WEBVTT 00:00:00.370 --> 00:00:02.700 Water is a crucial building block for life, 00:00:02.700 --> 00:00:05.170 for farming, for food, and for showers. 00:00:05.892 --> 00:00:07.832 Often water comes from far away. 00:00:07.832 --> 00:00:10.434 For example, over half of Southern California's water 00:00:10.434 --> 00:00:12.276 is pumped out of the Colorado River. 00:00:12.406 --> 00:00:15.115 It is then transported up and over a mountain range 00:00:15.115 --> 00:00:17.429 to be used in cities and farms 00:00:17.809 --> 00:00:19.997 But as rainfall and temperatures change, 00:00:19.997 --> 00:00:21.621 scientists are seeing a megadrought 00:00:21.621 --> 00:00:23.302 emerging the American West. 00:00:23.342 --> 00:00:25.366 And much of that long-term drought 00:00:25.366 --> 00:00:26.822 is centered right over the Colorado River. 00:00:26.822 --> 00:00:28.614 Which means giant cities like L.A. 00:00:28.614 --> 00:00:30.476 and rural farms alike could see a strain 00:00:30.476 --> 00:00:31.907 on their water supply. 00:00:31.907 --> 00:00:34.680 In this episode, we'll learn why this drought is so bad 00:00:34.680 --> 00:00:36.451 and find out what lessons we can learn 00:00:36.451 --> 00:00:38.426 from people who have lived in the Southwest 00:00:38.426 --> 00:00:39.854 for thousands of years. 00:00:45.384 --> 00:00:46.701 A drainage basin is an area 00:00:46.751 --> 00:00:48.198 where precipitation collects 00:00:48.198 --> 00:00:50.418 and runs into a particular body of water. 00:00:50.418 --> 00:00:52.265 The basin in the Colorado River 00:00:52.265 --> 00:00:54.281 spans seven States and two countries. 00:00:54.621 --> 00:00:56.864 40 million people count on it's water 00:00:57.084 --> 00:00:59.004 but what happens when rivers dry up 00:00:59.004 --> 00:01:01.270 and the water you're counting on doesn't come. 00:01:01.581 --> 00:01:03.218 To understand, I first asked 00:01:03.218 --> 00:01:05.988 water and drought scientist, Brad Udall, what's going on. 00:01:06.216 --> 00:01:10.026 In 2000, a drought began that now 20 years later 00:01:10.026 --> 00:01:12.115 is the most severe drought 00:01:12.115 --> 00:01:14.745 since gauges were installed on the river 00:01:14.745 --> 00:01:17.320 in 1906 in some places. 00:01:17.748 --> 00:01:20.487 The flow is down about 20%. 00:01:20.847 --> 00:01:22.129 Drought is usually defined 00:01:22.129 --> 00:01:24.164 as a period of abnormally low rainfall 00:01:24.164 --> 00:01:25.698 leading to a shortage of water. 00:01:25.698 --> 00:01:28.261 But Brad told me that this drought is a bit different. 00:01:28.261 --> 00:01:30.199 That's because while rain is down, 00:01:30.199 --> 00:01:32.731 that doesn't fully account for the low water levels 00:01:32.972 --> 00:01:35.262 We now actually have a new term for this 00:01:35.262 --> 00:01:36.263 it's a hot drought. 00:01:36.263 --> 00:01:39.436 So higher temperatures dry out the earth. 00:01:39.551 --> 00:01:41.889 And what we're finding is that higher temperatures 00:01:41.889 --> 00:01:45.140 lead to greater evaporation in all its forms. 00:01:45.546 --> 00:01:49.161 And that evaporation is the cause of this decline in flow. 00:01:49.161 --> 00:01:51.713 In other words, as temperatures increase over time, 00:01:51.713 --> 00:01:53.197 the process of evaporation 00:01:53.197 --> 00:01:55.401 takes more water away from rivers, lakes 00:01:55.403 --> 00:01:57.076 and snow-capped mountains. 00:01:57.086 --> 00:01:59.102 This helps explain why river flow 00:01:59.102 --> 00:02:00.928 in the Colorado basin is down 20% 00:02:00.928 --> 00:02:03.408 despite precipitation only being down by 5%. 00:02:04.099 --> 00:02:05.584 And droughts do end, 00:02:05.584 --> 00:02:07.253 but according to many scientists 00:02:07.253 --> 00:02:10.113 waiting for rain in this case is probably not a good idea. 00:02:10.285 --> 00:02:12.675 The term "drought" implies 00:02:12.675 --> 00:02:14.800 some kind of return to normal at some point. 00:02:14.900 --> 00:02:17.273 Drought implies temporary, 00:02:17.335 --> 00:02:19.675 and most scientists nowadays have started talking 00:02:19.675 --> 00:02:22.549 about the aridification of the West, 00:02:22.651 --> 00:02:26.852 meaning a more permanent move to a dry state. 00:02:28.493 --> 00:02:34.373 (car engine roaring) 00:02:34.985 --> 00:02:36.127 Few people understand 00:02:36.127 --> 00:02:38.382 the threat of drought better than Nancy Caywood. 00:02:38.382 --> 00:02:40.556 She's a fifth generation farmer in Pinal County 00:02:40.556 --> 00:02:42.599 where water either comes from the Colorado River 00:02:42.599 --> 00:02:44.670 through the Central Arizona Project canals 00:02:44.670 --> 00:02:47.241 or from other rivers and canals in the Colorado basin. 00:02:47.437 --> 00:02:48.987 This represents liquid gold. 00:02:48.987 --> 00:02:50.938 This is our water supply right here. 00:02:50.938 --> 00:02:52.806 We take it out, there's a gate right there 00:02:52.806 --> 00:02:54.664 and it goes down a little lateral canal 00:02:54.664 --> 00:02:55.826 that takes it right to our farm. 00:02:55.931 --> 00:02:57.468 I'm gonna open up this gate, 00:02:57.468 --> 00:02:58.839 we have the gate open, 00:02:59.069 --> 00:03:01.861 we'll open four of them, allow the water to flow in. 00:03:04.221 --> 00:03:07.331 We have about 135 acres of alfalfa. 00:03:07.499 --> 00:03:09.840 This is an example of flood irrigation, 00:03:09.840 --> 00:03:12.263 one of the oldest and most common irrigation methods 00:03:12.263 --> 00:03:14.110 which distributes water over the soil 00:03:14.110 --> 00:03:16.650 by allowing it to flow downhill with gravity. 00:03:16.941 --> 00:03:19.161 There's a beautiful simplicity to it, 00:03:19.161 --> 00:03:22.051 but it's actually the least efficient way to irrigate 00:03:22.051 --> 00:03:24.048 as much of the water either evaporates away 00:03:24.048 --> 00:03:26.805 or seeps into the soil out of reach of the plants' roots. 00:03:27.118 --> 00:03:30.263 And on top of that, alfalfa is a very thirsty crop, 00:03:30.263 --> 00:03:33.184 which means the beef that comes from the cattle it feeds 00:03:33.204 --> 00:03:35.607 is the highest water use food commonly available. 00:03:35.607 --> 00:03:38.165 Drip and sprinkler irrigation can be much more efficient, 00:03:38.165 --> 00:03:40.440 but Nancy told us she's not been able 00:03:40.440 --> 00:03:41.973 to get the permits needed 00:03:41.973 --> 00:03:44.012 to change the irrigation style on the farm. 00:03:44.086 --> 00:03:46.483 And the Caywood alfalfa fields are in good company. 00:03:46.483 --> 00:03:48.877 60% of farmland in the Colorado basin 00:03:48.932 --> 00:03:50.415 is used to grow feed crops. 00:03:50.415 --> 00:03:53.227 Combine all that demand, and here in Pinal County 00:03:53.227 --> 00:03:55.000 is where the drought hits home. 00:03:55.427 --> 00:03:58.602 The last time the reservoir was full was in 1992. 00:03:58.772 --> 00:04:02.200 One year, we had nothing planted on this farm at all. 00:04:02.284 --> 00:04:04.136 In 2019 water in Lake Mead, 00:04:04.136 --> 00:04:06.778 the nation's largest reservoir, dropped so low 00:04:06.778 --> 00:04:08.269 it triggered the first cutbacks 00:04:08.269 --> 00:04:10.440 in water allocations ever in the basin. 00:04:10.653 --> 00:04:12.407 Pinal County farmers were the first 00:04:12.407 --> 00:04:13.800 to have their water reduced. 00:04:13.800 --> 00:04:17.315 Fields lay fallow, prepped and ready, but unplanted. 00:04:18.019 --> 00:04:19.536 This is a fallow field 00:04:19.644 --> 00:04:22.161 and we just didn't have enough water to plant it. 00:04:22.161 --> 00:04:24.795 We have 120 acres of fallow land. 00:04:28.305 --> 00:04:31.095 Good news here is, since about 1980 00:04:31.095 --> 00:04:33.605 American water use has actually gone down. 00:04:33.605 --> 00:04:37.614 Even in growing American cities in the South West, 00:04:38.094 --> 00:04:40.793 total consumption has gone down 00:04:40.793 --> 00:04:43.624 despite pretty big increases in population. 00:04:43.624 --> 00:04:46.232 But worldwide irrigated agriculture 00:04:46.232 --> 00:04:51.108 uses upwards of 70% of water in rivers 00:04:51.347 --> 00:04:56.492 and municipalities use much, much less, 20% or less. 00:04:56.492 --> 00:04:57.803 That's partially due 00:04:57.803 --> 00:04:59.512 to household water conservation efforts, 00:04:59.512 --> 00:05:02.660 but it's mainly due to the way cities and homes use water. 00:05:02.660 --> 00:05:05.428 When you shower, wash dishes or even flush the toilet, 00:05:05.428 --> 00:05:08.264 that water is treated and returned to surface or groundwater 00:05:08.264 --> 00:05:10.451 rather than evaporating. 00:05:10.451 --> 00:05:12.953 The same goes for some industrial uses. 00:05:12.953 --> 00:05:12.953 But the largest opportunity and challenge 00:05:12.953 --> 00:05:16.953 to reduce water use is in the agricultural sector. 00:05:17.057 --> 00:05:19.304 That's because water used for farming 00:05:19.304 --> 00:05:21.057 either becomes part of the growing plants 00:05:21.057 --> 00:05:22.737 or it's lost to evaporation, 00:05:22.737 --> 00:05:25.221 meaning it doesn't return to the hydrologic cycle 00:05:25.221 --> 00:05:26.541 for a very long time. 00:05:27.909 --> 00:05:31.156 Scientists say this is the worst drought in 1200 years, 00:05:31.156 --> 00:05:33.259 but the Hopi you have lived in this area 00:05:33.259 --> 00:05:35.869 for over 2000 years and have grown food through it all. 00:05:35.947 --> 00:05:38.897 We met up with Max Taylor, a Hopi Water Resources technician 00:05:38.897 --> 00:05:41.621 to find out if lessons from one of the oldest communities 00:05:41.621 --> 00:05:44.001 in the United States can be applied to modern life 00:05:44.001 --> 00:05:45.851 in the drying Colorado basin. 00:05:46.067 --> 00:05:50.140 The Hopi's been known to use the least amount of water, 00:05:50.681 --> 00:05:53.172 than people throughout the whole United States, 00:05:53.595 --> 00:05:55.764 it's just because we live in the desert, 00:05:55.764 --> 00:05:57.855 here we are more aware of how much you use. 00:05:58.406 --> 00:06:00.460 And so the use is very little. 00:06:00.860 --> 00:06:02.361 So we're down at my field. 00:06:02.361 --> 00:06:05.591 This is my blue corn, they're planted here. 00:06:05.591 --> 00:06:07.115 All of these are dry farmed. 00:06:07.115 --> 00:06:08.911 I don't do any irrigation. 00:06:09.125 --> 00:06:13.183 And the technique we use is you clear off an area. 00:06:16.438 --> 00:06:19.602 You'll dig a hole down about maybe eight to 10 inches deep, 00:06:19.720 --> 00:06:22.197 get maybe eight or 10 kernels of corn 00:06:22.981 --> 00:06:24.476 and toss in there. 00:06:24.476 --> 00:06:26.439 The wet moisture that you've taken up, 00:06:26.439 --> 00:06:28.360 you push them back in, 00:06:28.450 --> 00:06:30.190 then you cover it with dry soil. 00:06:30.190 --> 00:06:31.600 And that's dry farming. 00:06:31.600 --> 00:06:33.922 His garden is planted in a low lying area 00:06:33.922 --> 00:06:36.358 to collect the little moisture that falls each year. 00:06:36.358 --> 00:06:38.604 And his crops are extremely adapted to the region. 00:06:38.604 --> 00:06:41.294 They're planted far apart to avoid competition for water, 00:06:41.294 --> 00:06:44.163 and they grow very deep roots that tap into groundwater. 00:06:44.209 --> 00:06:46.664 Right now we're in September. 00:06:47.160 --> 00:06:49.470 You can still feel a little bit of moisture 00:06:49.470 --> 00:06:50.850 in the ground, see that? 00:06:52.053 --> 00:06:56.053 Not much, but just enough that it's still keeping them going 00:06:56.250 --> 00:06:59.070 Amazingly Max uses seeds for his own farming consumption 00:06:59.107 --> 00:07:00.899 that produces crops in what seems like dust 00:07:00.909 --> 00:07:02.668 with no irrigation. 00:07:02.968 --> 00:07:04.908 He's never watered this field. 00:07:06.319 --> 00:07:08.268 We have seeds that are being passed on 00:07:08.340 --> 00:07:10.130 from generation to generation. 00:07:10.152 --> 00:07:13.012 So they're adapted to this dry climate. 00:07:13.402 --> 00:07:15.084 The corn's been with the Hopi 00:07:15.084 --> 00:07:16.670 at least several thousand years. 00:07:17.015 --> 00:07:18.763 I think the lesson to learn 00:07:18.763 --> 00:07:21.003 is that you have to live within your environment. 00:07:21.003 --> 00:07:22.896 And I think that's how the natives 00:07:22.896 --> 00:07:25.155 have survived in these areas because they were sustainable. 00:07:25.155 --> 00:07:27.495 And we know this country. 00:07:31.017 --> 00:07:32.857 Shifting towards crops appropriate for 00:07:32.857 --> 00:07:34.732 and adapted to their environment 00:07:34.732 --> 00:07:37.153 provides a vast opportunity for water conservation. 00:07:37.153 --> 00:07:38.948 That shift can happen on farms or in cities 00:07:38.948 --> 00:07:41.716 when we choose to eat foods that need less water to grow. 00:07:41.716 --> 00:07:44.939 On paper, a shift from feed crops and cattle makes sense. 00:07:44.939 --> 00:07:46.490 But if we wanna adapt 00:07:46.490 --> 00:07:48.426 to our warming climate in an equitable way, 00:07:48.426 --> 00:07:49.831 we can't write off farmers 00:07:49.831 --> 00:07:51.140 like Nancy and the families 00:07:51.140 --> 00:07:52.610 that have fed us for generations. 00:07:52.620 --> 00:07:54.472 We would like to continue farming. 00:07:54.591 --> 00:07:56.454 We don't plan on giving up this farm. 00:07:56.454 --> 00:07:58.684 We are looking into alternatives, 00:07:58.684 --> 00:08:00.486 we're looking into alternative crops, 00:08:00.493 --> 00:08:03.716 we're looking at water conservation irrigation techniques. 00:08:03.716 --> 00:08:05.996 Alfalfa takes seven to nine acre feet 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:07.422 of water a year to grow it. 00:08:07.442 --> 00:08:10.638 Olives would take about one and a half acre feet of water. 00:08:10.638 --> 00:08:12.698 But if we were to get into say olives, 00:08:12.698 --> 00:08:14.454 there'd be a lot of soil preparation. 00:08:14.454 --> 00:08:16.460 So it costs us a lot money to get started. 00:08:16.534 --> 00:08:19.017 But the question is, can we come together as a country 00:08:19.017 --> 00:08:20.957 and implement techniques to reduce the strain 00:08:20.972 --> 00:08:23.567 on our water supply before they're even more shortages? 00:08:23.917 --> 00:08:25.728 We need to be ready 00:08:25.728 --> 00:08:27.666 for some really big changes coming at us 00:08:27.666 --> 00:08:31.026 that are frankly outside of our comprehension. 00:08:31.026 --> 00:08:35.496 This is how we make the best out of a bad situation 00:08:35.496 --> 00:08:37.222 and stand by those 00:08:37.302 --> 00:08:41.852 who end up facing the biggest changes and challenges. 00:08:41.933 --> 00:08:42.946 And while we focus 00:08:42.946 --> 00:08:44.909 on the American Southwest in this episode, 00:08:44.909 --> 00:08:47.388 drought does affect almost every part of the country. 00:08:47.388 --> 00:08:49.599 So practicing water conservation 00:08:49.599 --> 00:08:51.666 as a part of your daily life can help you prepare 00:08:51.666 --> 00:08:53.854 for when water supplies run low in your region. 00:08:53.923 --> 00:08:56.263 Some of the most effective things you can do today 00:08:56.263 --> 00:08:57.271 are not that hard. 00:08:57.382 --> 00:08:59.502 For example, never leave a faucet running 00:08:59.502 --> 00:09:00.625 when it's not being used, 00:09:00.625 --> 00:09:02.683 like when brushing your teeth or washing dishes. 00:09:02.733 --> 00:09:04.626 Make sure to fix leaky faucets 00:09:04.626 --> 00:09:06.801 and choose energy and water efficient appliances. 00:09:06.801 --> 00:09:08.367 If you want to get more involved, 00:09:08.367 --> 00:09:10.237 you can place a brick in the tank of your toilet 00:09:10.237 --> 00:09:11.964 so it uses less water for each flush, 00:09:11.964 --> 00:09:14.574 or convert your lawn to a beautiful landscape 00:09:14.574 --> 00:09:15.777 that doesn't need irrigation. 00:09:15.777 --> 00:09:18.328 Or even install a rainwater catchment system. 00:09:19.334 --> 00:09:21.481 Of course, there's another thing we can all do, 00:09:21.481 --> 00:09:22.479 and that's to fight 00:09:22.479 --> 00:09:24.826 the underlying cause of this drought, climate change. 00:09:24.943 --> 00:09:26.852 The future of this drought is unwritten 00:09:26.852 --> 00:09:28.720 and the less warming we create 00:09:28.720 --> 00:09:30.718 the brighter our water future will be. 00:09:30.718 --> 00:09:32.735 So check out the excellent show, Hot Mess 00:09:32.735 --> 00:09:34.585 for more ideas about what can be done. 00:09:34.585 --> 00:09:36.160 And of course, subscribe 00:09:36.160 --> 00:09:38.460 to keep up with all of our episodes of Weathered. 00:09:38.460 --> 00:10:00.734 (soft music)