Despite California's recent storms, the state, like the rest of the American West, is in the midst of an ongoing drought, the driest 22 years in the last 1,200 years. The facts still remain. While these storms may occur, temporarily Drought conditions eased in California, replenishing depleted water supplies and inadequate water infrastructure limit How much water can be captured and stored for drier periods? simply flows into the sea. in any case, according to According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, California remains in drought conditions, with some regions, including the Imperial Valley, experiencing drought conditions and water outages. last. Outside of California, much of the West continues to dry up in a prolonged drought, and the Mississippi River declines as the drought moves eastward. Dropped Part of the Missouri River is now record low.
We are already seeing the severe impact this drought is having on our country, and it is clear that the effects will only get worse if we do not take action. Beyond the obvious fact that we cannot live without water, every industry and every job depends on sufficient freshwater resources. To adapt to the growing water crisis, policymakers at the state and local level must leverage the array of federal funds and other policy tools available from Congress and the executive branch to address this challenge head-on. be.
serious problem
Lake Powell and Lake Mead are reservoirs that provide water to millions of people in the West. extremely low level.But de well above average This year's snowfall at the headwaters of the Colorado River will have minimal impact on the restoration of these critical water supplies in the long term.A community outside Scottsdale, Arizona recently received water service cut off This is due to a decrease in water supply from the Colorado River.Even after heavy rains earlier this year, as of this writing California Estimate 386 water systems across the state are currently out of order and 431 more are at risk of failure, impacting nearly 2 million people. According to the new report Due to the impact of drought on California, the amount of idle farmland in the state increased by an estimated 752,000 acres in 2022, compared to $1.7 billion in lost revenue in 2019.In Texas, cotton farmers Forced Nearly 70% of all cotton planted in the state will fall fallow in 2022, reducing the U.S. cotton crop by 21% while nearly three-quarters (74%) of all U.S. farmers will face drought reported that they were forced to reduce their harvest due to according to to the American Farm Bureau Federation.
Besides agriculture and drinking water, water scarcity will also have serious impacts on other sectors. Water is a critical input for countless industries, from manufacturing to mining, and is required for nearly every type of energy generation. Without enough water, the data centers that power the digital economy will overheat, impacting countless areas of the economy and society. Without decisive action, this deepening water crisis will have devastating effects, including food and clean water shortages, unreliable power grids, unstable digital servers, and crippled manufacturing sectors. You will be giving. As the severe drought situation continues, it is clear that it will continue to have a significant impact on our country and the world at large. Action is seriously needed.
State and local governments are taking action.
Efforts have already begun in many states and local governments. In Colorado, new efforts Efforts are underway to expand cloud seeding to increase snowfall that brings snow to the critical Colorado River watershed during the winter. A new desalination plant has been built in Orange County, California. approved Last year, it provided 5 million gallons of fresh water per day.In Nevada, policymakers guided has long been committed to implementing water conservation policies such as water efficient piping, water recycling and reuse. Additionally, many states are replenishing their aquifers. more and more This is seen as an important way to rebuild natural seafloor storage during periods of high rainfall, while ensuring that water storage does not simply evaporate during extremely hot summers. While none of these examples are “silver bullets” for solving water crises, they are examples of tools state and local policymakers have at their disposal.
Fortunately, significant federal resources are available to states and localities to implement these policy solutions to address this water crisis. State and local policymakers are leveraging technologies such as cloud seeding and desalination to make more freshwater resources available, as well as water efficiency initiatives such as water reclamation and reuse projects. These resources need to be prioritized in order to increase.
what must be done
The Infrastructure Investment and Employment Act provides $8.3 billion We provide water resilience funding to Western states and local governments through discretionary grants administered by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. This includes significant funding for a variety of uses, including funding water recycling, desalination, and water efficiency projects. This includes $1 billion for water recycling, $1.15 billion for water storage improvement projects, $1 billion for rural water projects, and $250 million for desalination projects and research. With these funds, states can build desalination plants to increase the supply of fresh water to coastal population centers, use water more efficiently with modern water storage systems and water recycling, and add resources to local water infrastructure. Investments can help farmers secure the water resources they need.
Many states still have sufficient American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) funds available. At the local level, data Cities and counties still have nearly half of their allocated ARP funds remaining, according to reports from the National Association of Counties, National League of Cities, and Brookings Metro.Recently, Congress passed it As part of this year's omnibus, legislation was enacted to give states and local governments more flexibility in using coronavirus relief funds for infrastructure projects and disaster relief. Countries should take advantage of this new flexibility to leverage COVID-19 relief fund projects to combat water crises.
Finally, the president should declare a federal disaster for the ongoing major drought to free up more federal emergency resources to drought-stricken states, as a group of Western governors are doing. Before requested. As the Western Governors noted in a 2021 letter to the President, the Stafford Act specifically authorizes federal disaster declarations for drought. The declaration of a state of emergency under the Stafford Act allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide large-scale federal assistance to state and local governments for direct assistance to individuals and businesses, as well as public assistance and hazard mitigation assistance to state and local governments. Allows emergency resources to be deployed.
While the president did so; declare Although California's recent floods have caused a disaster, this assistance is limited to flood efforts and does not provide assistance for the ongoing drought and resulting water crisis. By declaring a federal drought disaster, the president can free up critically needed federal emergency resources for state and local governments and help reduce the damage caused by ongoing natural disasters. Federal aid can be provided directly to affected individuals and businesses.
The United States is facing a truly monumental challenge of water scarcity not seen in the past 1,000 years. It is imperative that policy makers at the state and local level implement policy solutions that leverage all available resources to use available water more efficiently and increase the amount of freshwater available. . At the same time, Congress and the White House must take action to make additional resources available to state and local governments. In doing so, policymakers at all levels of government can help build greater water resilience and enable the United States to meet and overcome this challenge.
About the author
grant baker
Grant Baker is an associate manager of strategic advocacy and state and local policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
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