Food, Fuel and Water 2: Water.

Water. Nothing is more elemental. Nothing is more crucial for our species’ survival. Our ability to conserve water and use it efficiently may be the great challenge of the 21st century. Although energy and the economy are on everyone’s mind, water issues should not be far from the public conscious; and water issues should be part of the public discourse. Water is essential for energy production (especially nuclear power and coal-fired power plants. Take that Joe Scarborough.), food production, manufacturing, and public health.

Birmingham is uniquely positioned in terms of water issues. We’ve got one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems in the world, the Cahaba River, running through our metropolitan area. We’re located in Alabama’s most populated county (Jefferson), the state with most river miles than any other state in the country. Many prominent scientists, E. O. Wilson among them, have argued that our aquatic resources are our most prized economic engine. That economic engine, however, can’t be used to its potential because a $350 million dollar sewer debt is about to bankrupt the county.

Remember the flooding of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina? Remember the Minnesota bridge collapse in August of 2008? The root causes of those disasters were acute infrastructure failings caused by years of chronic neglect, a lack of adequate planning, and an inability to manage growth. The elected officials of Jefferson County, and the appointed officials of the Birmingham Water Works, have created an equally precarious infrastructure problem. Our sewer debt may not result in individual deaths, but it threatens to rip the county into rancorous fiefdoms pitting individual wants over the needs of everyone. This sewer debt will make it more difficult to attract businesses and economic growth that our state desperately needs.

Meanwhile, the four million-plus residents of our big neighbor to the east have set off an interstate water war that requires federal mediation. Urban and suburban population growth coupled with years of drought doesn’t just threaten the quality of life in Atlanta, but the viability of farms, fisheries, and cities and towns in south Alabama and the panhandle of Florida.

Our investigation on water will meander, naturally, but everything will flow back to sustainability and living intentionally. Our first session will be a general overview of water resources and then focus on Alabama’s wealth of rivers and streams. On day two we will explore the concept of water stress, and research regional US strategies for using and conserving water. After we conduct our research we will come together in the first annual ASFA Water Summit where representatives from each region will share best practices for optimizing water use. Our Summit will be highlighted by a visit from Randy Haddock, field director of the Cahaba River Society. Dr. Haddock is going to speak with us about how local activities are adversely affecting the health of the Cahaba River. He will also explain how water conservation ties directly into energy efficiency and sustainability. You heard it here first, “Blue is the new Green.”

You can drown in the amount of information about water. Every federal agency with ties to the environment is turning its attention to water issues. Non-government agencies (NGOs) like the Cahaba River Society and the UN’s World Health Organization have particular interests in water issues. Religious, spiritual, business and recreation groups all have a stake in clean water. Below you find links to several websites related to water and water issues. Don’t surf. Wade on in, the water’s fine.

http://www.weather.gov/ahps/ (NOAA water site)
http://water.usgs.gov/ (usgs water site)
http://www.alabamarivers.org/
http://www.cahabariversociety.org/
http://www.eowilson.org/
http://encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1645 (al water resources)