Mississippi has its share of problems. No surprise there. But given what’s going on in some Western states, we should at least get credit for one thing: We’re not running out of water.
The Colorado Basin is in its 23rd year of drought, according to The Why Axis website. That has dramatically lowered the levels of Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the two largest reservoirs in the United States that supply water to California, Arizona and Nevada — states with large areas that don’t get a whole lot of rainfall.
The two man-made lakes are down to 28% of their capacity. And the surface level of Lake Mead, which provides drinking water to 25 million people along with water for industry, agricultural and electricity generation, seems to be dropping by the month.
In 2020 the lake’s level was 120 feet lower than it was in 2000. But in the past 21⁄2 years it has fallen another 60 feet. If the lake level declines another 146 feet, it will not have enough water to produce electricity at the Hoover Dam, since the water would be too low to reach any outlets that allow it to flow downstream.
Farmers who are familiar with the situation may know the main reason for this problem. It’s not the drought, although that certainly doesn’t help. It’s not the gigantic populations of places like Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Phoenix, although those millions of people obviously need a lot of water to survive.
The problem is land that’s being used for farming even though it’s in an arid location.
At a Senate hearing last month, an official with a Nevada water authority noted that 80% of water from the Colorado River is diverted for agricultural use. And 80% of that 80% (or 64% of the river’s water) is used to grow forage crops like alfalfa and used to feed cattle.
“Western farmers, in other words, are pumping precious water hundreds of miles around the desert in order to grow plants and animals that cannot otherwise survive there — especially during a multi-decade drought,” The Why Axis noted. “It’s profoundly wasteful, a practice untethered from a reality that has finally caught up with it.”
Western water officials believe — or hope — that a couple of above-average snow seasons along the upper Colorado River would help replenish the two reservoirs. And it is true that at some point, the drought will end.
But until that happens, Western states are going to have to figure out ways to use a lot less water, or else recycle more of it for agriculture. Or, if they’re piping it from Nevada to California, maybe they can figure out a cost-effective way to turn plentiful Pacific Ocean brine into fresh water and use that for farming.
States in the southwestern part of America obviously have plenty of appeal That’s why millions of people have moved there over the past several decades. But without a steady water supply, whether for residences, businesses or farms, these economies ultimately will be limited.
This is one measuring stick where Mississippi, with its abundant rainfall, is a clear winner. The state may need more of many other things, but fortunately water is not on that list.
— Jack Ryan, McComb Enterprise-Journal
