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Forward to five friends! |
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Drought in the US
In the past we have discussed the extreme drought in the Western US, including the most severe drought in 1200 years, and the draining of Lake Mead - the largest reservoir in the US - to a mere 38% of its capacity.
Lake Mead is so low that soon it will be a question of retaining water for drinking purposes, or releasing it to create hydroelectric power - you can't have both. Cities that depend on Lake Mead include Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, Tucson, Arizona, and Las Vegas. These cities are already fighting over the limited water and this will only intensify as conditions worsen in the years and decades ahead. |
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Drought in Texas
Drought has already hit Texas hard. We have witnessed dropping lake levels, Central Texans fight Gulf Coast rice farmers, long-term water rationing and more, but most of our daily lives are not yet affected. As more people pour into Texas and water resources become more scarce, we can expect to see increasing challenges for all Texans.
We are currently in the second year of a likely three-year-long La Niña cycle of drier, hotter air in the Southwest. An increase of frequency and intensity of La Niñas corresponds to the increased global temperatures we've seen for the past several decades. This means that we can expect longer, hotter, drier years ahead - and we must prepare for them. |
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Solutions in Texas
Several cities in Texas are using conservation, reuse and efficiency solutions that range from technical to political. El Paso is a leader in Texas - from beginning to use reclaimed water back in 1963 to becoming the first major American city to build an advanced purification treatment plant.
Below we discuss several solutions which are currently in use around Texas and should be expanded to all major metropolises where feasible.
Aquifer storage and recovery Aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) is a water resources management technique for actively storing water underground during wet periods for recovery during dry periods. This strategy has been employed for centuries, but in modern times has been refined further using modern science and technology.
San Antonio has been capturing water in aquifers for years. ASR for Austin is in the initial phases. Over the next 15 years, Austin will find a site (3 years), test a small scale pilot (3 years) , determine how to expand to a large scale (2 years), and construct the full scale ASR system (4 years). This long timeline shows that we must take action now for our future.
Reclaimed Water: the “purple pipe” Reclaimed water is sewage water that has been treated, but not to drinking standards. Instead of going unused, it is reused for things like irrigation, cooling stations, industrial use, or in toilets. Pipes containing reclaimed water always use a light purple color so that there is no chance of it being used as drinking water.
Austin opened the Montopolis Reclaimed Water Reservoir and Pump Station in late 2019. It has a 4 million gallon reservoir and is just one piece of Austin’s strategy to use water efficiently. Other cities including San Antonio and El Paso have been reusing treated sewage this way for decades. |
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Desalination When people think of desalination, they usually think of desalinating seawater, an expensive and energy-intensive process. But desalinating brackish water (saltier than fresh water, but not as salty as seawater) is often much cheaper and can be used to treat and use groundwater that would otherwise not be usable. This includes water from aquifers that are currently unused because the water is brackish.
San Antonio opened a major desalinating plant in 2017, and El Paso is home to the world's largest inland desalination plant. El Paso has vast brackish groundwater resources that were previously unusable. The Kay Bailey Hutchison (KBH) Desalination Plant filters out the salts and creates a new supply of water, up to 27.5 million gallons of fresh water daily.
Advanced purification After cities treat wastewater, they usually put it back in the source. In Austin's case, we pull water from the Colorado River and deposit wastewater back into the Colorado farther downstream. Treated wastewater is very clean, clean enough to put in a beautiful river, but not clean enough to drink. Advanced purification is taking that treated wastewater and cleaning it even more so that it’s clean enough to put directly in the water that comes out of citizens’ taps.
El Paso was the first major American city to build an advanced purification plant, also known as "toilet-to-tap," and it is scheduled to begin serving customers in 2024. San Diego has also begun using advanced purification, with other major cities in the planning or building phase.
Water restrictions Many cities restrict or prohibit certain activities including watering a lawn, washing cars at home, or using fountains. Here are some of those restrictions in Austin.
San Antonio goes even farther: you have to ask for water in a restaurant, and cards in every hotel contain messages like “hang up towels you'll reuse, if you want them washed, put them on the floor.”
Rebates & incentives Many cities including Austin have rebates or incentives that help citizens and businesses pay for things like more efficient appliances, rain collection, or irrigation improvements. Cities should do more to educate and encourage developers and homeowners to take advantage of these incentives. Here are lists of rebates you can take advantage of now in Austin, San Antonio, Dallas (click in the upper-right corner for more), El Paso, and many other cities all over Texas.
Increased Density Not everyone needs a yard. Americans with a yard spend on average 9 minutes per day on yard work, that’s more than volunteer work, homework or research. Most time is spent mowing, but fertilizing comes in second, and a large % of that fertilizer is chemical fertilizer that ends up in creeks, rivers, and the ocean. Here are some other surprising statistics:
Summary Education is our primary tool to increase water reuse and combat waste. We must each do our parts in our homes, vote for candidates who understand the value of water, and even get involved in volunteering or the political process itself. Every drop counts! |
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What We’re Doing, and How You Can Help The Texas Drought Project was formed in the fall of 2008 when we worked on the first big US climate bill called Waxman-Markey. In the following years, we did much-need climate education and then a series of large successful campaigns. In the wake of COP26 in Glasgow, we have made a strong push to get people to call, write, and email 6 targeted Texas Democrats in hopes of pushing them and Biden to act boldly for the climate. We need only $2500 per month to sustain this critical push to our last best chance for a safe future. Any donation of $100 or more will be matched! |
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