By Lance Winslow
Water rights in America are all about politics. It is truly amazing that large cities with large populations have the political clout to take the water from rural areas where we grow America's food supply and all of our crops, and the agricultural products that are shipped worldwide.
There is another concern that has to do with this issue and that is the value of land. Although a farmer over a long period of time can make a lot of money farming; because of all the regulations in the agriculture industry it often make sense to sell the property to a developer instead of growing crops.
Because people in the city will not conserve the water like they should, and because the populations of our urban areas in the United States are increasing so rapidly, we are unable to recharge our reservoirs like we have in the past during the winter months. There just isn't enough water to last through the dry summer months.
It used to be the droughts came every 5 to 10 years. Now even a mild drought year can turn into a severe drought year, because we use so much water. The Colorado River is in jeopardy and Lake Mead in Nevada provides water to three of the thirstiest states out west. The Ogallala aquifer is also receding and there are farmers whose wells have run dry.
If that land cannot be irrigated or used for agriculture, nothing can be grown there. Our nation is in a drought crisis and yet, we often do not address this issue, because no one wants to talk about it. It drives down real estate prices, it scares the citizens, and it is a political football that no politician wants to touch. I hope you will consider all this and remember without the agriculture business and without water there's no food to eat. Please consider all this.
Water rights in America are all about politics. It is truly amazing that large cities with large populations have the political clout to take the water from rural areas where we grow America's food supply and all of our crops, and the agricultural products that are shipped worldwide.
There is another concern that has to do with this issue and that is the value of land. Although a farmer over a long period of time can make a lot of money farming; because of all the regulations in the agriculture industry it often make sense to sell the property to a developer instead of growing crops.
Because people in the city will not conserve the water like they should, and because the populations of our urban areas in the United States are increasing so rapidly, we are unable to recharge our reservoirs like we have in the past during the winter months. There just isn't enough water to last through the dry summer months.
It used to be the droughts came every 5 to 10 years. Now even a mild drought year can turn into a severe drought year, because we use so much water. The Colorado River is in jeopardy and Lake Mead in Nevada provides water to three of the thirstiest states out west. The Ogallala aquifer is also receding and there are farmers whose wells have run dry.
If that land cannot be irrigated or used for agriculture, nothing can be grown there. Our nation is in a drought crisis and yet, we often do not address this issue, because no one wants to talk about it. It drives down real estate prices, it scares the citizens, and it is a political football that no politician wants to touch. I hope you will consider all this and remember without the agriculture business and without water there's no food to eat. Please consider all this.
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