U.S. Water scarcity
June 23, 2011 1:51 PM Subscribe
I need a list of the most (and least) water scarce cities in the U.S.
That being said, this report, found with a Google search for "water scarce cities," seems to generally answer your question.
posted by zachlipton at 2:03 PM on June 23, 2011
posted by zachlipton at 2:03 PM on June 23, 2011
What qualifies as a city?
posted by Foam Pants at 3:07 PM on June 23, 2011
posted by Foam Pants at 3:07 PM on June 23, 2011
zachlipton - That link is completely wrong about Phoenix. Phoenix gets its water from local watersheds, the Salt and Verde rivers. The allocation from the Colorado is a backup, but right now it's being entirely used for aquifer regeneration to keep groundwater levels up.
posted by TungstenChef at 4:03 PM on June 23, 2011
posted by TungstenChef at 4:03 PM on June 23, 2011
Not sure if this helps or not but check out these sites:
http://water.usgs.gov/watuse/
http://www.fao.org/nr/water/
http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/main/index.stm
posted by Mr. Papagiorgio at 4:43 PM on June 23, 2011
http://water.usgs.gov/watuse/
http://www.fao.org/nr/water/
http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/main/index.stm
posted by Mr. Papagiorgio at 4:43 PM on June 23, 2011
That link is completely wrong about Phoenix. Phoenix gets its water from local watersheds, the Salt and Verde rivers.
That link doesn't seem quite right either: according to the City of Phoenix's water resources plan (2005 is the most recent one on their site*), 36% of their water comes from CAP (Colorado River Water), and 54% from SRP. (It seems like SRP water is highly encumbered: only certain portions of the City of Phoenix are eligible to receive SRP water.) I guess to ceres (or whoever wrote this), 36% is "nearly half".
Anyway, I would still have to second guess a report that spells San Francisco incorrectly throughout (WTF?). The Bay Area is certainly going to have water issues, but the report implies that there's some sort of possibility that the O'Shaughnessy dam is going to be torn down to allow the water that fills Hetch Hetchy to continue to the Delta. The Raker Act, which grants San Francisco the right to Hetch Hetchy water, is a federal act that is highly unlikely to be overturned. I don't think at this time that anyone believes tearing down HH and forcing San Francisco to come up with 10bn plus to replace the source is a real thing. So if you try to use the report as a source, better check the local municipalities' information as well.
*link here at water resources plan update
posted by oneirodynia at 5:40 PM on June 23, 2011
That link doesn't seem quite right either: according to the City of Phoenix's water resources plan (2005 is the most recent one on their site*), 36% of their water comes from CAP (Colorado River Water), and 54% from SRP. (It seems like SRP water is highly encumbered: only certain portions of the City of Phoenix are eligible to receive SRP water.) I guess to ceres (or whoever wrote this), 36% is "nearly half".
Anyway, I would still have to second guess a report that spells San Francisco incorrectly throughout (WTF?). The Bay Area is certainly going to have water issues, but the report implies that there's some sort of possibility that the O'Shaughnessy dam is going to be torn down to allow the water that fills Hetch Hetchy to continue to the Delta. The Raker Act, which grants San Francisco the right to Hetch Hetchy water, is a federal act that is highly unlikely to be overturned. I don't think at this time that anyone believes tearing down HH and forcing San Francisco to come up with 10bn plus to replace the source is a real thing. So if you try to use the report as a source, better check the local municipalities' information as well.
*link here at water resources plan update
posted by oneirodynia at 5:40 PM on June 23, 2011
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posted by zachlipton at 2:01 PM on June 23, 2011