Future of Water in the Southwest vs. Retirement Plans

[aftriathlete]

TLDR, my wife and I think we’ll retire to AZ in the next few years from active duty, but it seems like the sky is falling wrt to the future of water in that part of the country (i.e. the future of the Colorado River being unable to meet demand.) Would water concerns make you think twice about setting up shop in the southwest long-term? I know weather patterns change (see major snowmelt this spring), but human behavior doesn’t seem to be changing in a positive direction, and the population in that area is growing while the states can’t come to an agreement on how to reduce usage.

 

[Bearwhisky]

No chance I would live somewhere where the supply of one of the most essential components of sustaining life was even remotely in question. Especially in todays world.


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[Kronos]

I wouldn't move to the SW unless I had a private well on my property to pull water out of.

 

[Geewhiz]

I wouldn't move to the SW unless I had a private well on my property to pull water out of.

Even still man, aquifers dry up during times of drout, and the more wells that get punched in to draw water out of "your" aquifer, the quicker the supply goes bye bye

 

[FLATHEAD]

Yes, lack of water is a deal breaker.

 

[Delta21]

We were kayaking the Colorado river and a local guide was telling us about how fast the water was dropping at the Hoover dam. If all things stay same won’t be long until not enough flow to generate electricity. Not sure how true that is but seems pretty alarming. I would love to live out there but water, electricity, and liberal leak to other states is deal breaker for me.

 

[Kronos]

Even still man, aquifers dry up during times of drout, and the more wells that get punched in to draw water out of "your" aquifer, the quicker the supply goes bye bye

Yeah, I understand that... but you can drill it extra deep right away.

 

[Geewhiz]

Yeah, I understand that... but you can drill it extra deep right away.

Extra deep doesnt necessarily get you anywhere with water wells. A well driller will drill until they hit a sufficient layer of water called an aquifer, and then stop there. It is very possible to continue to drill through that aquifer to dry dirt again. They may hit another aquifer, they may not. If you drill through an aquifer it is possible to keep track of how far tht aquifer is below the surface and then perferate the casing at that depth. But it is far from the truth if you think you can just drill deeper and always end up with more water.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

There would be enough water if there weren't so damn may people. And it gets worst every year, and by that I mean the population.

 

[Dos XX]

Phoenix has 5 million people. It is in the middle of the desert. 5 million people in the middle of the desert, no local water. What could go wrong?

 

[roadrunner]

There would be enough water if there weren't so damn may people. And it gets worst every year, and by that I mean the population.

Well, at least it's self correcting....

 

[RS_Non-Res]

Water flows uphill towards money. Panic is sown as a public policy tool. Irrigated farms in AZ will dry up long before the golf courses and industry, and those long before residences. One nuclear power plant can easily desalinate enough deep brine to supply PHX water demand. It a shame that the fabulous farming land in NE Illinois is being paved over by suburbs and nutcases are trying to farm in AZ. Been in the industry for 25 years.

 

[7mm-08]

You might want to rethink that long-term retirement plan. Seriously, as others have said, that situation would be a dealbreaker for me as well.

 

[NCTrees]

I love the southwest, but ….

And it occurs to me that folks would benefit from moving to….where the water is.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

I love the southwest, but ….
View attachment 548048
And it occurs to me that folks would benefit from moving to….where the water is.

he's right, but can you trust a dead comedian?

 

[hobbes]

Everyone understands their need for water, but it's rare that someone from east of the MS and even west of it a little way, understands the difference between water supply in the West and where they are from. I'd never heard of a water attorney before moving to Colorado.

You can't just pop a well in anywhere without significantly more permitting than back East and even then there's the possibility of no water, or insufficient water, regardless how deep you drill. Some regions much worse than others. The tap fees onto county or city water are something that is unexpected also. I'm not sure what it is everywhere but in my home community in Southern IL it was under $500 when I did it in the mid 90s. When I moved to CO in mid 2000s, a new house was paying thousands to tie in based off their calculated use.

Folks in the east are used to building ponds wherever they feel like it on their property. That doesn't always fly here unless you own rights to the water in a basin that you are holding water up in. Owning the land is not equivalent to owning water rights. That surface water may well belong to someone downstream. You may think you'll do whatever you want on your land but damn up water flow from someone downstream that has senior water rights and you'll soon learn it's not your water. Ask Colorado about its South Republican Management Area. I believe that's where Kansas challenged them in court and CO was forced to release the water in their existing reservoir.

Also, If you don't use the water rights that you own, they can be taken. I don't know all the legal dealings required but you don't use it, you can lose it.

Water is a big deal everywhere, but it's taken for granted in places with plenty.

 

[5MilesBack]

My wife and I spent a week in Scottsdale in Dec 2021. We kind of poked around lightly looking at homes for reference sake. Homes had gone up 35% since Dec 2020, and looking at homes now shows that they've gone up even more than that in this last year. Even without the water situation.........no thanks. I just can't come up with a situation where I buy a house that has doubled in the previous two years. So.......twice the price AND no water.......sure sounds like a deal to me. It's bad enough where I live now, but I just can't get myself to move east of CO.

 

[Billy Goat]

I can never wrap my head around irrigated lawns.


It's a pain in the ass to irrigate crops, why do you want to irrigate something that you just have to mow?



Work for more work, that gains nothing. Guess its just humans trying to exercise control over their environment.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

I you life in desert south west and you want green lawn, lawn irrigations is the only answer short of artificial turf. I have a neighbor who painted his lawn, (yes there is a paint of sorts for your lawn.) looked Ok for about two weeks. Some people go with the desert landscaping. UGLY.

 

[Dos XX]

I can never wrap my head around irrigated lawns.


It's a pain in the ass to irrigate crops, why do you want to irrigate something that you just have to mow?



Work for more work, that gains nothing. Guess its just humans trying to exercise control over their environment.

Because someone turned manicured lawns into an industry. They marketed to us and we bought into it. We were persuaded to believe we needed it. It worked.

I just googled how much lawn fertilizer is used in the US per year. I see results that say 60 to 70 million lbs per year. That is an astounding number.