WATER CRISIS IN SOUTHEAST ALABAMA. Whiskey is for drinking. Water is for fighting. Mark Twain

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1 WATER CRISIS IN SOUTHEAST ALABAMA Whiskey is for drinking. Water is for fighting. Mark Twain

2 WATER RESOURCES Water is the most critical resource of our lifetime and our children s lifetime. The health of our waters is the principal measure of how we live on the land. Luna Leopold, former chief hydrologist of the U.S. Geological Survey, Quoted in Spring 2004, Planning Commissioners Journal

3 Physiological Needs Physiological needs are the very basic needs such as air, water, food, sleep, sex, etc. When these are not satisfied we may feel sickness, irritation, pain, discomfort, etc. These feelings motivate us to alleviate them as soon as possible to establish homeostasis. Once they are alleviated, we may think about other things.

4 WATER SHORTAGES MAY BE PRESSING CONCERN WITHIN NEXT CENTURY SOURCE: DR. JIM HAIRSTON, Extension water quality scientist, Alabama Cooperative Extension System Unfortunately, Hairston says, many nations won't take note of the problem until water supplies are seriously depleted. Then it's too late to do anything. There are numerous examples of civilizations that thrived in areas of low rainfall and inadequate water supplies. They didn't understand the water cycle and the ecological implications of what they were doing, so they destroyed their capacity to produce foods. The Middle East often is called the graveyard of empires and for good reason. "Centuries ago, people of this region changed their climate and failed to understand the implications involved, and ended up paying dearly for it," Hairston says. "It should be a lesson for the 20th century as well."

5 GAO REPORT 7/10/2003 According to the results of GAO s survey, even under normal water conditions, water managers in 36 states anticipate water shortages in localities, regions, or statewide within the next 10 years. Under drought conditions, 46 managers expect shortages in the next 10 years. Such shortages may be accompanied by severe economic, environmental, and social impacts

6 Regulation Versus Education It is unpopular politically to tell the truth about potable water use, so we address the problem using only conservation measures rather than attempt to educate the people about the environment they live in. Dave Stauffer, Florida Regional Planner, Planning Commissioners Journal, Spring 2004

7 THE MARYLAND EXPERIENCE SOURCE: Southeast Watershed Forum, Vol. 5, Issue 2-Fall 2002/Winter 2003 Fredrick County, Maryland is experiencing a water shortage brought on by rapid growth and bad planning. It could become a portent of things to come for communities throughout the Southeast. To avoid such problems in the future, the community has passed a water allocation ordinance, the first of its kind in the East. Maryland law requires local governments to demonstrate that they have sufficient water for each development approved. But the law does not specify how to predict water use or allocate limited supplies. The pressures of development often make building moratoriums a difficult and politically sensitive decision to make at the local level, and one that may only be made when water shortages reach crisis proportions.

8 Atlanta-Enemy At The Gate No U.S. city as large as Atlanta is founded on a river as small as the Chattahoochee. Metro Atlanta receives 70% of its water supply from the Chattahoochee. Atlanta has an underlying granite substrate that prevents the formation of large groundwater reserves. Only by transferring water from other river systems can Atlanta obtain additional water.

9 ATLANTA S WATER USE Some figures released in 2002 indicate Atlanta may already be approaching the 2030 withdrawal limits of 705 million gallons/day. From 1990 to 2000, Metro Atlanta s population increased by 1.2 million. The amount of water pulled from the Chattahoochee increased by 100 mgd. By comparison, Los Angeles raised its population 1 million over 22 years- and water consumption remained stable-thanks to increasingly stringent water conservation methods.

10 The daily water usage rates for Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Austin are sharply below Atlanta, but they have each spent several decades building public awareness about the serious need for conservation as a way of life, not simply as a short-term response to an occasional emergency. Austin has had a reduction in per capita consumption by 24% over a 16 year period. Current use is 168 gallons/day.

11 SOUTHEAST ALABAMA WATER SUPPLY DECLINING SOURCE: Congressman Everett Washington Update, Winter 2002 Currently, the cities of Dothan, Enterprise, and Ozark draw approximately 24 to 32 million gallons a day from groundwater sources. This represents 40 to 53 percent of the entire water drawn by communities in the 10-county wiregrass area. At the same time, Dothan has seen a 220-foot decline in the water level of its major aquifer

12 AQUIFER RECHARGE Approximately 12% of the rainfall that falls to the Earth moves underground to recharge the aquifer. The rate of movement of water through the aquifer is less than one inch per day. That is 174 years to travel I mile. The recharge area for our aquifer is in the vicinity of Troy.

13 ALABAMA FARM ACREAGE ACRES (Mil) YEAR

14 TRANSFORMATION OF U.S. AGRICULTURE In the last 50 years agriculture in the U.S. changed from an eastern rain-fed agricultural system to a desert irrigated system in the West and High Plains. Commodity and vegetable prices prior to this growth of desert agriculture were based on a system where eastern farmers would substantially lose crops two out of five years due to the vagaries of rainfall.

15 Western irrigated agriculture, utilizing the subsidized water projects, primarily in California, and over-pumping of ground water in the High Plains, avoided the losses due to weather. This increased efficiency drove down agricultural prices so that in a slow painful decline, farmers in the East were driven out of business because they couldn t compete with the sustained yields produced in the West.

16 AGRICULTURAL IRRIGATION From 1992 to 1997 the acreage of Houston County farmland that was under irrigation increased by 28%. SOURCE; Alabama Cooperative Extension Service, Houston County Office

17 SOUTHEAST ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL WATER DEMAND

18 Mobile, Alabama Harbinger September 19, 2000 Alabama has no policy to ensure that some water remains in our streams and rivers, and no regulatory framework to restrict water usage. Meanwhile, our demand for water is steadily increasing, and our neighbors in Atlanta are getting thirstier. Unless we act now, the degradation of water quality, fisheries, and native ecosystems is inevitable in the years to come. In order to address this problem, the Alabama Legislature will need to pass new progressive water management legislation. Unless we find a way to improve state law and policy, most people will learn about water management the hard way- when the well runs dry.

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20 MECHANISMS OF SUBSIDENCE In Alabama, most sinkholes are caused by a loss of support, roof collapse, and/or raveling. Ground water provides buoyant Loss of support to the roofs of subsurface Support cavities. Lowering the water table removes this support and may result in the collapse of the roof of the subsurface cavity.

21 WE DO: Require Well Driller Qualifications Protect Wellheads Work to Eliminate Point-Source Contamination Establish Non point-source TMDL s Protect and Manage Public System Water Quality

22 WE DON T: Protect surface water stream flows Protect ground water sustainable withdrawal Require a withdrawal permit (Certificate of use-10,000 households or 100,000 g/d) Establish reasonable levels of service Have a water allocation plan

23 Preparing for the Changes Public and private sector water managers must increase their flexibility and adaptive capacity to respond quickly and appropriately as water conditions change. These managers must: Record, assess, and monitor our water resources and how this water is being used; Plan for both supply and demand, now and in the future; Protect the water needs of natural ecosystems in the competition for available water; Allocate water resources to the highest priority uses, at maximum efficiency, and in a just manner.

24 ALABAMA WATER QUANTITY AND QUALITY RESOURCES Alabama Code Alabama Water Management Act Alabama Code 9-10B-1 Alabama Water Resources Act Alabama Code Alabama Water Pollution Control Act Alabama Code Alabama Safe Drinking Water Act

25 WATER MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATIONS ADECA-Office of Water Resources-Responsible for the planning, coordinating, development and management of Alabama s ground and surface water resources. Alabama Water Resource Commission ADEM-System, operator, and well-driller licensing. Enforce EPA regulations within the state.

26 9-10B, CODEOF ALABAMA No persons beneficial use of the quantitative waters of the state shall be restricted by the Office of Water Resources or the Water Resources Commission except where such beneficial use is within the area of the state designated as a capacity stress area pursuant to this chapter. Capacity Stress Area-An area of the state designated by the commission pursuant to this chapter where the commission determines that the use of the waters of the state, whether ground, surface water, or both, requires coordination, management, and regulation for the protection of the interests and rights of the people of the state.