Southwestern US Water future

Hi Jscan664, welcome to the Forum.  I have not gotten anything on this in recent years but about five years ago when I was doing long term readings on climate and the earth I saw serious water problems for the southwest in the mid to late 2020s.  The question remains, what are authorities doing about it? I'm not up on that side of the issue. 

I have some info, absorbed from living here in SoCal.

First, Nestle` Corp. has bought up most of the water rights across the southwest. They are bottling water that should be free and selling it back to us in plastic bottles. (Boycott!!)

Second, Harvard University has, over the last decade or two, started buying up vineyards in California that have their own water sources. They are not doing this to preserve anything natural, they are treating the Harvard Endowment as an investment hedge fund. In this case, you can see what they're betting on.

Third, with climate change, we're getting less rains, longer droughts, more frequent Santa Ana Wind events.  I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that my water bill this month was $500. We are fighting it, we think the meter is broken, but even "normal" water bills are >$200/month. We get our water from Colorado and the Sierras. There are no more wells here on private properties. No point in getting rain collection barrels as we're getting maybe 10 days of rain a year if we're lucky.

Fourth, my county has a desalinization plant. It's an eyesore on a beautiful stretch of beach. Needless to say the cost of building it is one reason our bills are so high.

Fifth, in some CA cities we are starting to drink recycled waste water. San Francisco already has it in place, San Diego is introducing it slowly over the next year or 2. Not sure what L.A. is doing... The good news is the recycled water is fairly good and clean. The bad news is that the one set of things they have no way to remove are pharmaceuticals, including anti-depressants and hormones. Given how many humans take these and pee them out every day, I'm not too thrilled. I do have a whole house Culligan filter system, with reverse osmosis, so I'm hoping that will do the trick.

So it's not going to be good. Water issues are not high on my worry list right now, but easily could be if municipalities start duking it out, and if people get sick from the recycled waste water.

Laura, thanks for providing us with in depth information on California and the current reality facing many.  While I was aware of some of this information, other parts came as a surprise.  

Laura,

You are always spot on on such a variety of topics and connect with some of the same predictions and concerns of so many of us even when we go against the current flow. 

But the importance of water for all of us, our health and well being, our very survival cannot be understated, even as we face so many other more prominent or obvious concerns of the day.

The line "water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink" just came in loud and clear. 

Samuel Taylor Coleridge and the Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner. A parable about interfering with nature and how it changes the dynamics of life. 

My dad used to recite that passage over and over in my childhood. He grew up on the ocean, a family of seasonal commercial fisherman on top of their many other jobs, fighting the elements for livelihood and survival in pioneer Alaska.

Out at sea fishing for many months at a time (as all the young men in his family did) they survived on old food (and very little water) by the end of each trip out that most of us would refuse to eat. But not having water when you're parched and desperate is even harder.

Water was life and it was pure gold when you ran out.  And it well could be again. 

Nestle came in to Oregon a very long time ago talking Hood River Gorge residents into signing petitions to allow them water bottling rights in the future, as well. Same ridiculous story.

My eldest daughter warned me about the dangers and we signed petitions and wrote letters in opposition. It drug on through a decades before Nestle sprang into real action not too long ago and it was finally a wake up call to the residents and so far it's been blocked.

But people desperately needed jobs in that area and were making terrible decisions and voting choices in order to bring those much needed jobs in.

Weighing future consequences is not easy or often possible in the states of mind so many are in. And we all are fighting for our states,  communities, families, or personal beliefs,  passions,  and causes.

We are all often consumed by that deep passion of our daily work,  needs, survival, to see much less deal with more than one day, one cause at a time.

The glass of water is still half full, we don't want to deal with more for the moment. We have enough to drink now, tomorrow will take care of itself we usually tell ourselves. 

Case in point, we've had a well with wonderful water for 40 years now. But when the power goes out, its electric pump can't run, and if we haven't saved buckets and bottles or a tub of water ahead of time, we can't even flush our toilets for the day much less longer or have any water to get from that well but the pitcher on the counter or saved bottle water to drink. (Yes, we have a generator but only one, not one for the countless needs at once of long term survival and not self sustaining of course.

When a storm hits and a tree falls on our property all we can see is that one tree blocking our road out and not the next old tree to fall.

It's a seemingly endless challenge to work with the vagaries of man much less that of nature.

"Water, water everywhere and nor a drop to drink" and we're all killing the albatrosses and hanging them around our necks anyway.  

It can be overwhelming. It's why we are here I think,  to learn and change and grow. We just need it really speeded up in a hurry and our group and you, Laura are, and have been such a big part of that process. 

I appreciate you.

Thanks, Michele, I agree with you 100%. Humans have that tendency to "not see the forest for the trees".

I hope you all in OR are successful in blocking private water ownership. Down here in CA, we all marvel at the lack of aqueducts from WA/OR. You all frequently have too much water, we frequently have nor enough, it would be good for our states to work together. I think building an aqueduct system would provide jobs for years, and would alleviate many climate change problems up and down the coast.

Unfortunately, the oligarchy disagrees...

Much peace and love to you!

Here is  good article focusing there Arizona drought contingency plan which is being hashed out right now.  It is actually a very BIG deal right now.  

"In short, the water we use from the river is outpacing the water being replenished naturally — we're in a drought. The soon-to-be-finalized agreement addresses the anticipated shortfalls and tries to spread the pain among the states so that no one is hit too hard if the drought persists.

Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the US, is now 39 percent full and approaching its first-ever shortage. Lake Powell, the other major reservoir on the river, is 40 percent full and could drop lower.

Together, the two reservoirs help keep water flowing to the seven states even during dry years. Powell stores water that New Mexico, Utah, Colorado and Wyoming depend on. Water from that reservoir is released downstream to Mead, which stores water for the states on the lower Colorado — Arizona, Nevada and California.

If water levels drop too low, water users across the region could face severe shortages. The drought plan is a balancing act to keep water flowing where it needs to and to preserve supplies for the future, keeping water levels for Mead and Powell where they should be."

I live in this state and wish we would really educate people about how bad the drought is right now.  We have a long way to go.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-environment/2019/01/24/drought-contingency-plan-how-affects-arizona-lawmakers-colorado-river-doug-ducey-water-conservation/2659832002/

Any new visions on this?

@jscan664, 

There are more than a few of us in this forum who spend time in the desert southwest. I'll pull a few cards on this topic (just a beginner here), and invite others to contribute their cards and interpretations. Thanks for bringing it up again and giving us an opportunity to practice.

OK, I asked my guides to share information that we need to know about the water situation in the desert southwest over the next several years; information that I can share and that will also help me learn more about how to read cards. I drew from the Burke-Casselli deck (similar to the Rider Waite). I felt I should stop at five cards. I got the following:

1. The Moon. Major arcana, an exclamation point in the reading. Darkness and uncertainty. There is a lot going on behind the scenes. There is a lot of confusion and the truth is being buried. Nothing should be taken for granted. I believe this represents the competing interests at play, of cities, agriculture, states, and the environment. 

2. Ace of Wands. Watch for new ideas. It is likely there will be plans for a new project.

3. Nine of Cups. This is difficult. Normally this is sort of a wish fulfillment card, but in this reading, I interpret it as reflecting the arrogance of the wealthy and their disproportionate influence in the development and implementation of plans.

4. The Devil. Major arcana, an exclamation point in the reading. The imprisonment of power and energy by greed and avarice. We must examine what's really going on before there can be any healthy resolution.

5. Eight of Swords. Difficulties in becoming free of restriction. We are damned if we do and damned if we don't. 

So my overall interpretation is that the cards are predicting a new project will be offered, but it may not be what it appears to be. Powerful corporations, developers, agribusiness, and corrupt politicians are playing in the game and are only in it for their own vested interest. No real progress will be made, and water restrictions will be the outcome over the next few years.

Please feel free to add to my interpretation and share some cards of your own.