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WEST PALM BEACH, FLA.
<br />BY BRIAN 5KOLOFF • ASSOCIATED. PRE5S
<br />and water diversions have turned
<br />swamps into cities.
<br />Little land is left to store water
<br />during wet seasons, and so much
<br />An epic drought in Georgia threatens the water supply for millions. Florida doesn't have near- of the landscape has been paved
<br />over that water can no longer pen-
<br />lyenough water for its expected. population boom. The Great Lakes are shrinking. Upstate New etrate the ground in some places to
<br />rechazge aquifers. As a result, the
<br />Yor~C's reservoirs have dropped to record lows. And in the West, the Sierra Nevada snowpack is ..state is forced to flush millions of
<br />` gallons of excess into the ocean to
<br />melting faster each year. Across the United States, the picture. is critically clear -the nation's prevent flooding...
<br />"The need to reduce water
<br />freshwater supplies can no longer quench its thirst. waste and inefficiency is great-
<br />
<br />The government projects that
<br />at least 3G states will face water
<br />shortages within five years be-
<br />cause of a combination of rising
<br />temperatures, drought, popula-
<br />tion growth, urban sprawl, waste
<br />and excess.
<br />"Is it a crisis? If we don't do
<br />.some decent water planning, it
<br />could be," said Jack Hoffbuhr, ex-
<br />ecutive director of the Denver-
<br />basedAmerican Water Works As-
<br />sociation.
<br />Water managers will need to
<br />take bold steps to keep taps flow-
<br />ing, including conservation, re-
<br />cycling, desalination .and stricter
<br />controls on development.
<br />"We've hit a remarkable mo-
<br />ment;'said Barry Nelson, a senior
<br />policy analyst with the Natural.
<br />Resources Defense Council. "The
<br />last century was the century of wa-
<br />ter engineering. The next century
<br />is going to have to be the century
<br />of water efficiency."
<br />The cost for ensuring a reliable
<br />water supply could be staggering.
<br />Experts estimate that just upgrad-
<br />ing pipes to handle new supplies
<br />could cost the nation $300 billion
<br />over 30 years.
<br />"Unfortunately, there's just not
<br />going to be any more .cheap wa-
<br />ter," said Randy Brown, Pompano
<br />f er now.than;everk.before;' said
<br />':..,Benjamin Grumbles; assistant ad-
<br />Beach's utilities director. nation's greatest water irony. A ministrator for water at the En-
<br />It's not just a U.S. problem - hundred yeazs ago, the state's big- vironmental Protection Agency.
<br />it's global. Best problem was it had too much "Water eff-iciency is the wave of
<br />Australia is in the midst of a .water. But decades of dikes, dams the future."
<br />30-yeaz dry spell, and population
<br />growth in urban centers ofsub-Sa- THREE STATES USE A QUARTER OF U.S. WATER
<br />hazan Africa is straining resources. Florida California and Texas lead the coon m water usa a The
<br />Asia has 60 percent of the worlds ~ trY ~ g
<br />population, but only about 30 per- government projects that at least 36 states will face water shortages
<br />cent of its freshwater. within five years.
<br />The Intergovernmental Panel Estimated ~~ withdrawals, jri m111i0ri gallOrts per day iri 2000:
<br />on Climate Change, a United Na-
<br />tions network of scientists, said O to 5,000 5,000 to 30,000 10,000 to 20,000 20,000 to 52,000
<br />this yeaz that by 2050 up to 2 bil- ~>~ ~
<br />lion people worldwide could be "~~ ~~ ~t 1~7tely to acperienoe water shortage before 2013•
<br />facing major water shortages.
<br />The United States used more
<br />than 148 trillion gallons of water in `~ ~ `~ Vt.
<br />2000, the latest figures available • ~1+ Q ;~ s ~,, ~,~~~
<br />from the US. Geological Survey. ,<~
<br />That includes residential, coin- ; ~ ~ ~ ~~:
<br />mercial, agriculture, manufactur- yes :a g~ ~~ ~ ~+ ' , ~,
<br />ing and every other use -almost ' ~ ~ Conn.
<br />500,000 gallons per person. `~ ~ ~ ~~ ~~ ~ ~ ^' ~'~ ~ '~ Del
<br />Coastal states such as Florida ~' ~'~ - Y' ` '
<br />_~ ~__..~ ,,bMd.
<br />and California face a water crisis ~ ~_.~
<br />not only from increased demand, ~~~,~ •
<br />but also from rising temperatures "" • '~' ~~
<br />that aze causing glaciers to melt ; D.C. `°
<br />and sea levels to rise. Higher tem- f Alaska
<br />peratures mean more water lost to r -; Hawaii
<br />evaporation. And rising seas could
<br />push saltwater into underground ' `Colorado and South Cazo]ina aze statewide. All other states are regional or local
<br />Sources of freshwater Sources: U.S. Geological Survey; General Accounting Office, Associated Press
<br />Florida represents perhaps the'` ..
<br />,~•'
<br />(l IS IT A CRISIS? IF WE DQN'T DQ SOME DECENT
<br />WATER PLAN~ITT~~T COULD BE. ))
<br />Jack Hoffbuhr, executive director ot#YlE'~enver-based American Water Works Association
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