Interesting article,Florida is facing the same issue

[Kelly Jessop]

http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment...source-run-dry

[gschaut]

But hopefully, Florida will not be permitting diluted bitumen pipelines and hydrofracking in the Floridan Aquifer!

[keri.lewis]

However, one really wet summer can change everything in terms of aquifer levels.. I am not saying this will happen for this aquifer, but our local aquifer where I live (Chalk unfortunately... no caves!) provides 70% of the water supply. Last April we were on severe water restrictions in our region. Farmers were restricted, domestic garden irrigation was curtailed... lawns were dying in April! Golf courses were brown not green etc. Civilisation was threatened...

However, the UK experienced 9 months of almost record rainfall. The aquifer is now completely topped up ("at normal levels" i.e. where it was when they started to measure).. I guess it's partly a cyclical thing. That said, it doesn't help to conserve where possible.

I think the problem is that gardeners and golfers out number cave divers.. there are ways to fix that..

[Mark Vlahos]

About 25 years ago I read one of the best books I ever came across. It is titled "Cadillac Desert" by Marc Reisner. The basics of how important a water resource is, and how to approach managing it are more important than most people realize.

Mark Vlahos

[Kelly Jessop]

However, one really wet summer can change everything in terms of aquifer levels.. I am not saying this will happen for this aquifer, but our local aquifer where I live (Chalk unfortunately... no caves!) provides 70% of the water supply. Last April we were on severe water restrictions in our region. Farmers were restricted, domestic garden irrigation was curtailed... lawns were dying in April! Golf courses were brown not green etc. Civilisation was threatened...

However, the UK experienced 9 months of almost record rainfall. The aquifer is now completely topped up ("at normal levels" i.e. where it was when they started to measure).. I guess it's partly a cyclical thing. That said, it doesn't help to conserve where possible.

I think the problem is that gardeners and golfers out number cave divers.. there are ways to fix that..

In the case of Florida that has had a drought for several years,I have heard it estimated to take 5 years of above average rain falls to return the aquifer to "normal". We recently saw pictures of the Santa Fe being so low we could almost walk across without getting our ankles wet,and this alarmed the community. But,these things are forgotten when we have one wet summer,and then everyone thinks things have returned to normal.

[a64pilot]

"normal" is the average level before billions of gallons of water is pumped out. Logically the only way to return to normal and continue to pump billions of gallons out is to increase the re-charge rate by billions of gallons, it's simple math actually, an equilibrium thing,is that difficult to understand?
The Mid west aquifer will have an enormous effect on the "bread basket of the world", we are way past the point of adopting dry land farming. I guess when we are paying ten times what we are now for food, we will notice?

[keri.lewis]

In the case of Florida that has had a drought for several years,I have heard it estimated to take 5 years of above average rain falls to return the aquifer to "normal". We recently saw pictures of the Santa Fe being so low we could almost walk across without getting our ankles wet,and this alarmed the community. But,these things are forgotten when we have one wet summer,and then everyone thinks things have returned to normal.

Much the same in the UK - we had been told that it would take years of above average rainfall too.. then we had a summer I wouldn't wish on anyone... many months of record rainfall, flooding and grey skies.. the last 9 months of the year were a disaster.. and as a result very little ground evaporation etc. For Florida this would be a tough blow to the economy as it prevented fruit tree pollenation, and otherwise damaged crops as well as the flood damage.

Thouhg in general, you're right on the "have a wet month - everything's OK now isn't it?" attitude..

"normal" is the average level before billions of gallons of water is pumped out. Logically the only way to return to normal and continue to pump billions of gallons out is to increase the re-charge rate by billions of gallons, it's simple math actually, an equilibrium thing,is that difficult to understand?
The Mid west aquifer will have an enormous effect on the "bread basket of the world", we are way past the point of adopting dry land farming. I guess when we are paying ten times what we are now for food, we will notice?

Hope both Florida and the Mid-West recover.. as this is spot on in terms of impact on the rest of the world.

[JE]

Has anyone seen the syphon conduits at Disney ? They will amaze you ! 36" pipes ! Try 48" conduits drawing water from the Aquifer at an unbelievable rate to supply the resorts & water parks.
Then add Universal Studios & Sea World, Wet & Wild water parks & you get an idea of where our resources are going !

[Gene Powell]

When you build your cities on a giant waterbed, you need to be careful how many holes you poke in it! There is a limit to how much water you can lose before the bed collapses.