Growing Cities in Western US Search for Water

 

Many Americans are moving to the southern and western United States, despite extreme heat and a limited supply of water.

The population of Greeley, Colorado, and the surrounding area grew by 30 percent between 2010 and 2020. It is one of the fastest growing parts of the U.S., reports the latest U.S. census¹.

Dick Maxfield has lived in Greeley for 60 years. During those years, he has seen the population increase by 300 percent, reaching almost 110,000.

People come to the town because there are good jobs and homes that are less costly² than those in nearby Denver. But there is not enough water.

"Anything we can do to protect our safe water supply is so important," Maxfield said.

Lisa Dilling is a water researcher and a professor at the University of Colorado. She said climate change makes the problem of population growth and not enough water even more difficult.

"Where is the water going to come from?" Dilling asked. "We can still have growth, but we need to make sure we're thinking ahead."

The lack of rain and extreme heat in the western U.S. is being called a "mega drought."

Some communities there are taking extreme steps to protect their water supply.

In Oakley, Utah, a town outside of Salt Lake City, officials ended home building because the water system was at its limit.

Dick Jefferies is part of a conservation group called Trout³ Unlimited⁴. He said the only thing that will stop the growth is a lack of water. "It's a limited resource," he said.

Built on rivers

Many cities in states like Colorado got their start because of rivers. The founders⁵ of Greeley picked the location because it was where two rivers came together. Now those rivers, and others nearby, are drying up.

Federal officials recently declared a water shortage on the Colorado River, which provides water for 40 million people in the western part of the U.S.

So, the city is working to find a new water source – underground – about 100 kilometers away. But taking water from a natural underground source known as an aquifer⁶ is both costly and controversial.

There is also the possibility that the water they find will have too much uranium, a radioactive material that can cause illness. Some say there are ways to remove uranium from the water, others think the risk is too great.

Greeley, however, said the water from the aquifer will not be the city's first water source.

Adam Jokerst works for the city's water department.

"Greeley would never deliver unsafe drinking water to its residents, including any water that had detectable⁷ uranium,″ he said.

Those who oppose the water plan are trying to organize a vote in November.

Citizens of Greeley seem split. One person said she did not think town officials would do anything bad. "They live here, too," said Aimee Huston.

But Sandi Cummings said the plan was "so upsetting that we are even considering this."

Jokerst said it is the city's responsibility to provide water to its residents. He added that the project will give Greeley the water it needs to continue growing.

"We have all the ingredients for developers to build here," he said.

Even with plans and water testing, two experts say Greeley's plan may not be perfect.

Jeff Lukas studies water and climate in Colorado. He said taking water from the aquifer may be risky⁸ because it is far away and the water is hundreds of meters below ground.

Jeff Crane studies river water projects in Colorado. He said Greeley and other cities are going to keep running into water problems.

"They're trying to figure out how to continue to grow ... without more water. Something's got to give."

Words in This Story

despite –prep. without being prevented by (something)

census –n. the official process of counting the number of people in a country, city, or town and collecting information about them

drought –n. a long period of time during which there is very little or no rain

conservation –n. the protection of animals, plants, and natural resources

controversial –adj. relating to or causing much discussion, disagreement, or argument : likely to produce controversy⁹

radioactive –adj. having or producing a powerful and dangerous form of energy (called radiation)

detect –v. to discover or notice the presence of (something that is hidden or hard to see, hear, taste, etc.)

ingredient –n. a quality or characteristic that makes something possible

got to give –expression. to break because of force, pressure, or strain

1 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

2 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

3 trout   

n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属)

参考例句：

• Thousands of young salmon and trout have been killed by the pollution.成千上万的鲑鱼和鳟鱼的鱼苗因污染而死亡。
• We hooked a trout and had it for breakfast.我们钓了一条鳟鱼，早饭时吃了。

4 unlimited   

adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。

5 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

6 aquifer   

n.含水土层

参考例句：

• An aquifer is a water-bearing rock stratum such as sandstone and chalk.地下蓄水层是一些有水的岩石层，如沙岩和白垩岩。
• The wine region's first water came from an ancient aquifer.用来灌溉这个地区葡萄园的第一批水来自古老的地下蓄水层。

7 detectable   

adj.可发觉的；可查明的

参考例句：

• The noise is barely detectable by the human ear.人的耳朵几乎是察觉不到这种噪音的。
• The inflection point at this PH is barely detectable.在此PH值下，拐点不易发现。

8 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

9 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。