Aging infrastructure—faulty meters, crumbling pipes, leaky water mains—costs the United States an estimated 2. Meanwhile, a single leaky faucet—releasing just three drips a minute—wastes more than gallons of water in a year.
States, cities, water utilities, businesses, and citizens can curb water waste by investing in climate-smart strategies. These include repairing leaky infrastructure from utility pipes to the kitchen faucet , boosting water efficiency with the use of water- and energy-efficient technologies and appliances such as clothes washers , and adopting landscape design that makes use of drought-tolerant plants and water-efficient irrigation techniques.
In California, these strategies alone could reduce water use by as much as 60 percent. For individuals, there are many other ways to conserve water as well. Recycled water —also called reclaimed water—is highly treated wastewater that can be used for myriad purposes, from landscape irrigation such as watering public parks and golf courses to industrial processes such as providing cooling water for power plants and oil refineries to replenishing groundwater supplies.
Graywater—recycled water derived from sinks, shower drains, and washing machines—can be used on site for example, in homes and businesses for non-potable uses such as garden or lawn irrigation.
Recycled water can serve as a significant water resource, reducing demand from sources such as rivers, streams, reservoirs, and underground water supplies. Every year in the United States, about 10 trillion gallons of untreated stormwater washes off paved surfaces and rooftops, through sewer systems, and into waterways. Not only does this create pollution problems as contaminants from land get flushed into rivers, lakes, and oceans , but it reduces the amount of rainwater that soaks back into the earth to replenish groundwater supplies.
The use of green infrastructure —including green roofs, tree plantings, rain gardens, rain barrels, cisterns, and permeable pavement—can increase water supplies substantially. Stormwater capture in urban Southern California and the San Francisco Bay region alone could potentially increase annual water supplies by as much as billion gallons. Strategies for better water management in the agricultural sector focus on increased water efficiency and reduced consumption.
These include improved irrigation techniques—such as switching from flood to drip irrigation, which alone can cut water use by about 20 percent—as well as more precise irrigation scheduling to adjust the amount of water used at different stages of crop growth. Meanwhile, crop rotation, no-till farming a method for growing crops with minimal soil disturbance , and the use of cover crops help build soil health, which in turn enables the land to absorb and retain more water.
In Central California, small ranches and farms are growing their connections—to the land, to the past, and to each other. A new study shows that drought is no longer a periodic crisis, but a harbinger of things to come.
As droughts parch the Southeast, interstate squabbles heat up over the Tennessee River and the Chattahoochee. Model, actor, and designer Luka Sabbat can make just about anything look good—even an air mask. Behold the future of fashion.
Ditch-diggers and cement trucks? Try trees and rainwater cisterns. City planners across the country are realizing that green infrastructure is the key to climate resilience. For years, states could ignore global warming when creating their disaster-preparedness plans. Not anymore. If you thought the California drought was bad and it is , take a look at what's happening in southeastern Brazil.
Manicured turf grass lawns cover up to 50 million acres of land in America. But a new, no-mow movement is challenging this conformity—and helping the environment. Cover crops, an age-old farming strategy, can help boost soil health, protect water sources, and create fields that are more resilient to climate change. Our rivers, reservoirs, lakes, and seas are drowning in chemicals, waste, plastic, and other pollutants.
Short answer: Yes. Even a seemingly slight average temperature rise is enough to cause a dramatic transformation of our planet. National Geographic Emerging Explorer Alexandra Cousteau started the nonprofit Blue Legacy to raise awareness about water issues around the world. She believes water problems such as drought, storms, floods, and degraded water quality will be a crucial issue in this century.
A drought is a period of time when an area or region experiences below-normal precipitation. The lack of adequate precipitation, either rain or snow, can cause reduced soil moisture or groundwater , diminished stream flow, crop damage, and a general water shortage. Droughts are the second-most costly weather events after hurricanes.
Unlike with sudden weather events such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and thunderstorms, it is often difficult to pinpoint when a drought has started or when it has ended.
The initial effects of a drought may be difficult to identify right away, so it may take weeks or months to determine that a drought has started. The end of a drought is hard to identify for the same reason. A drought may last for weeks, months, or even years. Sometimes, drought conditions can exist for a decade or more in a region.
The longer a drought lasts, the greater the harmful effects it has on people. Droughts affect people in a several ways. Access to clean drinking water is essential for all life, and sources of water may dwindle during a drought.
Without the presence of water, people must bring in enough water from elsewhere to survive. Water is also needed for crops to grow. When not enough precipitation falls to naturally water crops, they must be watered by irrigation. Irrigation is possible only when there is enough water in nearby rivers, lakes, or streams, or from groundwater.
During a drought, these water sources are diminished and may even dry up, preventing crops from being irrigated and causing them to die off. She started Blue Legacy to raise awareness that we live on a water planet and must take care of it.
Cousteau, the granddaughter of the famed ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, believes that water will be a crucial issue in this century. Ostroff, Andrea C. View Citation. Ostroff, A. Geological Survey Circular , 24 p. Johannis, Mary; Flint, Lorraine E. Johannis, Mary, Flint, L. E, Dettinger, Michael, Flint, A. Geological Survey Fact Sheet , 2 p.
Year Published: Flood- and drought-related natural hazards activities of the U. Lombard, Pamela J. Geological Survey, , Flood- and drought-related natural hazards activities of the U. Geological Survey in New England: U. Geological Survey Fact Sheet —, 4 p. Year Published: U. Burkett, Virginia R. Burkett, V. Geological Survey climate and land use change science strategy—A framework for understanding and responding to global change: U.
Geological Survey Circular —A, 43 p. Year Published: Drought Monitoring with VegDRI Drought strikes somewhere in the United States every year, turning green landscapes brown as precipitation falls below normal levels and water supplies dwindle. Brown, Jesslyn F. Year Published: Climate change and wildlife health: direct and indirect effects Climate change will have significant effects on the health of wildlife, domestic animals, and humans, according to scientists.
Hofmeister, Erik K. Year Published: Water availability for the Western United States--Key scientific challenges In the Western United States, the availability of water has become a serious concern for many communities and rural areas. Date published: September 18, Date published: March 23, Date published: July 12, Date published: June 5, Date published: October 6, Date published: September 8, Virgin Islands.
Date published: December 8, Filter Total Items: List Grid. July 30, February 14, December 14, Drought in Folsom Lake, California —————————————————— The severity of California's current drought is illustrated in these images of Folsom Lake, a reservoir in Northern California located 25 miles 40 kilometers northeast of Sacramento. Bureau of Reclamation November 22, October 18, Information Flows Freely, Even in a Drought. September 1, August 15,