The U.S. could see a new 'extreme heat belt' by 2053
A new report uses hyperlocal data and climate projections to show that cities as far north as Chicago could have many more days of extreme heat each year.
The U.S. could see a new 'extreme heat belt' by 2053
A new report uses hyperlocal data and climate projections to show that cities as far north as Chicago could have many more days of extreme heat each year.
The article is based on RCP 4.5. Climate commitments today put us on a much lower pathway. Scenario outlined in article is pretty unlikely.
How does water get from St. Louis to St. Charles? Is there a pipeline all the way there?
Yes, there is a pipe. I don't know exactly where it is, but I believe it can supply at least as far as St. Peters. I think it runs from the Howard Bend treatment plant. City Water being able to supply portions of St. Louis and St. Charles Counties is part of the reason private operators have always coveted the operation.
^ The west will probably end up doing a grab bag of items everything from Recycle and Conserving water which still have a longs ways to go in terms of better utilizing the water in the system already to paying a premnium price of desalination to supplement urban needs which is coming more common, something Arizona is pursuing with a proposed Mexican desalination plant to Southern Cali trying to get more coastal desalination plants up and running - I believe one plant was recently shot down but another gained approval.
Article above references a project at $1700 per acre foot cost. Found an article that also notes where desalination costs are starting to come in at. On pure political reasons its tough to see too much of Mississippi River water being pumped west into the Colorado River basin. Just don't see the respective states willing to give it up & enough senators and congressmen to make it almost impossible as a Federal policy. Instead, see more infrastructure like investments where we will spend money here on this for money hear on that. Say Fed funds to support a desalination plant on west coast or California Baja and a water canal project in the midwest to transfer water within the watershed.
^ The west will probably end up doing a grab bag of items everything from Recycle and Conserving water which still have a longs ways to go in terms of better utilizing the water in the system already to paying a premnium price of desalination to supplement urban needs which is coming more common, something Arizona is pursuing with a proposed Mexican desalination plant to Southern Cali trying to get more coastal desalination plants up and running - I believe one plant was recently shot down but another gained approval.
Article above references a project at $1700 per acre foot cost. Found an article that also notes where desalination costs are starting to come in at. On pure political reasons its tough to see too much of Mississippi River water being pumped west into the Colorado River basin. Just don't see the respective states willing to give it up & enough senators and congressmen to make it almost impossible as a Federal policy. Instead, see more infrastructure like investments where we will spend money here on this for money hear on that. Say Fed funds to support a desalination plant on west coast or California Baja and a water canal project in the midwest to transfer water within the watershed.
Of course the they could alleviate a lot of the issues with the Colorado basin just but pinching off the water supply to the Imperial valley. Of course we might all have to get used to a more seasonal approach to vegetable choices instead of getting lettuce year round. Then again they also use it to grow hay in the freaking dessert which is next level stupid. Forget living where there is water you should 100% FARM where there is water. Of course the central valley has a similar if slightly slower moving apocalypse.
These states should also make grass exorbitantly expensive for things like lawns and golf courses and probably tax the heck out of outdoor pools as well. You do all that and you probably get the crisis under control for a while.
Sending water over the mountains is a silly idea and one driven by an inability to address the fundamental issues.
^ The fundamental issue being that life in the American southwest really isn't sustainable, and that continuing to populate it at will, without a plan, is evidence of crippling hubris?
^Yes. And even more than that, continuing to farm it at will, without a plan, is evidence of a crippling lack of self awareness.
I don't believe the lack of self awareness is really the right way to look at it. A lot of people from the politicians of all strips to regulators to businesses to farmers are very much aware of the issue. You can be aware and deny making changes at same time. I think the reality is the era of cheap water in the West has finally come to an end.
But the issue is really coming to other places as well. Irrigation is not only a west thing as it is starting to impact localized areas where ground water pumping has gone unabated. As far as St. Louis goes, a good dry spell in the Upper Midwest & Ohio Valley can impact Mississippi navigation immensely and therefore a significant indirect economic hit.
The issue long term is there may just be too many people in the southwestern US. This could be an opportunity for the St. Louis area as it could be a place for people relocating.
If I recall groundwater availability is not an issue in the St. Louis area or surrounding rural areas, in large part because the Ozarks recharge groundwater easily (which is why there are massive springs). As for droughts and low river levels, has there been a long period of drought with any concern with water availability? Last time that may have fit that was 2012 and wasn't too long.
IMO the next round of VC funding madness is going to be directed at hyper-efficient vertical farming startups. The STL region is very well positioned to be a leader in this industry.
The issue long term is there may just be too many people in the southwestern US. This could be an opportunity for the St. Louis area as it could be a place for people relocating.
That was my whole reason for starting this thread. I don't think the St. Louis region does enough to promote our abundance of fresh water.
The issue long term is there may just be too many people in the southwestern US. This could be an opportunity for the St. Louis area as it could be a place for people relocating.
That was my whole reason for starting this thread. I don't think the St. Louis region does enough to promote our abundance of fresh water.
The only place moreso is likely the areas right along the Great Lakes, and here has the advantage of almost never having ice issues on surface waters. The geography and natural resources available in terms of fresh water, good farmland, mineral resources, and one of the best river transport opportunities of any city in the world should be a greater advantage.
California has the ability to put some desalination plants in and Gavin Newsom makes it clear he supports that along with water recycling measures. Just regulatory issues in California apparently make it hard to build such plants.
As for other places out west, I don't know what else to say other than people chose to live out there despite the issues. You have like one river to serve millions of residents. That's not sustainable. People has to have known the risks when they were moving out that way, but moved anyway. Now you have water shortages, people being prevented from watering their lawns and plants (if they have any), filling up pools (if they have any) or washing their cars. Cities like Vegas, Phoenix, Mesa, Albuquerque, Santa Fe and others are all mirages. When the water dries up, so will the towns and people will have to pick up and move elsewhere.
I feel bad for their stupid choice but at the same time, they made that choice, now they have to live with it. And with the NIMBYs and politicians cities are starting to get elsewhere, those people moving back are going to cause serious problems for real estate markets when the time comes. People think things are unaffordable here now, just wait.
^I don't want to really blame people for where they live. Most of us didn't really pick, we just sort of landed there. And when we did pick we were chasing work, which can be hard to come by anywhere, so you don't get too picky. What I do find frustrating is the history of the feds incentivising the infrastructure and financial systems that have made bad development like Phoenix or Las Vegas economically feasible. And some of that happened a long long time ago. It was Roosevelt or Eisenhower. Sure, in retrospect the Hoover Dam was a bad idea, but when there were millions of people out of work and we didn't know the western water cycle quite so well it didn't seem so terrible.
I will be absolutely furious if this country ever decides to divert Mississippi River water to the west at the expense of the Midwest and cities like St. Louis.
I will be absolutely furious if this country ever decides to divert Mississippi River water to the west at the expense of the Midwest and cities like St. Louis.
I can't see this happening. Think how long the environmental studies are done for mass transit development in urban areas are? Something of this nature would take decades and prone to outright cancellation midstream. Also any diversion point would be below the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio River due to volumes required and they would be obviously furious as well. Since obviously the issue is what would be in it for those along the Mississippi?
I don't think this can happen, but even the suggestion irritates me.
I also don't know how they would pump the water over the mountains.
Missouri's highest point is 1,776 feet and is a mountain; Kansas' highest point is 4,037 feet and is flat ground. Colorado obviously goes up even higher.
NYTimes - Arizona Limits Construction Around Phoenix as Its Water Supply Dwindles
In what could be a glimpse of the future as climate change batters the West, officials ruled there’s not enough groundwater for projects already approved.
