Diminishing Resources: The Drought In California

By Aleida Moreno on August 25, 2014

If you live in a major city in California, you’ve probably heard about the serious drought that is ravishing our state but haven’t had it affect your life in a major way.

Your morning routine still involves brushing your teeth, washing your face, heating water for your coffee, showering and flushing your toilet. This type of morning routine is what contributes to the U.S. Geological Survey’s estimates that each household in America uses anywhere between 80 and 100 gallons of water on a daily basis.

In smaller cities, like the San Joaquin Valley, the drought has severely affected the lives of residents who have been left without drinking water from their home faucets because individual wells have been depleted. The situation is so bad, in fact, that water is being rationed to residents of this area and dozens of households have reported having little to no drinking water available to them.

Despite the lack of media coverage emphasizing how serious this drought is, California residents should be aware that the situation is indeed a dire one.

Although this statistic may sound alarmist, researchers have approximated that there is only enough water in our California reserves to last us for another 12-18 months. It is this kind of information that needs to be made known widely, because it is only when things get serious that people really begin to think critically about their impact on the environment and the lives of others.

Saving water is not at all difficult, and with good planning, it’s something that every household in America can do. The American Water and Energy Savers website has an extensive list on easy ways to save water.

It’s as easy as changing up the way we wash dishes–by soaking them before running them through a quick rinse–and thinking back on silly sayings like “if it’s yellow, let it mellow; if it’s brown flush it down.”

While it would be a pleasure to end this on a light note, the future looks bleak for California water supplies and an urgent change in households across the state is crucial to the survival of the people of California. All we can do is try to conserve as much water as possible and hope for rain come autumn.

Central California, the heart of California agriculture, is in serious trouble. (image via http://www.freerepublic.com)

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