USA is using up it's groundwater like there's no tomorrow

[pixy0stix]

Gift link - America is using up it's groundwater like there's no tomorrow

This article was sublinked in the "Should farmers pay for water" article I posted today.

Personal anecdote: My middle sister had to re-dig their well in eastern CO along the NE border. BIL said that many of his neighbors had to do the same.

[pixy0stix]

I call bullshit on this:

“We overpumped it,” said Farrin Watt, who has been farming in Wichita County for 23 years. “We didn’t know it was going to run out.”

Every year in elementary school in rural NE we'd have an ag day where the USDA would come and explain things like soil erosion in farm fields (aka what contributed to the dust bowl), and how the Ogallala aquifer was recharged with water. That was over 30 years ago.

The government knew, and the farmers knew. They just didn't believe it would happen.

[pixy0stix]

Do people along the east coast think about this at all? There's several examples in the article of how this would be effecting that population.

[basilosaurus]

Dec 29, 2023 10:58:14 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Do people along the east coast think about this at all? There's several examples in the article of how this would be effecting that population.

not in my little world of s fl cities. We learned a ton about the everglades and its role in cleaning runoff water and how the swamp draining initiative was a terrible idea. We did go through drought restrictions, like limited yard watering and car washing, and used what the rest of America thinks of as weeds, crab grass, for its better protections against drought and need for less water. There's still no xeriscaping like in s fl because it is subtropical with lots of seasonal rainfall.

But I was in a megalopolis, so farming was a very distant concept.

When I lived with family on a tiny island in Bahamas during all school breaks (so, totaling about a quarter of the year) we had rain catchment, so we were hyper aware of water usage, and how power was needed for water pumps since we daily lost power. There were many showers in the ocean with a quick fresh water rinse. I mention that only because it had the exact same weather as s fl, only a 45 minute flight away due east. The "mainland" had an aquifer, so they wouldn't run dry without rain, but conservation was always upfront in everyone's thoughts. Those worlds were so closely connected by geography, family, mostly culture, but so very different in certain ways. Thinking about water was one.

[preppy]

I don’t know if many east coasters think about this but as someone on the east coast who had the well at my old house go dry I have thought about it a lot at our current house which is also on a well. Our old house we had what I believe was originally a 50ft well go dry and had to drill to 250ft or something to tap into more water. It was incredibly expensive, it was mid drought during peak summer and it happened to 2-3 of our neighbors at the same time. Obviously one house is a very different use than a farm in the volume of water but I have been extremely conscious of water use since that happened.

[tacokick]

We largely hear about it with regards to Maryland’s Eastern Shore and farming but my dad lives in a house with a well in the middle of the state and his community is always talking about it.

[sent]

It's been raining endlessly this month in my little mid-Atlantic corner of the east coast. Lots of flooding in the flood-prone areas last week including my work basement. So nope, we don't think about using up our water, we think about how to tame it.

[cattledogkisses]

Dec 29, 2023 11:18:57 GMT -5 sent said:

It's been raining endlessly this month in little mid-Atlantic corner of the east coast. Lots of flooding in the flood-prone areas last week including my work basement. So nope, we don't think about using up our water, we think about how to tame it.

Same.  We had record breaking rain all summer, and some of the worst flooding in state history two weeks ago.

From what I've read, climate scientists are saying increased rain is going to be the new norm in the northeast.

[pixy0stix]

One thing to note that was addressed in the article - rain does not equal aquifer replenishment. Especially as areas try to mitigate flooding with diversion instead of catchment.

ETA: I know people are responding to my question. This was just a musing about maybe a disconnect in how people view environmental water and drinking water. 

[penguingrrl]

I’ll admit that I don’t think about water supply much. Also on the east coast (NJ) and we’ve been wetter than I ever remember this year. I know intellectually how critical it is and follow the news on it but it’s not something that comes into my daily experience very often. We had a few months of drought last year and since then I’ve checked the UNL drought monitor for my area weekly, but it was mild drought compared to what folks out west live with daily.

We also don’t xeriscape but stick with local plants, many of which drink quite a bit. Many towns in my area have laws concerning tree removal because when trees are removed more flood zones pop up without the trees to soak up the water. That’s actually the biggest local concern for the head of my local environmental commission.

[wawa]

Dec 29, 2023 11:31:26 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

One thing to note that was addressed in the article - rain does not equal aquifer replenishment. Especially as areas try to mitigate flooding with diversion instead of catchment.

ETA: I know people are responding to my question. This was just a musing about maybe a disconnect in how people view environmental water and drinking water. 

Locally our drinking water (municipal water) is surface level. the MD side of the DC metro area drinks water from the Pomomac and Patuxent rivers. Baltimore metro comes from the reservoirs on the Gunpowder Falls with the Susquehanna as backup. So lack of groundwater is not a thing for us specifically. Drought is. Flooding is. Contamination from runoff absolutely is. Not sure how common that actually is in other regions?

To the west, south and east where people are on wells - yeah, it's a concern, but it's not one people talk about much IME. especially east and south - because they're so close to the bay/ocean and there is heavy agriculture there's always the danger of sucking too much out of an aquifer and causing it to get salty. Which happens. And farmers talk about it and worry about it. But that doesnt' slow them down from approving new development, especially in southern MD.

agnr.umd.edu/research/research-and-education-centers-locations/harry-r-hughes-center-agro-ecology/scientific-1/

The west just straight up goes dry. I had at least one development project in western md go dead because they realized they couldn't get the draw they needed on site without going so deep as to be cost prohibitive. (that was ages ago)

My house is sitting on a pretty high aquifer as about 10 years ago (according to the well guys when we drilled our geothermal well), and is in the area of that interactive map with the little blue arrows. But that doesn't mean regionally it's not a concern.

[simpsongal]

Re east coast - Depends where you are in the mid Atlantic. I grew up over the cohansey aquifer. Cape may is an interesting example. They’ve had salinity issues and had to make some expensive decisions for sourcing water. Like so many issues people just don’t care until you’re out of time (or resources). I still don’t understand how we release the important/finite resource that is helium into the atmosphere via 89cent birthday balloons…

[jeaniebueller]

Not east coast, but in Michigan we never think about it.

[basilosaurus]

Dec 30, 2023 21:16:04 GMT -5 simpsongal said:

Re east coast - Depends where you are in the mid Atlantic. I grew up over the cohansey aquifer. Cape may is an interesting example. They’ve had salinity issues and had to make some expensive decisions for sourcing water. Like so many issues people just don’t care until you’re out of time (or resources). I still don’t understand how we release the important/finite resource that is helium into the atmosphere via 89cent birthday balloons…

Enraging. As are the massive balloon walls and arches although at least they don't use helium.

I got into a debate last night when someone posed a question to the group, are there too many people on the planet? Yes, absolutely, how is this even a question. He said we need more, and he was not arguing for propping up economies that rely on more workers to support aging populations. I specifically mentioned fresh water resource depletion, famines due to drought, etc. I just don't understand how people look at the world and thing, you know what? We need more of us, polluting, taking taking taking.

[VillainV]

I don’t think about it much living on the east coast. I do appreciate that our HOA has a system to reclaim grey water used in the community, then use it to irrigate our common areas. We have very small lot sizes to reduce the amount of individual landscaping and irrigation, in favor of communal spaces. I’d prefer that we had fewer landscaped areas in the neighborhood altogether, but I think it’s a step in the right direction.

[Susie]

Our town (upstate NY) thinks about it to some extent, but it's hard to say how much is real and how much is for show, if that makes sense.  In the summer we have water restrictions, no watering lawns/gardens, washing cars, etc. between the hours of maybe 10am-6pm.  However, grassy lawns with lots of fertilizing, herbicides, and irrigation are typical, and native plantings, rain gardens, etc. are much less so.  

The biggest problem we personally experience with water is flooding, which is true for a lot of our town.  We have a creek that runs through our backyard, and it has overflowed its banks during both of the last two Decembers (so, 2 of 3 Decembers we've owned this house).  Our normally dry basement had some seepage this December during the same time, and we rely heavily on our sump pump, so much so that we have both a whole house backup generator and a Venturi backup sump.  The road that our neighborhood leads to, also occasionally floods.  Our town has had a couple of landslides due to heavy rains, one this December not too far from us, on a bank of the same creek that runs through our backyard.

We're working to move our yard toward decreased grass, increased food production, and increased native plants, but it is a slow go on roughly 2/3 acre.  So far we've replaced the above ground pool and hot tub with a vegetable garden area, and we've added some edible plants (sage, rhubarb) into the landscaping.  We don't have in ground irrigation.

[georgeglass]

Another East Coaster fessing up. Definitely not a topic of conversation or education here. Our house has a rainwater catchment system but all it does is confuse people who come over or work on the house. It's super uncommon here.

[livinitup]

Dec 29, 2023 10:58:14 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Do people along the east coast think about this at all? There's several examples in the article of how this would be effecting that population.

Nope.

~ North East

[msmerymac]

As a resident of SE PA I mostly think about water because I no longer live in SoCal, so it’s in the sense of the fact that I can actually have grass in my yard and grow a vegetable garden here. We also have a rain barrel and keep meaning to attach it to a drip irrigation system for the beds.

My dad lives on Lake Ontario and in 2017 and 2019 there was a lot of flooding around him as the US and Canada adjusted to a new joint commission controlling the flow of water out of the lakes - with priority on ensuring they didn’t flood Montreal. So he thinks about it, and when he rebuilt his house (voluntarily, to expand it from 2/1, 1050 sq Ft to 3/2, 1800 sq Ft) he also raised the foundation 18 inches. He repoured his sea wall about 15 years ago too, but still needed to sandbag those 2 years.

[MixedBerryJam]

Dec 29, 2023 10:58:14 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Do people along the east coast think about this at all? There's several examples in the article of how this would be effecting that population.

I am conscious of the situation but I’m sure I don’t fully appreciate the seriousness or its repercussions. When you say your sister had to redig her well, I assume that’s bc groundwater levels are falling even while ocean levels are rising? And yes, even this East coast city girl who I don’t think has ever set eyes on an actual well (I take that back I stayed in a vacation home in northern Maine that had one) knows that fast-growing developments can outrun their water supply. I thought it was more communal water supplies that were at risk tho, not individual families’ individual wells.

[pixy0stix]

Jan 2, 2024 16:08:46 GMT -5 MixedBerryJam said:

Dec 29, 2023 10:58:14 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Do people along the east coast think about this at all? There's several examples in the article of how this would be effecting that population.

I am conscious of the situation but I’m sure I don’t fully appreciate the seriousness or its repercussions. When you say your sister had to redig her well, I assume that’s bc groundwater levels are falling even while ocean levels are rising? And yes, even this East coast city girl who I don’t think has ever set eyes on an actual well (I take that back I stayed in a vacation home in northern Maine that had one) knows that fast-growing developments can outrun their water supply. I thought it was more communal water supplies that were at risk tho, not individual families’ individual wells.

Yes, they get their water from the Ogallala aquifer. If their well dries up they'll have to move.

[wawa]

Jan 2, 2024 16:08:46 GMT -5 MixedBerryJam said:

Dec 29, 2023 10:58:14 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Do people along the east coast think about this at all? There's several examples in the article of how this would be effecting that population.

I am conscious of the situation but I’m sure I don’t fully appreciate the seriousness or its repercussions. When you say your sister had to redig her well, I assume that’s bc groundwater levels are falling even while ocean levels are rising? And yes, even this East coast city girl who I don’t think has ever set eyes on an actual well (I take that back I stayed in a vacation home in northern Maine that had one) knows that fast-growing developments can outrun their water supply. I thought it was more communal water supplies that were at risk tho, not individual families’ individual wells.

Yeah People have to have their shallow wells on single family home lots replaced by much deeper ones on a fairly regular basis in many places.

[georgeglass]

Meanwhile, H had the Today show on and they're oohing and aahing about a new surf club in Palm Springs. palmspringssurfclub.com/

3.5M gallon pool - claiming it uses 1% of the water needed for the area golf courses.

[notreal]

Jan 2, 2024 16:08:46 GMT -5 MixedBerryJam said:

Dec 29, 2023 10:58:14 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Do people along the east coast think about this at all? There's several examples in the article of how this would be effecting that population.

I am conscious of the situation but I’m sure I don’t fully appreciate the seriousness or its repercussions. When you say your sister had to redig her well, I assume that’s bc groundwater levels are falling even while ocean levels are rising? And yes, even this East coast city girl who I don’t think has ever set eyes on an actual well (I take that back I stayed in a vacation home in northern Maine that had one) knows that fast-growing developments can outrun their water supply. I thought it was more communal water supplies that were at risk tho, not individual families’ individual wells.

Even if you have uses Public Water systems your whole life, you may have been using "well water" the majority of public water systems in the US are groundwater, although more people are actually served by surface water (so if you live in a large city, the water source is probably surface water, but a small town is more likely to have a groundwater source for their water.)

[pinkdutchtulips]

My sister (riverpartners.org) is working on this problem in CA's central valley. Restoring river floodplains results in recharging of underground supplies/aquafers that are desperately needed in one of the few places in CA where the population is growing.