Even record snowfall during recent winters can't counteract the loss of groundwater in the western U.S. Improved satellite imagery of the Great Basin confirms snowfall is not enough to put a significant dent in the decline of water levels in the region.
What's happening?
The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment now has 20 years of data that includes maps of changing water levels in the west. Improved satellite imagery has helped reveal the problem.
A drought, increased evaporation, and rising demands from households and agriculture have caused a dramatic drop in the water supply that record-breaking winter snowfall can't overcome.
"In years like the 2022-23 winter, I expected that the record amount of snowfall would really help to replenish the groundwater supply," said Dorothy Hall, one of the authors of a study on groundwater loss, per Phys.org. "But overall, the decline continued."
Even with a recharge from the annual snowmelt in the Great Basin, there was a significant loss of groundwater from 2002 to 2023. The loss over two decades was more than six times the current volume of water in Lake Mead in Arizona and Nevada.
Why is groundwater loss in the Great Basin important?
The Great Salt Lake has accumulated pollution from mining and oil refinement operations as well as chemicals from a century of industry in the area. The hazardous material is exposed as the lake shrinks in size. Increasing heat and evaporation mean more dust is blown off the dry lakebeds, compounding air pollution problems already present in the region.
The Great Basin is a part of a region that is suffering through a megadrought. Scientists have defined megadroughts as "persistent, multi-year drought events that stand out as especially extreme in terms of severity, duration, or spatial extent when compared to other droughts over the last two thousand years."
The drought threatens the health and safety of people living in the region because of an inadequate water supply.
"With the ongoing threat of drought, farmers downstream often can't get enough water," Hall said, per Phys.org. "It exposes the lake beds, which often harbor toxic minerals from agricultural runoff, waste, and anything else that ends up in the lakes."
What's being done about groundwater loss in the Great Basin?
The groundwater study's authors suggest improved water management practices to help solve the problem. They also note that the increased evaporation of water is due to rising temperatures. Studies have shown that a warming world exacerbates droughts, making them more common, longer-lasting, and increasingly severe.
Scottsdale, Arizona, has gone so far as to ban front lawns for newly constructed single-family homes. Phoenix has also cracked down on water usage as part of its water conservation policy.
There are simple steps we can all take to conserve water and reduce the heat-trapping gases raising our planet's temperature. These include capturing rainwater, installing bidets, and using reel mowers.
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