Recently in Water resources Category

More precious than gold in California. More precious than oil (and worth going to war over?) in the Middle East. A critical variable in a natural gas equation that is essential to Obama's energy plan. And the bottled version, once the darling of beverage dispensers and the progressively health-conscientious, now rankles many.

I noticed on a map one day that the entire coast of Oregon consisted of parks. As it turns out, there is 363 continuous miles of protected shoreline. In a day and age where companies and individuals have sectioned off shoreline, or destroyed its natural beauty by building right to the shore, Oregon's approach is refreshing. Of course, we have to be careful of the government trying to take private land. However, Oregon's approach should be carefully considered in preserving nature. I'm all for advancement and economic development, but at what point does it become excessive, over-development? Maybe the answer lies in comparing the two extremes.

Amy Hardberger:

The water supply sector utilizes large amounts of energy to transport, treat, and deliver water.  On the flip side, vast quantities of water are required to generate power.

I pinged Glenn Reynolds a while ago on not seeing the link between nuke power and water consumption.  Amy's article points out the inter-dependence of water supplies and energy. 

Having lived with routine power outages on Guam for a couple years, I'd rather lose power than water.  But it seams we're losing the ability to chose between the two.

All the men of Judah and Benjamin met in Jerusalem within the three days. It was the twentieth day of the ninth month. They all sat down in the plaza in front of The Temple of God. Because of the business before them, and aggravated by the buckets of rain coming down on them, they were restless, uneasy, and anxious. 

-- Ezra 10:9, The Message

Glenn Reynolds links to this PopSci article on an unsual battle over state water rights.

Capturing rain may be one of humanity's most ancient methods of acquiring water, but now it's coming back in vogue. Rather than press their luck with drought, conservation-conscious homeowners are setting up rudimentary rain barrels and elaborate rainwater storage systems to catch precipitation for nondrinking purposes, such as watering their lawns. But while rainwater may seem like a global common, nowadays it depends on where you live: By capturing rainwater, some homeowners are breaking the law. This has put city and state governments in an awkward position—smack in the middle of competing water users and advocates, often from within their own agencies, of conserving water to protect supplies.  

I was on the Descanso Water District board of directors from 2003-2006.  After we spent a good deal of time dealing with the after effects of some signficiant water system issues our main focus was on environmental compliance.  But I never remember us even once considering going after folks for collecting the water that fell on their property.

Either state legislators and regulators have way to much time on their hands or the water availability "bubble" in some states is closer to breaking than anybody realizes.