Rebekah Garza | May 11, 2026

Water scarcity in the Western US has been escalating for decades. Colorado river flows, which supply ~40 million people with water, have declined 20% since 2000 [1], and its surface water reservoirs are depleted, with Lake Powell and Lake Mead at just 25% and 33% of their capacities (Fig. 1) [2]. Some factors causing water scarcity are climate change-induced decreases in rainfall rates, increased reliance on irrigation for crop cultivation, growing populations in water-stressed regions, and more recently, additional water stress from the cooling of AI datacenters. 

Figure 1. An aerial photograph of Lake Powell, one of the primary reservoirs of the Colorado River. (Source: Frypie via Wikimedia Commons)

This winter, record low levels of snowfall have resurfaced these problems. The majority of watersheds in the west held less than 50% of their typical snow water equivalents, or amount of water produced per unit snowfall (Fig. 2) [3]. Snow is an important store of water, and without it states are beginning to prepare for drought. Planners consider restrictions like implementing surge pricing on household water use and limiting allotments for agriculture and industry. According to New Mexico’s Colorado River negotiator, “The situation is dire. The stakes have never been higher. And unfortunately the reservoirs have never been drier.” [4] 

Figure 2. Snow water equivalents in 2026 compared to the long term median. (Source: US Bureau of Reclamation)

So, where can we turn in the search for more water? While modern usage may strain natural resources, modern technologies can also be employed to help find, conserve, and manage water stores. So before resigning yourself to the use of a dowsing rod (Fig. 3), know that hydrologists and engineers have developed more scientific methods to search for water. Here are several popular strategies that are being used to address water shortages.

Figure 3. A man uses a dowsing rod to search for water on his farmland. (Source: Imperial War Museum via Wikimedia Commons)

1. Surface Water Storage and Evaporation Reduction

Of all the water used in the United States, about 74% comes from surface-water sources and is stored in above ground reservoirs [5]. Reservoirs help control water supplies by catching stormflows to prevent floods and by storing water during drought. But in dry regions reservoirs can lose up to 40% of their stocks to evaporation [6]. One solution to combating evaporation loss is to cover reservoirs with floating objects such as tarps, disks, or balls (Fig. 4). These approaches show an up to 80% reduction in evaporation during the summer season [7]. However, there are drawbacks: they can damage local ecosystems by preventing light from reaching organisms below the surface. Additionally, surface covers are impractical for large reservoirs like Powell and Mead which have too much surface area to reasonably cover. One solution? Store that same water underground.

Figure 4. Shade balls cover the Ivanhoe Reservoir in Los Angeles, CA. (Source: Junkyardsparkle via Wikimedia Commons)

2. Managed Aquifer Recharge

Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) is the intentional routing of water below ground for later use into water-bearing rock called groundwater aquifers. There are several benefits to this solution:

(1) Since water is stored in underground, it’s protected from evaporative losses or contamination from algal blooms.

(2) One study showed that up to 65% of floodwaters could be diverted into aquifers without harming river ecosystems [8].

(3) Introducing new water to empty aquifers can structurally support the subsurface, preventing the land surface from compacting, sinking, and even collapsing [9].

There are still some drawbacks to this method. When routing water belowground, an aquifer can become clogged from the sudden increase in flows. Additionally, the accidental introduction of pollutants to an aquifer can cause chemical reactions to occur, potentially releasing toxic pollutants such as lead or arsenic [9]. Despite these challenges, MAR offers a promising alternative to surface water reservoir storage.

3. Desalination

In coastal regions with manufacturing economies and limited freshwater availability, desalination can mechanically generate new freshwater. Desalination is the process of removing salts from brackish or seawaters to produce freshwater. Taken at face value, it may seem like an infinite water source, but in reality desalination is a resource intensive process requiring significant energy inputs, land, and high costs of operation. Water produced at the largest desalination plant in the US costs twice as much as other water sources [10]. This cost is due in part to the energy consumed during the desalination process, raising concerns about associated carbon emissions. In order to desalinate 1000 liters of water, 28lbs of carbon dioxide are produced [11]. While desalination can be paired with renewable energy sources to reduce those emissions, it often relies instead on fossil fuels [12]. Additionally, desalination produces pollutants and brines, which are solutions with high concentrations of salts, that must be carefully discharged so as not to harm local ecosystems or other freshwater supplies [13]. Still, desalination is a growing industry. In 2020, desalination produced ~95 million cubic meters of water a day [14]. Currently, there are over 200 operative desalination plants in the US in Texas, California, and Florida. 

4. Conservation and Wastewater Recycling

Recycled wastewater enables municipalities to convert their sewage into reusable forms of water. It is not typically used for drinking due to the high requirements of treatment. Instead, recycled wastewater is often used for agricultural irrigation or industrial purposes, and is especially promising for its potential use in cooling datacenters [15]. In tandem with recycling water, conserving the use of already available freshwater resources is a primary means to combat water scarcity. In some water-stressed regions, industrial uses account for up to 60% of total municipal consumption [16]. In these cases, it’s necessary for industries to look for ways to curtail their usage. Water conservation can happen at the individual scale too. This can look like watering outdoor plants early in the morning when evaporation is minimal, replacing turf grasses with native species that consume less water, and being mindful of household consumption.

In the coming years, it will likely be necessary to use multiple water resource technologies in tandem to secure enough water to meet demands. But by carefully assessing solutions and employing the best technologies per scenario, it is possible to curb scarcity and ensure the sustainability of water resources. For example, after facing a water crisis, the city of San Antonio, Texas now uses a combination of groundwaters, surface reservoirs, desalination, and wastewater recycling to meet its population’s demand [17]. In the coming decades we can expect to see the increased usage of water resource technologies in projects across the US as we work together to ensure the future of America’s waters. 

References:

[1] Udall, Bradley, and Jonathan Overpeck. “The Twenty‐first Century Colorado River Hot Drought and Implications for the Future.” Water Resources Research 53, no. 3 (March 2017): 2404–18. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016wr019638.

[2] Lower Colorado weekly hydrologic update: March 30, 2026. Accessed April 3, 2026. https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g4000/weekly.pdf.

[3] “Western US Snow Water Equivalent.” NWCC IMAP. Accessed April 3, 2026. https://nwcc-apps.sc.egov.usda.gov/imap.

[4] Larsen, Brooke. “‘The Situation Is Dire’: Lake Powell Is Heading for a Record Low as Colorado River States Remain Deadlocked.” The Salt Lake Tribune, March 25, 2026.

[5] “Surface Water Use in the United States.” USGS. Accessed April 3, 2026. https://www.usgs.gov/water-science-school/science/surface-water-use-united-states.

[6] Aminzadeh, Milad, Noemi Friedrich, Sankeerth Narayanaswamy, Kaveh Madani, and Nima Shokri. “Evaporation Loss from Small Agricultural Reservoirs in a Warming Climate: An Overlooked Component of Water Accounting.” Earth’s Future 12, no. 1 (January 2024). https://doi.org/10.1029/2023ef004050.

[7] Mady, Bassem, Peter Lehmann, and Dani Or. “Evaporation Suppression from Small Reservoirs Using Floating Covers—Field Study and Modeling.” Water Resources Research 57, no. 4 (April 2021). https://doi.org/10.1029/2020wr028753.

[8] Yang, Qian, and Bridget R Scanlon. “How Much Water Can Be Captured from Flood Flows to Store in Depleted Aquifers for Mitigating Floods and Droughts? A Case Study from Texas, US.” Environmental Research Letters 14, no. 5 (May 1, 2019): 054011. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab148e.

[9] Zhang, Heng, Yongxin Xu, and Thokozani Kanyerere. “A Review of the Managed Aquifer Recharge: Historical Development, Current Situation and Perspectives.” Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C 118–119 (October 2020): 102887. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pce.2020.102887.

[10] “Desalination.” USGS. Accessed April 3, 2026. https://www.usgs.gov/water-science-school/science/desalination#overview.

[11] Mannan, Mehzabeen, Mohamed Alhaj, Abdel Nasser Mabrouk, and Sami G. Al-Ghamdi. “Examining the Life-Cycle Environmental Impacts of Desalination: A Case Study in the State of Qatar.” Desalination 452 (February 2019): 238–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2018.11.017.

[12] Alawad, Suhaib M., Ridha Ben Mansour, Fahad A. Al-Sulaiman, and Shafiqur Rehman. “Renewable Energy Systems for Water Desalination Applications: A Comprehensive Review.” Energy Conversion and Management 286 (June 2023): 117035. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2023.117035.

[13] Panagopoulos, Argyris. “A Comparative Study on Minimum and Actual Energy Consumption for the Treatment of Desalination Brine.” Energy 212 (December 2020): 118733. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2020.118733.

[14] Jones, Edward, Manzoor Qadir, Michelle T.H. van Vliet, Vladimir Smakhtin, and Seong-mu Kang. “The State of Desalination and Brine Production: A Global Outlook.” Science of The Total Environment 657 (March 2019): 1343–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.12.076.

[15] “Water Reuse Case Study: Quincy, Washington.” EPA. Accessed April 3, 2026. https://www.epa.gov/waterreuse/water-reuse-case-study-quincy-washington.

[16] Bishop, Drew. 2026. “Corpus Christi City Manager Answers Resident Questions about Industry, Surcharges and Arsenic Levels.” KRIS 6 News Corpus Christi. April 9, 2026. https://www.kristv.com/running-dry/corpus-christi-city-manager-answers-resident-questions-about-water-rates-surcharges-and-arsenic-levels.

[17] “Water Supplies.” San Antonio Water System, April 2, 2026. https://www.saws.org/your-water/management-sources/.