[Environment Report]:Californias Water Problems


This is the VOA Special English Environment Report.

United Nations officials have declared two-thousand-three theInternational Year of Fresh Water. Everywhere, water use isincreasing. Today, we look at how one area is dealing with theproblem.

Map ofCalifornia State
Map ofCalifornia State

The southwestern United Statesfaces a water problem. Human development and years of less thanaverage rainfall are to blame. Years ago, the city of Los Angeles,California got its water from the Los Angeles River. Today, theriver is dry for much of the year. The water that once flowed therenow comes from ground wells. They provide fifteen percent of thecity's water. Half of the city's water comes from the Sierra NevadaMountains. The rest comes from the Colorado River, east of LosAngeles.

Part of that supply was reduced at the end of December. Theproblem started when California began using more than its share ofwater from the Colorado River. Other western states became concernedand informed the federal government. The government orderedCalifornia to agree on a plan to reduce the amount of Colorado Riverwater it uses. There was no agreement, so some of the water supplieswere cut.

However, Los Angeles officials say their city has enoughadditional supplies and the reduction is not a threat. Localofficials have urged people to use less water so future needs aremet. The water company offers free toilets designed to use lesswater. The water company's pricing system also is meant to reducewaste. When the use of water increases, so does the price.

Los Angeles officials also are exploring other ideas. The cost ofremoving salt from seawater has dropped fifty percent in the pastten years. However, this desalinated seawater still costs threetimes as much as other water supplies. The officials believe thatdesalinated seawater will be more competitive as the price of otherwater supplies increases. The city plans to build a new desalinationcenter by the year two-thousand-ten.

Much of central and southern California is desert. The state'srich farming areas depend on water from irrigation systems to keeptheir soil productive. Agriculture is a thirty-thousand-milliondollar industry in the state. Agriculture also uses more than eightypercent of California's clean water supplies.

This VOA Special English Environment Report was written by GeorgeGrow.

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