Last week’s TWDB drought report shows several days of precipitation following a storm, leaving only one larger area of drought in the Big Bend area.
As the two main reservoirs of the Colorado River are drying up and an official water shortage has been declared, a water crisis looms for those in the Southwest. The river supplies water to 40 million people and irrigates more than 5 million acres of farmland.
What happens next for those relying on the Colorado River? There have been many short-term fixes obscuring the seriousness of the upcoming water shortage, along with wasteful practices that add to the threat of the water crisis. Negotiations will need to continue, “farmers will have to surrender their water, and cities will have to live with less of it”.
After Hurricane Ida, many Louisiana residents who evacuated are being warned not to return yet as amenities such as water, sewage, passable roadways, electricity, and emergency response cannot be guaranteed. Residents of New Orleans can expect power returning in the middle of the week, while other towns may have to wait longer. Those who remained during the storm are living without power and trying to come to terms with a new reality, directly facing the aftermath of the storm's destruction.
Facebook has announced that they are committed to being water positive by 2030, meaning that they will restore more water than they consume. Facebook is engaging in water restoration projects through funding and partnering with groups such as the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department to manage and improve water supplies. They are “investing in capacity-building projects that might have a catalytic effect in watersheds around the world.”