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Hawk---- t1_j45t4ae wrote

Reply to comment by Sea-Spray5150 in 'Extreme' drought status nearly eliminated in California in wake of atmospheric rivers by are_slash_wash

Or maybe stop massively overdrawing from the river instead?

People like to go on about how the river needs rain as though the problem is just a lack of rain, all while ignoring the fact the US has a massive problem with the way it supplies water and where it draws it from.

Yes, the lack of rain is an issue. But it's not the cause. The cause is the overdrawing of water from strained sources that can't sustain the demand, even if the drought was broken.

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jbouser_99 t1_j4706xo wrote

So what's the alternative?

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brett1081 t1_j472ye4 wrote

Live in different states. Quite frankly Phoenix shouldn’t exist in its current form.

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rrfe t1_j483wnh wrote

Whenever there’s a water crisis anywhere, and the residential usage is published, it’s usually quite small relative to agriculture. What percentage of its overall water supply does Phoenix use?

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Kagahami t1_j48kure wrote

This. Agricultural and industrial use is monumental compared to residential.

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Axiled t1_j473665 wrote

Looks like it would need more examination into what causes the overdrawing...

For example: grass yards require a lot of water... is that really necessary? How much can be saved here?
Agriculture generally gets a lot of water allotment. Are there methods of farming that reduce water needs? How can that be encouraged? Are there different crops that use less that can be farmed instead?

There are ways to address overdrawing, some are cultural and some need a lot more context of the area that is overdrawing.

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[deleted] t1_j49v0sa wrote

The issue for farming near the Colorado river is if a farmer doesn't use all of their water allotment they lose it. A lot of farmers in AZ grow water intensive crops because of this. The issue isn't the farming, we already know how to grow low water crops, it's the laws and bureaucracy around it that prevents any sort of change.

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