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ncc74656m t1_jchgud4 wrote

The trouble here is that one year's heavy precipitation does not a drought end make. You need consistent rain that doesn't overwhelm the dams or cause regular releases which largely go to waste (at least for most human use), and deep, consistent snowpack, which is built up over many years, not a single event.

If it returned to drought this year, that water would still run out very quickly.

People need to not go back to their wasteful habits, we need to get farms out of the arid climate, let aquifers refill, and kill off the golf courses and wasteful lawns.

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AzLibDem t1_jchmxi3 wrote

>we need to get farms out of the arid climate

Agreed. Stop eating lettuce in the winter.

Edit: I love the down-votes; everyone loves to tell us how to live in the desert, but they get upset when we point out that they're part of the problem.

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Hunter62610 t1_jchxbcb wrote

wait does my lettuce in NJ come from Arizona? Why would they even do that.... oh money.

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AzLibDem t1_jchxvsh wrote

>wait does my lettuce in NJ come from Arizona? Why would they even do that.... oh money.

80% of the lettuce in the US after September comes from Arizona, because it's too cold to grow it elsewhere.

Agriculture uses around 85% of our water, but accounts for about 2% of our income.

We need to tack on a $5 per head water use surcharge.

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lintinmypocket t1_jci00ls wrote

Or just grow it in greenhouses in the southeast US.

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AzLibDem t1_jci06cz wrote

Fine with me; what's taking so long?

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lintinmypocket t1_jci19j9 wrote

It would probably cost more. But to be quite honest I think that growing in the winter in the southwest probably is not the worst decision, it’s growing in the summer, combined with flood irrigation that is an egregious waste of water. Even if irrigation moved to drip or more water conserving sources that would be a help. And the govt needs to STOP subsidizing certain crops to be grown in arid regions for export. Also also water laws in the SW are bananas.

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AzLibDem t1_jci1qxh wrote

We need to just stop all of it.

It wastes our water, and brings in relatively little money, Without it, we have all the water we need to live here.

If people want salad, they can grow the stuff elsewhere.

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