- Joined
- May 14, 2009
- Messages
- 10,350
- Reaction score
- 4,989
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Other
Please spare me the faux-macho "you're an alarmist" claim.
No one is going to go thirsty anytime soon, but this is a serious issue already affecting food prices nationwide.
Summer, oft the driest season is approaching in many places, it could get worse. It could go on for years more in some of these areas too.
This also is a big issue in the arid states viability.
Texas is booming with plenty of oil but little water.
Seven states running out of water
Alexander E.M. Hess and Thomas C. Frohlich
USA Today via 24/7 Wall St.
6:30 a.m. EDT June 1, 2014
Seven states running out of water
No one is going to go thirsty anytime soon, but this is a serious issue already affecting food prices nationwide.
Summer, oft the driest season is approaching in many places, it could get worse. It could go on for years more in some of these areas too.
This also is a big issue in the arid states viability.
Texas is booming with plenty of oil but little water.
Seven states running out of water
Alexander E.M. Hess and Thomas C. Frohlich
USA Today via 24/7 Wall St.
6:30 a.m. EDT June 1, 2014
Seven states running out of water
The United States is currently engulfed in one of the worst droughts in recent memory. More than 30% of the country experienced at least moderate drought as of last week's data. In seven states drought conditions were so severe that each had more than half of its land area in Severe drought. Severe drought is characterized by crop loss, frequent water shortages, and mandatory water use restrictions. Based on data from the U.S. Drought Monitor, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the states with the highest levels of severe drought. In an interview, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) meteorologist Brad Rippey, told 24/7 Wall St. that drought has been a long-running issue in parts of the country. "This drought has dragged on for three and a half years in some areas, particularly (in) North Texas," Rippey said.
While large portions of the seven states suffer from severe drought, in some parts of these states drought conditions are even worse. In six of the seven states with the highest levels of drought, more than 30% of each state was in extreme drought as of last week, a more severe level of drought characterized by major crop and pasture losses, as well as widespread water shortages. Additionally, in California and Oklahoma, 25% and 30% of the states, respectively, suffered from exceptional drought, the highest severity classification. Under exceptional drought, crop and pasture loss is widespread, and shortages of well and reservoir water can lead to water emergencies.
Drought has had a major impact on important crops such as winter wheat. "So much of the winter wheat is grown across the southern half of the Great Plains," Rippey said, an area that includes Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas, three of the hardest-hit states. Texas alone had nearly a quarter of a million farms in 2012, the most out of any state, while neighboring Oklahoma had more than 80,000 farms, trailing only three other states.
In the Southwest, concerns are less-focused on agriculture and more on reservoir levels, explained Rippey. In Arizona, reservoir levels were just two-thirds of their usual average. Worse still, in New Mexico, reservoir stores were only slightly more than Half of their normal levels. "And Nevada is the worst of all. We see storage there at about a Third of what you would expect," Rippey said.
The situation in California may well be the most problematic of any state. The entire state was suffering from severe drought as of last week, and 75% of all land area was under extreme drought. "Reservoirs which are generally fed by the Sierra Nevadas and the southern Cascades [are] where we see the real problems," Rippey said. Restrictions on agricultural water use has forced many California farmers to leave fields fallow, he added. "At [the current] usage rate, California has less than two years of water remaining."
[........]
1. California
> Pct. severe drought::: 100.0%
> Pct. extreme drought:: 76.7% (the highest)
> Pct. exceptional drought: 24.8% (2nd highest)
Last edited: