Severe Texas Drought Threatens Coastal Wildlife

[question everything]

From the WSJ:

A severe drought gripping Texas is causing unusually salty conditions along the Gulf Coast, upsetting the region's ecological balance and threatening coastal wildlife including oysters, crabs and whooping cranes, the most endangered crane species.

The drought is one of the driest on record for Texas and is currently the worst in the U.S., which has seen persistent dry weather across several Western states, Florida and even Hawaii, according to academic and government monitors. The scarcity of rain has reduced fresh-water flow from rivers and streams into coastal marshes, estuaries and bays that normally dilute the salt content of water from the Gulf of Mexico.


(snip)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124027139462837033.html (subscription)



I don't get it. With all the killer hurricanes that Texas had last year, why didn't they collect some of the water?

[tammywammy]

1. Hurricanes are salt water, from what you provided, the problem is not enough FRESH water n/t

[BeFree]

2. Hmmm

Along the Florida coast change is also happening. Sea level rise?

Or is it the fact that freshwater from groundwater springs is being depleted so fast that estuaries are being overcome with salt?

[pitohui]

3. collect it how?

the tragedy of the whooping cranes is real, i heard they did put out corn for them but it was too late for many who had already starved - plus there is a difference between eating a natural diet of blue crab (a protein) and corn (a cheap carb)

you know that cliche about how a hurricane is more powerful than all of the earth's thermonuclear weapons going off at one time? well, that is more than a cliche, it's based on energy calcuations

i am puzzled to figure out how "they" (who is "they" anyway?) were supposed to "collect" the water from gustav and ike? at the time of the events we were more concerned w. not getting killed/financially destroyed by these two storms

[tammywammy]

4. Yeah, when my family found out that all their homes were flooded

4-6 feet, they weren't too concerned with "hum, how could we collect this water?"

An aside, my grandfather was the first in his block to get his FEMA trailer removed, since the complete redo on his house was completed about 6 weeks ago. (Trailer removed last week)

Also wanted to add: That's nasty water that comes with the hurricane. Well, at least the flood water is.

[question everything]

5. Obviously, at the state level

I have been suggesting it here for years - that we need a system of channels across the country to carry water from flooded area to drought stricken ones, with valves that would determine from where to where and how much.

If there were reservoirs built, perhaps some of the water from Gustav and Ike could have been collected in them.

I am not a hydrologist, or a climatologist, or any ist, but every year we have floods that destroy property and life in one part of the country, and severe drought in another and I think that if someone would put their mind to it, we should be able to equalize some of these natural disasters.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

6. The problem is the tributaries that run into the Gulf and decrease the salinity are not flowing

Or at least not flowing at the rates they should be. Thus the increase in salinity of the waters.

These tributaries are the constant source of fresh water that the Texas Gulf relies on to maintain its balance.

[MazeRat7]

7. The real problem is about 50-100mi inland.

South Central Texas is in serious water trouble. In the worst areas (Austin/San Antonio) we received only about 50% of our average annual rainfall last year. This year looks as bad if not worse. All the water that falls in South Central Texas finds it way to the coast where it dilutes the salt water. Since there is very little fresh water flowing south, the salinity levels are increasing along the gulf coast.

Peace,
MZr7

edit: Just realized the post about mine said basically the same thing. Sorry for the repeat.