Seven states running out of water

The United States is currently engulfed in one of the worst droughts in recent memory. More than 30% of the country experienced at least moderate drought as of last week's data.

In seven states drought conditions were so severe that each had more than half of its land area in severe drought. Severe drought is characterized by crop loss, frequent water shortages, and mandatory water use restrictions. Based on data from the U.S. Drought Monitor, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the states with the highest levels of severe drought.

In an interview, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) meteorologist Brad Rippey, told 24/7 Wall St. that drought has been a long-running issue in parts of the country. "This drought has dragged on for three and a half years in some areas, particularly (in) North Texas," Rippey said.

While large portions of the seven states suffer from severe drought, in some parts of these states drought conditions are even worse. In six of the seven states with the highest levels of drought, more than 30% of each state was in extreme drought as of last week, a more severe level of drought characterized by major crop and pasture losses, as well as widespread water shortages. Additionally, in California and Oklahoma, 25% and 30% of the states, respectively, suffered from exceptional drought, the highest severity classification. Under exceptional drought, crop and pasture loss is widespread, and shortages of well and reservoir water can lead to water emergencies.

Drought has had a major impact on important crops such as winter wheat. "So much of the winter wheat is grown across the southern half of the Great Plains," Rippey said, an area that includes Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas, three of the hardest-hit states. Texas alone had nearly a quarter of a million farms in 2012, the most out of any state, while neighboring Oklahoma had more than 80,000 farms, trailing only three other states.

In the Southwest, concerns are less-focused on agriculture and more on reservoir levels, explained Rippey. In Arizona, reservoir levels were just two-thirds of their usual average. Worse still, in New Mexico, reservoir stores were only slightly more than half of their normal levels. "And Nevada is the worst of all. We see storage there at about a third of what you would expect," Rippey said.

The situation in California may well be the most problematic of any state. The entire state was suffering from severe drought as of last week, and 75% of all land area was under extreme drought. "Reservoirs which are generally fed by the Sierra Nevadas and the southern Cascades [are] where we see the real problems," Rippey said. Restrictions on agricultural water use has forced many California farmers to leave fields fallow, he added. "At [the current] usage rate, California has less than two years of water remaining."

The U.S. Drought Monitor is produced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the seven states with the highest proportions of total area classified in at least a state of severe drought as of May 13, 2014. We also reviewed figures recently published by the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service as part of its 2012 Census of Agriculture.

These are the seven states running out of water.
7. Texas

> Pct. severe drought: 56.1%

6. Oklahoma

> Pct. severe drought: 64.5%

5. Arizona

> Pct. severe drought: 76.3%

4. Kansas

> Pct. severe drought: 80.8%

3. New Mexico

> Pct. severe drought: 86.2%

2. Nevada

> Pct. severe drought: 87.0%

1. California

> Pct. severe drought: 100.0%
> Pct. extreme drought: 76.7% (the highest)

> Pct. exceptional drought: 24.8% (2nd highest)

California had the nation's worst drought problem with more than 76% of the state experiencing extreme drought as of last week. Drought in California has worsened considerably in recent years. Severe drought conditions covered the entire state, as of last week. Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency earlier this year as the drought worsened. California had 465,422 hired farm workers in 2012, more than any other state. Farm workers would likely suffer further if conditions persist. The shortage of potable water has been so severe that California is now investing in long-term solutions, such as desalination plants. A facility that is expected to be the largest in the Western hemisphere is currently under construction in Southern California, and another desalination facility is under consideration in Orange County.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/06/01/states-running-out-of-wa...
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For all Actions & In-actions, there are Consequences!

The period ahead will confirm that WE have pushed nature to far & that nature will now push us in return!

progressiveslol wrote on Jul 1^st, 2014 at 11:01pm:

Climate change is real.

How much to attribute to CO2?

The IPCC says temperatures rose .35C prior to 1970, before AGW. That is natural variation.
The IPCC says temperatures have risen .55C since AGW.
If we assume natural variation remained at .35C then CO2 caused .2C warming.
Not the dominant forcing since 1970 let alone last century.

MOTR wrote on Jul 7^th, 2014 at 9:24am:



Perhaps I should have been more specific. No AGW due to GHG emissions. Certainly AGW overall from land clearing etc.

'There is very high confidence that the net effect of human activities since 1750 has been one of warming.[6] {2.2}

Most of the observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic GHG concentrations.[7] It is likely that there has been significant anthropogenic warming over the past 50 years averaged over each continent (except Antarctica) (Figure SPM.4). {2.4} '

http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/syr/en/spms2.html

http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/

The above link shows a map of the current US Drought situation.

With much of the Western & Southern parts of the US now in a serious drought, this has ramifications for the Food & Water supply of a great number of people.

This also highlights that the current Climate Change relates to the current unfolding situation and how it will play out in the decades & centuries ahead, not how it relates to what happened in the past, particularly in the distant past, prior to humanities existence.

That said, there is ample evidence, for those who look with open minds, that man has certainly impacted what is currently happening and
in the years, decades & centuries ahead we shall reap what we have sown!

Or, more to the point, we shall not reap enough of what we have sown, to feed our hungry Billions! 

lee wrote on Jul 26^th, 2014 at 12:31pm:

when?

lee wrote on Jul 27^th, 2014 at 12:08pm:

wow, some serious science going on there 

Who can believe it though?   

'A 1,200-year perspective of 21st century drought in southwestern North America'

http://www.pnas.org/content/107/50/21283.full



Blue is precipitation, Brown is temperature.