As Texas Continues To Increase In Urbanization, The Amount

Lastly, Mr. Richard A. Kaizer expresses that “Somewhere between the common enemy and natural flow rules is the rule of ‘reasonable flow’” (28). The reasonable use rule or reasonable flow rule allows land owners to divert or change the flow of diffused surface water (“Texas Water Law”). Landowners may divert diffused surface water using by any means possible even to the harming of neighbors lands as long as it

Arizona has an incredibly large dependence on the Colorado River and groundwater. In fact, 39% of all water usage in Arizona is comprised of Colorado River water. Any dependence of that scale on any resource that originates in another area is always a major risk, as any major disaster or drastic change to the source of the river can cripple the state’s water supply. Furthermore, while Arizona does house the majority of the Lower Basin of the Colorado, the Colorado’s Upper Basin is shared between 4 other states, all with their own water needs and all with a susceptibility to drought. On the other hand, another 40% of all water Arizona uses is from groundwater sources. However, the Colorado River and these groundwater sources in the Colorado River basins have lost over 65 cubic kilometers of water over the last 9 years, with nearly 2/3 of it from groundwater loss due to over-pumping. This is because

Envision yourself, about to complete a straightforward, everyday thing such as washing the dishes, suddenly to your surprise there is no water coming out of the faucet. Well for the civilians of East Porterville this is their reality. California has always had very lenient and ineffective groundwater regulations. Today, this has become a major issue, especially with California's severe drought. The regulation of the aquifer is a necessity because cleanliness is a basic human right and by not regulating the groundwater and leaving civilians with no working water, that right is taken away. The right to bathe, wash your hands, and have a working toilet is simply no more. Furthermore there are scientific statements, proving that excessively pumping groundwater will lower the water levels, which will likely lead to the land level sinking as well.

Texas, with its abundances of natural resources, is facing a new demon, one that doesn’t even seem possible, a shortage of water. Water, without it nothing can survive. Texas is the second largest state for landmass in the nation and ninth for water square miles. Within the borders of Texas are more than 100 lakes, 14 major rivers, and 23 aquifers, so why has water become such an important issue for the state? Politicians and conservationists all agree that without a new working water plan, the state could be facing one of the most damaging environmental disasters they have ever seen. The issues that shape the states positions are population growth, current drought conditions, and who actually owns the water.

Imagine having to go outside every time one needs to use the restroom. There has been a drought going on in California for the past four years. There is a feud for water between farmers, citizens, and the drillers who get drain the water. The drought is a damaging issue that is affecting the lives of many. Therefore, California’s government should pass laws to manage how aquifers are to be properly used.

This system was established in response to the relatively short amount and inaccessibility of water compared to the eastern United States, where a riparian system is employed. Prior appropriation, long known as the Colorado Doctrine, is often identified by its “first in time, first in right” motto. This means that whoever uses the water first, despite where they might reside, receives that water right, allowing for the transmission of water to areas that may need it (Frosch 2014). This was originally established so that those people who would actually put the water to good use, either for farming or mining, would receive these rights, allowing for economic growth of the new

“The crippling drought is expected to cost the state $2.2 billion in 2014 and put more than 17,000 farm workers out of a job, according to a July study partly funded by the state’s department of food and agriculture” (Source2). There should be laws to manage groundwater because I don’t want to take a shower once a week and I don’t want to have to pay to drink good clean water because water should be free to drink.

Fresh water is a valuable resource in Texas and it is anticipated that over the next fifty years supply will cease to meet demand. The current state water plan has many inadequacies and is not considered to be very sustainable, cost-effective, or environmentally-sound. Basically for an estimated fifty three billion dollars, the plan proposes to build twenty six new reservoir sites and a series of long-haul water pipelines which would have environmentally damaging impacts (Hardberger). The state water plan does not account for some items that many environmentalists believe to be critical and mistakenly assumes that we will continue to use water in the same way for the next fifty years (Hardberger). The 2012 Texas State Water Plan should be

In the United States, there are two primary water right laws; the first is riparian water rights and the second is prior appropriation water rights. Riparian water rights has two methods of use. One method is the person who owns the land by the water source owns the water, but cannot interfere with the natural flow of the water. The other is based upon reasonable use. A person can use the water if it is reasonable for the purpose of his needs. This is based on case by case usage. Prior appropriation water rights gives the right of the water to whoever claimed the land by it first. The person with seniority has right to use as much water as wanted.

The state of Florida is very dependent on groundwater, primarily for public and agricultural supply. Indeed, the largest source of drinking water in Florida is groundwater from the state’s massive aquifer system; approximately ninety percent of the state’s drinking water is extracted from groundwater sources (Marella, 2004). According to Marella (2004), “Between 1970 and 2000, total freshwater withdrawals increased for public supply by 176 percent and for agricultural self-supplied by 87 percent” (p. 1). As discussed previously, a growing population correlates with an increase in the demand for groundwater resources. Groundwater is currently being pumped out of Florida’s aquifers faster than the state’s abundant rainfall can refill them (Barnett, 2007, p.2).

An aquifer is a permeable rock underground that bears water, this water can be collected through wells for people to use and drink. Within Texas there are 23 different aquifers, but for Central Texas we tend to favor Edwards Aquifer and due to this many problems have arisen for the aquifer and its inhabitants. We will first discuss the history of Edwards Aquifer, the reasons behind the current issue concerning the aquifer including what species are endangered and why, and lastly what solutions are being set forth.

That includes deciding whether to use precious water hauled from the local fire stations for the “bird baths” Mrs Gallegos says everyone now has instead of showers, or flushing the toilet.”(source 2)“It’s been terrible, really tough,” says the 38-year-old fruit packer, to have run out of water during one of the worst droughts in the state’s recorded history.”(source2) i think we should have laws because we need to preserve water so it can last and we need the water for the farmers food and crops. We also need to stay hydrated so we need the water to drink.

The High Plains aquifer was formed from erosion and transporting materials of sands, clay, and gravel from the Rocky Mountains from stream flows. This aquifer provides water for uses of irrigation and drinking water for eight of the fifty states which are South Dakota, Texas, Nebraska, Colorado, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas, and Wyoming. Since this aquifer spans over a vast area, it is considered the largest in the United States. Also, because this aquifer passes through eight different states, each state has a different policy about how each said state should handle the conservation of the ground water that provides water to nearly 2.3 million people, and because it covers such a large area over agricultural land, most of the water is used in irrigating the crops for 30 percent of the United States (Dennehy, 2013). The discrepancies between the eight states the aquifer overlies causes huge problems involving the depletion of the groundwater source if certain measures are not taken to sustain the livelihood of The High Plains Aquifer (Mann, 2009).

Its planting season in Colorado, Sergio, a resident of Greeley, goes to Home Depot, and buys a wide range of plants: Heirloom tomatoes, tulips, sunflowers and even some daisies for his garden. Like most Coloradoans, he loves spending countless of hours outside, maintaining his garden. There is a great devotion to horticulture and hard work, digging holes, having the right fertilizer, the appropriate spacing between plants, and of course watering them. In order to keep these plants lush and flourishing with a spectrum of color, water is a necessity. A great way to obtain water is to harvest rainwater. The state of Colorado is known for its sustainable efforts for the environment. So conserving rainwater from one’s rooftop is common-sense. But if Sergio were to harvest rainwater from his downspouts, he would be breaking the law. The debate is to whether to allow residents of Colorado to collect rainwater in barrels for outdoor purposes.

Nevada, Florida, Ohio, Arizona, and Pennsylvania accounted for 52 percent of fresh groundwater withdrawals. Oil and gas operations in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Wyoming and California were responsible for the large saline groundwater withdrawals in those states because saline water is a byproduct of mining operations. The use of water in mining has the potential and has been known to affect the quality of surrounding surface water and groundwater. In response to environmental concerns and government regulations, the mining industry worldwide increasingly monitors water discharged from mine sites and has implemented a number of management strategies to prevent water pollution. One such strategy is the use of remote sensing to assess impact of mining activities on land and water resources.