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The crisis has sparked widespread upheaval, with frustrated residents blocking major highways in protest and people in other parts of the state setting fire to pipes that were supposed to divert emergency flows to the city. Many are angry at government officials and also the region’s mega-factories, which have largely continued work as usual thanks to federal concessions that allow them to suck water from the strained aquifer via private wells.

The surface of Lake Mead, North America’s largest artificial reservoir, now stands at 1044 feet above sea level and is dropping fast. If Lake Mead’s water level falls another 149 feet, a dangerous level known as a “dead pool” could wreak havoc across Southwestern US. Since the beginning of March, Lake Mead has dropped about 23 feet, and compared with the 5-year trend, the reservoir’s water levels are well below average, at the lowest point since the lake was filled nearly a century ago. A graph might not do justice to visualizing just how fast the water level has fallen....

As a punishing, record-breaking drought enters its 13th year, Chile has announced an unprecedented plan to ration water for the capital of Santiago, a city of nearly 6 million. “A city can’t live without water,” Claudio Orrego, the governor of the Santiago metropolitan region, said in a press conference. “And we’re in an unprecedented situation in Santiago’s 491-year history where we have to prepare for there to not be enough water for everyone who lives here.” The plan features a four-tier alert system that goes from green to red and starts with public service announcements, moves on to restricting water...

Mexico City’s water is quite literally disappearing. I have no doubt that in 2022 there will be a crisis, the reservoirs are completely depleted. What is happening in Mexico City? The ancient Aztecs originally engineered the origins of Mexico City on top of Lake Texcoco and left the surrounding natural freshwater lakes intact for use. However, as the city grew the lakes were drained to make way for infrastructure, homes, and a growing population. With expansion came an increasingly dire water security dilemma. Much of the city’s water supply comes from an underground aquifer that is being drained at an...

Security forces are firing on protesters to stop demonstrations. (excerpt) The protests began in the arid, oil-rich province of Khuzestan on July 15 amid weeks long water shortages, and have since spread to other regions. According to Weather.com, the temperature in Ahvaz, Khuzestan, was 122 degrees Fahrenheit (50 Celsius) on Monday afternoon,

At the end of April 2021, drought conditions were covering 85 percent of Mexico. Numerous lakes and reservoirs have dried up, or are in the process of drying up, including the country's second-largest body of freshwater -- Lake Cuitzeo. Before the current drought, Lake Cuitzeo was Mexico's second-biggest lake, with an area of approximately 300 - 400 km2 (120 - 150 mi2), and the site of a thriving fishing economy in Michoacán. Now, this is a cemetery of abandoned fishing boats and a shortcut for motorists which creates frequent and prolonged dust clouds that reach municipalities 20 km (12.4 miles)...

Israeli technology could have helped make a difference but the government effectively boycotts Israel News reports have been covering the looming water-shortage crisis in Cape Town, South Africa’s second-largest city. The focus of the stories, understandably, has been on the likely consequences, scary as they are. What they don’t discuss are the deeper political causes of this shocking situation, in which a major developed city and global tourist destination is about to run out of water. The immediate cause is a devastating drought, now in its third year in the Western Cape province, of which Cape Town is the capital...

There's no money in either bond measure to fix California's deficient and decrepit water infrastructure or to provide new water to fix California's chronic water shortage Droughts are naturally occurring; water shortages are government-created and political. Examples of this can be found in every water bond in recent history, put on the ballot by politicians, and passed by emotional voters. California voters will be facing two more ballot initiatives claiming to be water bonds this year, totaling $13 billion. But the overall cost will be much higher for taxpayers. One water bond is on the June 5 ballot and a...

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In one of the most comprehensive studies ever conducted of China’s bubblicious property market, Professor Gan Li at Texas A&M University estimates that there are a whopping 49 million vacant homes in China right now. As a percentage, this is twice the vacancy rate that the US housing market experienced at the peak of its recent bubble… suggesting that China has a rather painful housing collapse in store. This should be a brutal blow to the economy given that housing comprised 15% of GDP last year. And the slowdown is already apparent. In fact, China’s president Xi Jinping uncharacteristically announced...

One of the criticisms levied against hydraulic fracturing, particularly during recent periods of drought, is the amount of water used in the process. However, energy companies are seeking to reduce water use during hydraulic fracturing, even as research shows more water is used in other activities. The numbers put things into perspective. The amount of water used to frack a well varies, but most reporting entities put the figure in a range of about 3 to 6 million gallons of water. In Pennsylvania, the average amount of water per well is about 4.4 million gallons, according to State Impact Pennsylvania,...

During a meeting at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, the two emphasized their joint interests in cybersecurity, energy sources and water conservation, and suggested Israel — an arid country with a growing population — might be able to help California cope with its ongoing drought. “California doesn’t need to have a water problem,” Netanyahu said. “Israel has no water problems because we are the number one recyclers of waste water, we stop water leaks, we use drip irrigation and desalination.” Brown said he would welcome their ideas. “Israel has demonstrated how efficient a country can be, and there...

"From a climate perspective, we've been here before," Martin Hoerling, a federal research meteorologist, said last week at a drought forum in Sacramento. "We shouldn't be surprised." The state dried out like a prune in 1976-77 and before that in 1924, the most parched periods in the modern record. And ancient tree-ring records show that during the last millennium, conditions have at times been even worse. Take the year 1580, which left the narrowest growth ring — or none at all — in the California trees that University of Arizona scientist David Meko used to reconstruct a 1,000-year history of...

Central Valley farmers took a crippling blow Friday when U.S. officials made the unprecedented announcement that they would get no irrigation water from the federal government this year because of the drought. But growers in a region with the country's most productive soil said the loss of one of their chief water supplies won't be their problem alone: Consumers will be hit hard in the form of higher prices at the produce market. California's unusually dry weather is forcing producers of fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains to make tough decisions about which crops to plant, and which ones not to...

FIREBAUGH, Calif. (AP) — With California's agricultural heartland entrenched in drought, almond farmers are letting orchards dry up and in some cases making the tough call to have their trees torn out of the ground, leaving behind empty fields.

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Without a lot more rain and snow, many California farmers caught in the state's drought can expect to receive no irrigation water this year from a vast system of rivers, canals and reservoirs interlacing the state, federal officials announced Friday. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation released its first outlook of the year, saying that the agency will continue to monitor rain and snow fall, but the grim levels so far prove that the state is in the throes of one of its driest periods in recorded history. Farmers who rely on the federally run Central Valley...

There are many reasons that Barack Obama’s presidency has proven so ineffectual even by its own standards — boosting economic growth, improving health care, preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction, enhancing America’s world reputation. One reason is that Barack Obama is the most ideologically rigid president in American history. He believes in all the wrong ideas, and holds to them with mulish tenacity. But there’s a second reason that was on vivid display in the past few days — overweening arrogance. This president has no patience with attempting to solve the actual problems that afflict the people he...

Much like the polar vortex spiked demand and prices for natural gas in the eastern U.S., another weather phenomenon — a severe drought — is threatening cattle and milk production and food crops in the West. It’s a threat that can last for months and year, and parched conditions have already driven up prices on milk and cattle futures. “The hardest hit section of California is the Central Valley — ‘the supermarket to the world’ — and [it’s becoming] increasingly clear the region won’t see relief from the devastating drought anytime soon,” said Kevin Kerr, editor of CommodityConfidential.com. “Retail prices...

Drought conditions are getting worse by the day in California and experts say the average resident is going to see the changes. In the latest move by officials, the State Water Project announced Friday that it won’t send any more water down from Northern California, something that hasn’t been done in more than five decades. The news comes in the middle of one of California’s driest winters on record and after two dry years that have depleted reservoirs. Officials say the Water Project’s decision to hold back supply is necessary to save water in the state. Gov. Jerry Brown declared...

Remember all the years of being told to conserve 'every drop?' Well, times have changed: Today, Israel has so much affordable water, it can offer to export it. So why is this achievement being kept so secret?