In
my July blog for Water Efficiency’s sister publication, Distributed
Energy, I appropriated the age old question of a tree falling in the woods
by asking “if
a green building stands empty, is it still “sustainable?”
After reviewing some of today’s water headlines, I’m beginning to wonder if the
same holds true for conveyance systems: If new pipes are bone dry, are they
still a water delivery system? Or maybe the question should be: If you build it,
will the water flow?
In
January, I discussed a plan put forth by the California Department of Water
Resources that attempts to alleviate increasing demand in the southern portion
of the state with the construction
of a canal to divert water from the Sacramento River. This week, it was
announced that, in fact, officials at the agency are conducting feasibility
studies on an “all tunnel” option that involves a 35-mile tunnel designed to
route water under the Bay Delta and deliver it to customers in the south.
Those
of you following the Delta-smelt decision in California and the resulting water
shortages are aware of the contentious relationship between the northern and
southern parts of the state when it comes to the management of local water
resources. With pumping currently restricted (because of the endangered
delta smelt), there is some question as to whether a large infrastructure
project such as this underground tunnel (which some opponents allege could
actually stretch as far as 50 miles) can be completed in a way that protects the
delicate delta ecosystem and disperses the state’s water resources in an
equitable manner. Additionally,
there is some concern over costs (some estimates put the bill as high as $15
billion) and how the tunnel would be managed.
On
the other side of the country, a worse case scenario is already taking shape.
Some of you no doubt remember Georgia Governor Sonny Purdue’s prayer for rain.
Although afterwards Atlanta did experience some much-needed precipitation, it
looks like the governor’s water crisis is far from over: And Georgia is not
alone. In fact, the southern states are “canaries in the coal mine”: The
challenges they face and the solutions they employ are part of a first front in
what could be rightly called a water war.
Last
month, a judge ruled that Georgia has no more than a minor legal right to the
water of Lake Lanier—making Georgia the loser in a long-running water rights
dispute between Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. Lake Lanier supplies three
million Atlanta residents, and the loss of that resource impacts the state’s
rural areas in a way that mirrors the situation in California. In fact, it’s
déjà vu, with environmentalists pitted against urban residents, while farmers
worry that their own water allocations will dry up. And much like the
ramifications felt after the delta-smelt court decision in California severely
cut back the amount of water pumped out of the delta, in June of this year, a
district court ruled that without a congressional deal in the next three years,
withdrawals from Lake Lanier could be drastically cut.
Of
course, the main difference in Georgia is that the water from Lake Lanier
belongs to three states—making a resolution that much more difficult to come by.
And much like California’s governor and his water task force, Governor Purdue is
weighing all his options: larger legal case based on a 150-year-old supreme
court decision that gives Georgia a larger share of the lake’s water, and
perhaps controversial interbasin water transfers (shifting water from one river
basin to another). But even if Georgia gains rights to all the water in the
lake, it won’t be enough.
That’s
because a continuing drought has dried up the region’s reservoirs, including
Lake Lanier. Water levels at the lake (and at the Allatoona reservoir, which
also supplies water to Atlanta) have shrunk so far down that all that’s left is
dirty, bacteria-laden water just inches above the “dead zone”—the
final layer of stored water that’s high in organic material (like decaying
plants and animals) and low on oxygen. This substandard water supplying is
forcing many communities to employ ever stronger water treatment methods,
proving that even if you have the infrastructure in place, in the end it’s all
about the level and quality of your water supply.
For
more on the California water tunnel, go to: http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/08/07/07greenwire-calif-adds-delta-tunnel-to-list-of-possible-wa-87104.html
To
read about the crisis in Georgia, go to:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j7WAc28al0-r3Q6Rvy0Oi4OwobJAD99U98G00
http://www.sunjournal.com/node/102363