Phoenix is facing not one but two water crises. Around a third of the desert city’s water comes from the beleaguered Colorado River. Thanks to a decades-long mega-drought fueled by climate change, the city stands to lose much of that supply in coming years as the river dries up and the state faces water cuts.
Another third of the metro’s water comes from underground aquifers—and that water is running out too. Earlier this month, Arizona’s water department published a new report assessing how much water remains in the aquifers below Phoenix. The data was alarming: The state found that it has allocated more groundwater to cities and farms over the next 100 years than is actually present in the aquifers. If the Phoenix area keeps pumping water at its current rate, those aquifers will tap out over the next century, according to the department. The total shortfall amounts to almost 5 million acre-feet, or around 1.6 trillion gallons, that were permitted for use over the next 100 years but may not exist at all.
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