When I was a teenager, growing up in the Sacramento Delta of California in the late l950s, we joined the ranks of homeowners in a new suburban development.

Carved out of rich farmlands, these new homes came with a nice chunk of backyard and a smaller front yard, but no grass.

I spent many a hot summer morning watering the dirt, looking for the first green shoots to appear.

The image that stays in my mind is that of dozens of neighborhood sprinklers spraying water into the air while small rivers of runoff rushed down the curbs and into the nearby storm drains.

Water was plentiful.

No one ever worried about wasting it, except perhaps the farmers, who depended upon vast irrigation systems in our basically dry climate. 

Fast forward to 2009.  The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is a huge natural estuary, composed of nearly 60 islands and tracts, crisscrossed by manmade channels and sloughs.  Two thirds of the Delta is below sea level, and is protected by an intricate series of man-made levees. These levees guard the Delta from daily high tides, prevent flooding, and keep salt water from San Francisco Bay from intruding into the freshwater wetlands.  This estuary is home to more than 750 species of plants and animals, many of which are now in decline due to population increase, environmental degradation, invasive plant species, and urban development.  This single estuary provides fresh water from Northern California downstream to hundreds of communities and farms.  California is now experiencing a drought and water reserves are extremely low.  If the levees protecting the Delta, many of which were built more than 100 years ago, were damaged due to flooding or an earthquake, California would likely not be able to provide enough water for all its residents and farmers.  California is a key source of food for the rest of the United States. 

This scenario, unfortunately, is playing out around the world.  A current issue of National Geographic spoke to the crisis in the Murray-Darling region of Australia, a breadbasket for Australia, now facing it’s seventh year of drought.  Grasslands have dried up, once productive orchards are being plowed under and farmers are selling off their livestock, rather than watch them starve to death.  Farmers, who pay for allotments of water from the Murray River, are now being told they will receive none.  Years of drawing on the river for irrigation have slowed it to the point where salt water is now intruding where it meets the sea. 

What about here in New York?  Surely we have abundant water?  According to U.S Government estimates, the Great Lakes are shrinking, especially Lake Superior, Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.  Although Lakes Erie and Ontario received good rainfalls in recent years, reservoirs in the Catskills, providing water to NYC, have fallen to record lows.  The government projects that 36 states will face water shortages within the next five years.  Lack of water particularly impacts price and availability of food and feed crops, as well as drinking water for both humans and livestock. 

Higher global temperatures worldwide have caused more water evaporation and smaller glacial and snow pack levels, all of which contribute to less water.  We can no longer afford to treat water as an unlimited, cheap resource.  The recent shortage in Adams, due in part to low water tables, could be a preview of future water issues. 

What can we do?  Clearly there have to be governmental policies to manage water resources, but there is much we can do as individuals.  First and most important, is to be aware of our water consumption habits.  Second, conservation of water needs to become a high priority. 

Some steps to conserve water: 

Take shorter showers. 

Capture water in a bucket while showering and use it to water houseplants. 

Fill the bathtub to less than halfway. 

Install low-flow toilets and don’t flush unnecessarily. 

Turn off the water while you are shaving, shampooing, washing your hands, or brushing your teeth. 

Repair leaky faucets and turn taps off tightly.  A leaky faucet can waste 15 to 20 gallons a day. 

Install faucet aerators. 

Use a basin to rinse hand-washed dishes, rather than letting the water run. 

Chill water in the refrigerator rather than letting it run until it gets cold. 

Run the dishwasher and the washing machine with full-loads, or use a water-saving or short-cycle if available. 

Use an automatic shutoff nozzle on your hose. 

Use a broom to sweep your porch, sidewalk, and driveway rather than washing them. 

Water lawn or garden before 9 a.m. or after 7 p.m. to reduce evaporation. 

Your turn:  What suggestions do you have for conserving water? 

Resources and inspirations: 

www.newscientist.com - Article on decreasing water levels in some of the Great Lakes. 

www.nrdc.org/issues/  Information on water shortages and the connection to global warming. 

You Are Here:  Exposing the Vital Link Between What We Do and What That Does to Our Planet, by Thomas M. Kostigen. 

Next week:  Enjoy a green Thanksgiving.