Contributed by
John Cobourn, State Water Specialist, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension
(check
www.Livingwithdrought.com for information about strategies for coping with drought and
www.unce.unr.edu for information about Nevada Cooperative Extension).
|
Drought monitor from Sept. 22, 2015 shows slightly more than half of
Nevada remains in Extreme to Exceptional Drought |
The Western Governors Association Drought Forum Report was
released on June 23, 2015 (http://www.westgov.org/drought-forum). Under the leadership of Nevada Governor Brian
Sandoval, the Forum proposed strategies for responding to droughts in the western United States. The
Governors recommend open dialog and information sharing about water and how to
be resilient to droughts.
Now is the time, if there ever was a time, for a sustained conversation
about water in Nevada and the Southwestern United States. The climate of the
Southwest is generally dry, with recurring droughts and floods. It is also a
region of continuing rapid population growth. In 2015, after the fourth
consecutive year of severe drought in Nevada and California, citizens want to
know how our society and economy will be able to withstand another year (or
years) of drought.
One good way to understand water issues is to place them in
the context of watershed management. Nevada’s watersheds capture precipitation
in the form of rain or snow, store it in soils, lakes and underground aquifers,
then transmit it downstream to agricultural communities and to cities. The
watersheds that support our water supply must be respected and protected from
abuse. We rely on healthy, well-managed watersheds for our way of life. More
about this in upcoming blogs.
In this blog, I intend to contribute factual information and
analysis to “The Conversation” about water in the Southwest. As a Hydrologist
with twenty seven years of experience in watershed management, I have worked on
floodplain management, drought planning for farmers, and water quality best
management practices for residential and small business properties. These
issues are not well-understood by the general public, but they should be.
I invite readers to join The Conversation. Here is a passage
from the Western Governors’ Drought Forum Report: “Citizen awareness is
critical to the success of any drought or conservation measure,” said Cassandra
Joseph, Senior Deputy Attorney General for Government and Natural Resources in
Nevada. “It is difficult to achieve, but it is absolutely imperative that the
general public understands the importance of water resource management.”