In 2005 we saw the ending of the longest Western State Drought ever recorded. With that Western States Drought we experienced wildfires of unheard of proportions. We had States of Emergencies for droughts in parts of NV, NM, AZ, CO, CA, MT, WY, NE, KS and it was not laughing matter. Although we are still below the levels we needs to be for fresh water in Northern California and those states which predominantly feed from the Colorado River we are not out of the woods yet. It will take years of conservation to fill our reservoirs back up and it is a good idea that we remember those times prior to 2005 as a warning to not take this nations fresh water supplies for granted. Indeed we will need to be cognizant; each and every one of us of our water usage in the future. So what are long-term meteorologists predicting for 2006? Well, they are saying that 2005 was a good year and 2006 snow pack is looking up in the Colorado Rockies, Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountain Ranges and this should continue and help us through another year of non-crisis droughts. Those who study water supplies warn of increased suburban growth and water usage in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Riverside Country and San Bernardino Counties, Sacramento and San Joaquin Valley. Also Montana is experiencing lots of growth too. And we have been forewarned to not take this lightly as the supplies are still nowhere close to optimum and one drought year could put us back into a world of hurt, because we are using more water than ever before and we are not even out of the woods yet. Think on this. |
