they? There's a steady daily supply, so the roots will take in what they need for the day, and let the rest drain into the soil. When a drought occurs you'll have to stop watering them as often as you used to, and the sun will evaporate the surface of the soil much faster. What little water you can give them is often wasted before the plant can take it in.

To avoid this you should practice what's known as deep watering. This involves giving your plants a larger quantity of water, but only doing so infrequently, with at least several days between each watering. This encourages the plants to grow deeper roots, making them much more efficient at absorbing the water you give them. It also seems to work just as well with lawns as it does with vegetable gardens.

Washing by Hand

I've always considered a dish washer to be one of the most wasteful machines in existence. Unless you have a large family or guests over, it's really not worth it. The amount of time it takes to prep the dishes for the dishwasher is almost as long as it takes to clean them by hand, and they will typically use 10-15 gallons of water with each load, as opposed to a gallon or two by hand washing them. It's not difficult at all, and you can save more time by letting the tougher items soak, and leaving the rest to air dry.

The same principles apply to hand washing your clothes, which you might not expect if you've never done a load by hand. I always assumed that hand washing clothes would be tremendously time consuming, but it doesn't have to be. Most methods involve letting the clothes soak in soapy water for 10 or 20 minutes in a large container, and then stirring them occasionally. Afterward you may have to do some scrubbing here and there to get the tough stains out, but overall it's a pretty hands-off affair that's more waiting than doing. And you'll be saving upwards of 40 gallons of water, depending on how old your machine is.

In conclusion, saving water isn't just something you do in a drought. It's a lifestyle change that is going to be necessary for more Americans to adopt as time goes on. The abundance of water we once had is slowly draining away, and we're going to have to change our homes and change the way we do everyday tasks if we want to have a decent future.

Delivered By Ready Nutrition