(Photo of receding Lake Mead from Flickr and Roadsidepictures.)
Xtreme Weather Watch: Lake Mead, the man-made lake behind the Hoover Dam that supplies much of the water for Southern California, could totally dry up in the next 13 years, according to a researcher at the University of California at San Diego. That would affect some 30 million people in the region. For the past two decades there were signs of an impending problem, with less snow pack and lower levels in lakes and rivers as a result of climate change and overuse. After a 10-year drought the problem today is urgent, with a net deficit of 1 million acre feet of water a year. Researcher Tim Barnett says it is too late to prevent a crisis, so adaptation is the only answer here. Desalination plants on the coast and water conservation are the most likely solutions. Agriculture uses 75-80% of the water and is the No. 1 industry in California. (Newsweek)
Ocean water pumped up to Andes mines as rivers dry up
Mines high in the Andes of Peru and Chile are pumping water from the ocean because rivers are running dry. Chronic water shortages have become worse due to global warming and the melting of glaciers. The ocean water is desalinated and pumped 6,000-7,500 feet up, to furnish the metal mines and refineries on which the two countries’ economies depend. (PlanetArk)
Chile has worst drought in decades; officials give out water
In what some say is the worst drought in 80 years, wells are running dry in the south- central part of Chile, affecting 120,000 people, ruining crops and killing livestock. To avert disaster, the government has installed tanks and sends trucks once a week to fill them with water. Neighboring Bolivia, meanwhile, is inundated with rain. (PlanetArk)
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