Southwest drought

I love to visit the southwestern deserts. I'm used to lush, forested areas in the east that are full of rivers and streams, so going to a place of bare rock and plants that can cling to life on only inches of rain every year is like visiting another world. Whenever I go out west and hike in the desert, I'm amazed by the hardiness of life. Trees take root in small cracks in bare rock. Flowers spring up from the middle of vast expanses of sand. Cacti flourish in areas that reach well over 110 degrees in the summer. In the desert, life finds a way. I am also equally amazed when I visit cities like Las Vegas. I will never forget the first time I visited Vegas. My first shock was seeing slot machines at the airport that accepted $100 bills. My next shock was seeing water  fountains everywhere on the downtown strip. I watched, mesmerized, at the fountain display at the Bellagio, as water whipped around like liquid ballet dancers. I watched pirates prance around on a ship in the middle of a fake lake at Treasure Island. Water flows through that city like liquid gold. But the next day when I headed towards Utah for a backpacking trip, I noticed that Vegas really and truly is in the middle of a desert. Not a drop of water can be seen for miles around the city. The road towards Utah is bleak, barren desert. Why was a city in the middle of a desert wasting so much water?

Today I read that Lake Mead, the huge lake formed by Hoover Dam, fairly close to Las Vegas, is at an all time low. It's actually 15 inches lower than the all-time low level recorded in 1956. The drought, now into its 11th scorching year, is likely to continue for at least another couple of years. All the while, the population and water demands in the west continue to increase. And to add to the water woes is the fact that the west is subject to extreme and lengthy droughts. The last 100 years may actually have been an abnormally wet period in an otherwise dry and parched history.

In an interview with the New York Times, Pat Mulroy, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, said "if the river flow continues downward and we can’t build back up supply, Las Vegas is in big trouble.” Indeed.

What will this mean for the west and for its dwindling water resources? Will states figure out ways to slash wasteful or unnecessary water use as water resources dwindle? Will they find other sources of water? Will they outlaw grassy lawns (I've never understood why people in the desert feel compelled to plant grass)? I've actually heard that many western states are investigating options that might seem nutty, like piping in water from the Mississippi or other far rivers, to meet demand. Heck, maybe they should consider importing water from the Amazon. Water will soon be the new oil.