NSF initiative seeks tech fixes for Colorado River water crisis$100 million program to ensure water for industry overlooks shortage’s root cau...
Published by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network
NSF initiative seeks tech fixes for Colorado River water crisis
$100 million program to ensure water for industry overlooks shortage’s root causes, critics say
4 Sep 20269:00 AM ETByJeffrey Mervis
Boat operator Brian Essex walks on dry and cracking land where the old Lake Mead Marina once existed
Once-submerged land was exposed last month at Lake Mead as it and Lake Powell hit record lows.
The worsening water crisis in the Colorado River Basin stems from a century of overuse and, more recently, a sustained drought. Short-sighted water allocation policies are responsible for the overuse, scientists say, and human-induced climate change is a major contributor to the drought.
SOURCE:https://www.science.org/content/article/nsf-looks-technology-fixes-ease-water-crisis-along-colorado-river?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=topic/environment#
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is betting technology can relieve the crisis by better managing the water that remains and tapping new sources. The Energy Water Security Initiative (EWSI), now open for proposals, asks “multisector” research teams to propose technical fixes designed to ensure that the Colorado can continue to support both the economies of the seven states that rely on the water and the 60 million people living there.
But many scientists who have spent their careers studying the basin say the initiative, launched with a $50 million down payment on an investment that could eventually exceed $100 million, is misguided. “These guys have completely missed the point,” says Jack Schmidt, a river scientist at Utah State University. “This initiative has nothing to do with addressing the actual crisis, which is the dwindling flow of water in the river.”
Others are withholding judgment. “If NSF does it right, it could result in some real benefits for the region,” says paleoclimatologist Jonathan Overpeck, dean of the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability.
$100 million program to ensure water for industry overlooks shortage’s root causes, critics say
4 Sep 20269:00 AM ETByJeffrey Mervis
Boat operator Brian Essex walks on dry and cracking land where the old Lake Mead Marina once existed
Once-submerged land was exposed last month at Lake Mead as it and Lake Powell hit record lows.
The worsening water crisis in the Colorado River Basin stems from a century of overuse and, more recently, a sustained drought. Short-sighted water allocation policies are responsible for the overuse, scientists say, and human-induced climate change is a major contributor to the drought.
SOURCE:https://www.science.org/content/article/nsf-looks-technology-fixes-ease-water-crisis-along-colorado-river?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=topic/environment#
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is betting technology can relieve the crisis by better managing the water that remains and tapping new sources. The Energy Water Security Initiative (EWSI), now open for proposals, asks “multisector” research teams to propose technical fixes designed to ensure that the Colorado can continue to support both the economies of the seven states that rely on the water and the 60 million people living there.
But many scientists who have spent their careers studying the basin say the initiative, launched with a $50 million down payment on an investment that could eventually exceed $100 million, is misguided. “These guys have completely missed the point,” says Jack Schmidt, a river scientist at Utah State University. “This initiative has nothing to do with addressing the actual crisis, which is the dwindling flow of water in the river.”
Others are withholding judgment. “If NSF does it right, it could result in some real benefits for the region,” says paleoclimatologist Jonathan Overpeck, dean of the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability.
Tags
- Crisis
- Environment
- Water Security
- Water Security
- Water Security
- Colorado, United States
- Flint Water Crisis