Cis 517 Prairie Waters Project

The Central Valley Project (CVP) is a Federal water project set up and run by the US Bureau of Reclamation to provide water for the Central Valley in California. Through twenty dams and reservoirs the CVP facilitates the collection and delivery of water for irrigation, municipal, and industrial use, as well as producing hydropower, providing flood control and recreational facilities on their reservoirs. The CVP provide a good example of how cost allocation works within a vast organization. I will use this organization to describe the method used by the CVP to allocate cost and whether I agree or disagree with their methods. I will also be identifying situations where common costs are allocated. I will explain the impact of allocating

In 2008, the town of Boone began a new project called The New River Project. This project was designed to ensure that the town of Boone had enough water to meet the needs of the town as it grew. This project explored several sites for a water intake facility and proposed a site in Todd, North Carolina on the South Fork of the New River (Town of Boone, 2008). This project was presented to the residents of Watauga County as a need to ensure water was available as their growth edged nearer to maximum capacity for the available water.

The Colorado River compact has been the most beneficial project for the seven states that share it. The river has 29 dams that serve different purposes together with hundreds of miles of canals. Many farmers have been known to divert the river into their own farms to be used for irrigation. Irrigated land accounts for four million acres of the total land use. This relates to a large percentage of water used for agriculture. The products got from constant irrigation are a major economic boost to both the farmers and the United States. This also enhances living standards due to income earned by such farmers (Michael, 2010). This has enabled them to feed not only their states, but also the other neighboring countries through

The article “Water Works”, published by Orion Magazine and written by environmental specialist Cynthia Barnett intends to inform the reader anyone can make water an important factor. Overlooking it has become common many people in the United States have adapted to through the changes that have occurred in society over time. At the beginning of her article, she describes an area that does not make water care a priority, whereas in another location they make it very evident water is important. The location she describes is gloomy, grey, and is a populated area that has old water systems that are damaging environmental factors. Barnett continuously emphasizes that people are the ones who can help restore nature. This is at a less cost than

The State of Colorado has suffered from a water shortage in recent years; a difficult situation which is easily visible when viewing the quickly shortening length of the Colorado River. Lake Mead, for example, is roughly 130 feet lower than it once was, marked by the stained rock which towers above the current water level. “The river has become a perfect symbol of what happens when we ask too much of a limited resource: it disappears. In fact, the Colorado no longer regularly reaches the sea” (Zielinski, 2010). Legislation was implemented early on to address this issue, though the results were (perhaps not surprisingly) rather unanticipated, regarding

Colorado River Hydrosphere A case study of * River management * People interfering in the hydrosphere * Balancing water from one area to another The Colorado river - basic facts

Roughly 30 million people are using colorado river water in their everyday lives. Farmers say they need more water than all the cities that are using it because in their opinion keeping their crops alive to give to everyone is more important than having all the people using abundant amounts of water.

The land was as beautiful as ever and mother earth was healthy. Over the years as times changed, the climate did as well. Fifteen years of on and off again drought has plagued the Cheyenne River Reservation of South Dakota and has left it almost impossible for the soil to absorb water. In a response to climate change, one Lakota family has organized a grassroots group to start a dam-building

Texas, with its abundances of natural resources, is facing a new demon, one that doesn’t even seem possible, a shortage of water. Water, without it nothing can survive. Texas is the second largest state for landmass in the nation and ninth for water square miles. Within the borders of Texas are more than 100 lakes, 14 major rivers, and 23 aquifers, so why has water become such an important issue for the state? Politicians and conservationists all agree that without a new working water plan, the state could be facing one of the most damaging environmental disasters they have ever seen. The issues that shape the states positions are population growth, current drought conditions, and who actually owns the water.

The Midwestern region of the United States, such a small corner of the world, is notorious for its prosperous agriculture and its abundant livestock population. Citizens of the Midwest, and consequently, the United States, rarely have to worry about where meals will come from or when the next time water will be available. Water fountains are a common sight within public places, specifically schools and workplaces, and each system reliably produces water at the touch of a button, every time, without fail. However, what happens when the dependability of water in the Midwest is compromised? Over the past decade, the water quality in Flint, Michigan, a town very close to Iowan homes, has seen a rapid decadence, given that the Flint River has been exposed to “the presence of fecal coliform bacteria, low dissolved oxygen, plant nutrients, oils, and other toxic substances,” though the main focus has

Living in Southwest Kansas there is always a need for water no matter what it is for. The importance of water in Kansas is getting dramatic due to the Ogallala Aquifer shrinking in size on a daily basis. There are thousands of things that can possibly go wrong because of our diminishing water supply. The impact that water has on our town is significant, hundreds of possible predicaments can occur because we would no longer have the aquifer, however, there are many ways we can prolong our water supply life in our generation that we are currently living.

This study was instated directly from congress because it was finally realized how important The High Plains Aquifer because of how much of this water is used in the irrigation of crop production in the United States. Now, as a result of this study each state has to report the changes in the levels of the water and how much remains in storage in each state every two years, not only to Congress, but to be recorded on the USGS website for public access (McGuire,

The availability of water is an issue that requires careful management and planning in order to maximize access. Areas in the Western United States have rapidly growing populations without the natural water sources to sustain them. The art of getting water from where it is or who has it to where it is needed or who needs it is the practice of water trading. Deals made between states to ensure access to water.

Water is a resource that has always been available to us, and I feel as a society we have taken it for granted for many generations. While I was doing the research for this water conservation essay, it opened my eyes to the importance of my generation to preserve the remaining aquifer. Although I don’t reside in Southwest Kansas, I have very strong ties to this area of Kansas where the family farm is located. The impact of not preserving water will not only affect our family farm in Grant and Stevens county, but also the cattle that graze on the grass in the pasture. Along with our pasture, we have farm ground that is irrigated to raise silage, corn, and wheat; which is sold to feed yards in the area for cattle. Without water, the impact

Water Issues between Urbanization and Agriculture in the American West in the Twentieth and the Twenty First Century.