Dams Are Not the Answer

There is a growing water problem in the arid western states of our country. Part of it is the long running drought but the true problem is the rapidly expanding population in these states. If you have ever been to a city like Phoenix, Tucson, Las Vegas, etc during two different years, it is easy to see just how quickly these places expand. Of course they aren't anything like many Eastern Seaboard cities, they grow out, not up. That causes many problems, such as a healthy tax base in proportion to the area. More importantly though, water is what brings life, and it can bring the opposite as well to this region. Naturally we want to preserve our homes and our ways of (wasteful) life, so we'll go to ridiculous extremes to keep that water flowing.

From RawStory:

"The West and the Northwest are increasing in population growth like never before," said John Redding, regional spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in Boise. "How do you quench the thirst of the hungry masses?"

The population of the Western states grew nearly 20 percent in the 1990s, to more than 64 million, and continues to swell even as climate change poses new threats to the water supply.

Ironically, consideration of new dams comes even as older ones are being torn down across the country because of environmental concerns — worries that will likely pose big obstacles to new construction. In Oregon, a deal has been struck to remove four dams on the Klamath River to restore struggling salmon runs.

So why would we create more problems with dams when we already know they are proven losers? Well there's money in it for one. Another obvious answer is that it is a relatively quick, short-term fix to supply a whole lot of water and power. Basically it is about instant gratification, and these burgeoning municipalities to increase revenues and size while the individuals cash in on relatively inexpensive real estate.

Now what should we be doing instead? Well you can't stop population growth, but you can regulate it. Legislators should be focusing heavily on conservation, green technology, low-water appliances and building up, not out. Many of these cities have conservation programs, but they aren't enough. I lived in Tucson for several years and watched the effects of the scarcity of water. Sinkholes opened up, the water table kept dropping and yet, the city kept expanding. If we aren't careful in places like these, the results could be disastrous.