Water scarcity in the United States

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Water scarcity in the United States is an increasing problem and it's estimated that more than 50% of the Continental U.S. has experienced drought conditions since 2000.^[1]

Water scarcity has far-reaching implications for society, economy, and the environment, affecting sectors such as public health, agriculture, industry, and biodiversity.

Water scarcity impacts agricultural productivity, creating immense challenges for farmers and food production. With limited water resources, farmers struggle to irrigate their crops adequately, insufficient irrigation affects plant growth, leading to reduced yields of water-intensive crops such as rice, soybeans, wheat, sugarcane, and cotton, most of which are breadbasket staples.^[2] Reduced agricultural output can lead to food insecurity, and higher food prices due to a dependence on food imports and exacerbating socioeconomic inequalities.

Water scarcity poses a threat to ecosystems and biodiversity, primarily through its impact on aquatic habitats, rivers, wetlands, and lakes.^[3] Decreased water flows and the drying of water bodies disrupt the delicate balance of ecosystems, affecting a range of species including fish, amphibians, and water-dependent plants, experience habitat loss and fragmentation, affecting their reproduction and survival. The decline in biodiversity can also disrupt vital ecosystem services such as water filtration, flood regulation, and nutrient cycling, leading to further ecological imbalances.^[4]

Desalination is one technology that is being used to solve water scarcity around the world. Israel is a leader in this field. Israel currently has five operation desalination plants.^[5] The oldest, the Ashelkon Plant (which began operation in 2005) can produce up to 120 million cubic meters of potable water in one year. The Palmachim plant (which began operation in 2007) can produce up to 100 million cubic meters of potable water in a year. The Hadera plant (which began operation in 2009) can produce up to 127 million cubic meters of potable water in a year. The Sorek plant (which began operation in 2013) can produce up to 150 million cubic meters of potable water in a year. The Sorek plant (which began operation in 2015) can produce up to 100 million cubic meters of potable water in a year. Combined, all of these operational plants contribute to around 60% of Israel's potable water supply.^[6] Two additional plants are planned which will produce 300 million cubic meters of water a year between the two of them.^[5] Once these plants are online, desalination will make up 90% of Israel's potable water supply. In response to the growing urgency of the water crisis in California, lawmakers have greenlit a project to introduce desalination plants to support California's water supply.^[7]

Israel's desalination infrastructure is so extensive that they are now producing a surplus of water. The country is using the surplus to refill previous reservoirs of freshwater such as the Sea of Gailee.^[8] The surplus also opens up avenues of water diplomacy. In 2021, Israel and the Kingdom of Jordan signed a deal where Israel would provide 200 million cubic meters of desalinated water to Jordan per year–this would account for 20% of Jordan's freshwater needs.^[9] In exchange, Jordan would provide clean solar energy to Israel. This relationship is just the latest in a long history of water diplomacy between the nations.^[10] The State of Utah in the United States has also been in talks with Israel to learn how the small nation has taken control of its water scarcity issue. Some topics discussed during the meeting between a delegation of Utah lawmakers and Israeli representatives like Yehezkel Lifshitz (Director General for the Israeli Water Authority), included drip irrigation and vertical gardens.^[11] Drip irrigation, as opposed to sprinkler irrigation, has helped Israel save 50% more water in its agricultural sector than when sprinkler irrigation was the predominant form of irrigation in the country. Water conservation efforts are especially important for American States facing water scarcity issues due to legal issues of water rights which limit their access to the water that the Colorado River provides. Localities such as Las Vegas have begun to limit outdoor swimming pool sizes in an effort to save water. California has emergency rules in place to save water by limiting the watering of lawns.^[12]

A major issue of using desalination to solve water scarcity is the energy cost of desalination. While great strides have been made in the energy efficiency of desalination technology, much of the desalination effort still uses fossil fuels, such as the Ashelkon Plant which is gas fired. The emission of greenhouse gasses to solve the water scarcity problem only exacerbates the issue since global warming is a major cause of new water scarcity issues around the world.^[13] Novel technologies such as small-medium scale solar powered desalination systems are being developed in Israel to supply farming operations and hotels with potable water. The new solar powered desalination systems use up to 90% less energy than conventional desalination systems.

The water scarcity issues around the world largely revolve around lack of access to fresh water; water is still extremely abundant in the world. Desalination is a method of turning unusable saltwater into potable water. In a sense, it is transporting water from areas of high availability into low availability. Aqueduct systems do the same. In the American West, water scarcity largely revolves around a drought which is drying up the Colorado River, the primary source of freshwater for a number of Western States. However, in the American Northwest, there is an abundance of water. Methods to transport that water to the water scare American Southwest can help alleviate water stress in the region. Similar projects have been undertaken multiple times in the American Northeast. During the 19th century, the Croton river in Upstate New York was diverted via the New Croton Dam. During the 20th century, more projects were undertaken to continue to divert water from areas of high-availability and low need to New York City where the availability of clean water in the area could not meet the demand. The Catskill Aqueduct System, which began construction in 1907, built over 160 miles of aqueducts. Following the completion of the Catskill Aqueduct System, city planners looked for other sources of water to supply the city in preparation for future increases in demand. The city planners identified the Delaware Aqueduct System which built around 115 miles of aqueducts to transport water from the Delaware River to New York City.^[14] A similar project was developed during the 1960s called The North American Water and Power Alliance (NAWAPA). NAWAPA would divert water from rivers in the Pacific Northwest to the American Southwest as well as connect the water sources to the Great Lakes in the Midwest. However, due to the grand scale of the project, it ultimately failed to come to fruition.^[15][16]

As an intrinsic human need, water and its accessibility remains a universal concern that accentuates the vital importance of having a reliable and safe supply for its myriad of uses so much hygienic as agricultural. The implications of overcoming such a task are only feasible through the use of novel and innovative technologies in conjunction with interdisciplinary collaboration which could provide the science and resources necessary to combat water scarcity with water treatment and management solutions. Technological headways in nanofiltration, oxidation-reduction, and reverse osmosis use state-of-the art filtering membranes in high pressurized systems to remove contaminants as small as .005 um, thus reusing existing water sources to regenerate purified water.^[17] The Western States Water Council (WSWC) have negotiated federal, state, financial, ecological and technological constraints on water reuse with release of the EPA’s National Water Reuse Action Plan (WRAP) in 2020 as a collaborative effort in sustainability, security, and resilience of resources.^[18]

In addition, rainwater harvesting in conjunction with cloud seeding has been receiving more attention for the western United States where acute drought stricken regions are desperate for any uptick in precipitations. Releasing silver iodide particles into atmospheric storm or rain clouds generates supercooled water crystals around them which sparks a chain reaction of water crystallization, condensation, and precipitation.^[19]