Climate Change: Long Term Effect on Water Supplies

The American Water Works Association gives a less than perfect picture of the effects of shifting global weather conditions on the United States and the world.

Some of their findings include:

· Precipitation will be less frequent but more intense, leading to increased flooding

· Periods of drought will increase, leading to increased risk of forest fires.

· Increased drought, flood and forest fires will negatively affect water quality. Drought increases sediment in reservoirs, while floods and forest fires can overwhelm downstream water sources with an onslaught of debris.

· Changes in snow pack, the melt season and run off will aggravate storage capacity deficiencies. This will then push water utilities to invest in increased storage capacity.

· Rising sea levels will cause salt water to intrude upon freshwater aquifers.

The report recommends that we create new water sources through recycling and desalination, cutting greenhouse gas emissions, encouraging conversation, and factoring the effects of climate change into long term planning.

Everyone just needs to pitch in with the many ways one can help our environment. We can make a difference