Less than eight months after Hurricane Harvey pelted the Texas Gulf Coast with torrential rainfall, drought has returned to Texas and other parts of the West, Southwest and Southeast, again forcing state governments to reckon with how to keep the water flowing.
Nearly a third of the continental U.S. is in drought, more than three times the coverage of a year ago.
And the specter of a drought-ridden summer has focused renewed urgency on conservation efforts, some of which would fundamentally alter Americans’ behavior in how they use water.
In California, for example, officials are considering rules to permanently ban water-wasting actions such as hosing off sidewalks and driveways, washing a vehicle with a hose that doesn’t have a shut-off valve, and irrigating ornamental turf on public street medians.
In Amarillo, Texas, the water department stresses conservation with the message “every drop counts,” and urges customers to do “at least one thing a day to save water.” Oklahoma City has a similar mantra.
To understand the potential dangers, U.S. officials could look to parched Cape Town, South Africa.
The city of 4 million spent months struggling to fend off Day Zero, when it was projected to become the first major urban center to run out of water.
Residents skimped on dishwashing and laundry, took minishowers and washed their hands with sanitizer.
The objective: to cut individual water consumption to 50 liters a day, or 13.2 gallons, far below the U.S. average of 80 to 100 gallons.
U.S. government and environmental experts generally agree that no major city is in imminent danger.