It will not come as news to anybody that Arizona’s water supply is in a pinch. Lake Mead is at a record low and if it falls even further, supplies to Arizona will be cut back by 13% to 17%.

Supplies are dwindling while demand is increasing – there can be no doubt that these trends are converging to a critical point in the not-too-distant future.

The currently prevalent plan to counter this is to build a desalinization plant on the coast of southern California and bring water in from there – a distance of some 300 miles. In addition to the monetary and environmental cost of transport, there are a number of other sustainability issues with this scheme.

On the other hand, our area receives enough rainwater annually to cover the needs of all our citizens, certainly in combination with efficient conservation and reuse.

Water from the left or water from above?

The Weekly Green spoke about the issue with Brad Lancaster, co-founder of Desert Harvesters and author of “Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond“, a two volume opus on using our natural water supply efficiently and sustainably. In the course of the interview, you will learn about a huge local water resource which to date goes largely untapped!

This interview is the sequel to last week’s interview with Brad, which focused on cultivation of native food crops.

(Interview 10:58)