The Effects of the Cotton Industry on the Water Supply

“Cotton is the most widespread profitable non-food crop in the world.” (1) The plant is found in nearly every article of clothing, from t-shirts to jeans to socks to flannel, and it has also made its way into towels, bedsheets, curtains, and cosmetics.

Unfortunately, the textile industry in its present form is far from sustainable. The World Wildlife Fund estimates that 3% of the water used for agriculture is used for growing cotton, despite the fact that nearly all the rest of the resource is allocated to growing produce. A single outfit, approximately 1 kilogram of cotton, takes a staggering 20,000 liters of water to produce. With millions of tons of cotton being produced each year, more sustainable methods must be implemented immediately.

The issue is not just the fast fashion industry spitting money and resources into the newest fads; the world population will exceed 9 billion by 2050, and with this comes a need for textiles far beyond the scope of fast fashion. Cotton differs greatly from plastic in that there is less of a demand for an environmental alternative and more of a push to optimize the growth and fabrication of cotton-based products. Current substitutes such as polyester, bamboo, and hemp all have their own drawbacks, and with the infrastructure built firmly around the cotton plant, it seems most reasonable to figure out measures to decrease the amount of water, chemicals, and land necessary.

With the development of newer technologies, farmers have attempted to grow more organic cotton without the use of pesticides and fertilizers, reducing the environmental impact of possible toxic runoff into nearby ecosystems. The amount of water needed for the growth of cotton has significantly decreased over the past few decades, and researchers are interested in developing more water-efficient and insect-resistant varieties that can further decrease its impact on the environment.

(1) https://www.worldwildlife.org/industries/cotton

The Californian Delta Smelt Controversy

The delta smelt is a little three-inch silvery blue fish that lives in the San Francisco Bay and the San Joaquin Delta, and its declining population numbers have incited California’s controversial water wars. Biologists warn the world that the pumps in the delta are harming the fish’s already delicate state and could cause extinction. However, efforts made to protect the delta smelt population in the San Joaquin Delta are countered by farmers, who complain about the lack of clean drinking water and freshwater for their crops.

How did this tiny fish become the heart of California’s water wars, and how valid is the concern for their declining population? Because of the Delta Smelt’s short lifetime (only about a year), the observed effects of pumping on their species are only immediate. However, researchers have discovered the source of the problem to be the depletion of freshwater from the delta for urban and agricultural use. A decrease in freshwater in the delta means an increase in the amount of salt water flowing in. The extra salt water hurts the ecosystem in the delta and bay as a whole.

From 2012 to 2016, California suffered yet another drought, and Northern California needed to pump more water for their cities and farms. The delta smelt population suffered as a result, to the point where only 6 smelt were found in 2015, compared to 1,673 at their peak in 1970. Currently, it is unknown how many smelt are left in the wild, and scientists are concerned that the fish are too few and too spread out to reproduce.

Water use isn’t the only force against the struggling delta smelt; the pumps that suck water from the delta are also of note. Because the smelt are poor swimmers, they can get sucked into the pumping system. There is a system in place that collects the fish and trucks them back to the delta, but the fish are exposed to stress and predators along the way, and a 2012 study found that the system was insufficient altogether. Turning down the pumps when the smelt are near them has also been tried, but the delta smelt are elusive, and no one knows exactly where they are.

Because other solutions are inefficient, state laws restrict the amount of water that the state can pump, but also allow overrides in dire situations, and this is the reason for California’s water wars. Farmers and agricultural industries argue that the restricted pumping over an “arbitrary” fish is hurting their industry. Scientists submit a thousand page report warning that more pumping would continue to endanger not only the smelt but the Chinook salmon and the resident killer whales too.

So who’s truly suffering here? The answer is both parties. According to biologist Carl Wilcox, “The issue in the delta has always been balancing the amount of freshwater outflow through the delta versus exports and upstream water diversions.” So the issue, it seems, comes down to water management, especially during the droughts that climate change has so kindly gifted us. In 2012, Californians didn’t act like it was a dry year, nor did they act in anticipation of a dry spell in the next year.

At this point biologists don’t think the smelt can bounce back from their current dire state, and it’s likely that the little fish is headed to extinction in the next few years, as it would take a massive amount of changes to the current water management system to keep them around. So why do they continue to fight? Because it’s not just the smelt that are suffering. It’s also the salmon and the killer whales and the whole ecosystem in the delta. If the smelt go, and California does nothing to their water management systems, the salmon and killer whales might be next to go, hurting the fishing industries in the process.

At the end of the day, the delta smelt are just the harbinger, signaling the tipping of the delicate balance of the delta's ecosystem and the potential damage of pumping and poor water management on wildlife.

Citations

https://envirobites.org/2019/06/24/farmers-vs-fish-the-story-of-delta-smelt/

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/22/delta-smelt-fish-trump-california-aoe

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/150403-smelt-california-bay-delta-extinction-endangered-species-drought-fish

Hurricane Ida and the Water Supply

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30, and it’s already been a rough one: 12 named storms, including fierce Hurricane Ida, the strongest storm of the season. When hurricane season approaches, we anticipate extreme winds, heavy rainfall, and massive flooding, all of which can be devastating. Hurricanes destroy infrastructure and homes as well as create other dangerous situations for those living there. In addition to these effects, there are some hidden issues that might not surface until after the rains and wind. One of these issues is the lack of clean and safe water.

Floodwater following a hurricane or massive rainstorm is more than simple rainwater–it’s typically contaminated with sewage, chemicals, and dangerously sharp objects like metal and glass. In areas hit heavily by natural disasters, water treatment plants may not be operating as normal, or even if they are, water lines may be tainted (1). As hurricanes churn over the ocean, they can bring rain that contains chemicals and undrinkable salt water. This rain then falls in rural areas, where fertilizers and pesticides can quickly contaminate private wells. In urban areas, city freshwater sources can also become contaminated. As the floodwaters move, they bring with them enormous amounts of contaminants like chemicals, sewage, and other debris (2). Flooding waters can breach water reservoirs causing contamination that water treatment systems cannot keep up with. Uprooted trees caused by heavy winds can also cause water line pipes to break or crack. In addition to fallen debris, sewage spills can contaminate water lines and affect utilities. Contaminated drinking water is a significant health risk, especially for those who are most vulnerable including infants, children, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems. Contaminated drinking water following major flooding is at risk for carrying diseases such as cholera, hepatitis, e. Coli, and dysentery (1).

In fact, historic water quality after hurricanes has shown just that. Within a few days after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimated that more than 1,220 drinking water systems and more than 200 wastewater treatment facilities in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama had been affected, causing a large outbreak of gastrointestinal diseases triggered by e. Coli due to the lack of safe, potable water (1). In 2012 as a result of Hurricane Sandy, more than 690 wastewater and drinking water utilities in 11 states were compromised (2). In 2017, Hurricane Harvey caused significant and lasting damages to southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas. In the wake of the storm, safe and clean drinking water quickly became a major concern as the public drinking water supplies in many areas had been compromised and contaminated when floodwater inundated reservoirs (1). And most recently, Hurricane Ida, which made landfall on Aug. 29, 2021, left water systems with severed pipes, broken treatment units, and power outages. In New Orleans, the Sewerage and Water Board asked residents to conserve water to prevent sewage backups (3). Around 642,000 people remained without access to clean water, according to the Louisiana Department of Health.

Intensified by climate change, Hurricane Ida is one of the strongest storms on record to hit the Gulf Coast. Underlying the immediate devastation is the fact that Louisiana has one of the worst water systems in the country, which has left it vulnerable to storms like Ida. In 2017, the American Society of Civil Engineers, or ASCE, gave the state’s drinking water system a D- in a recent infrastructure report card (4). Nearly 60 percent of Louisiana’s water systems—1,335—are more than half a century old (4). Most of these systems are chronically underfunded, according to the ASCE, creating threats to water quality. The pre-existing fragility of Louisiana’s water systems creates a situation in which, as demonstrated by Hurricane Ida, it doesn’t take much to tip the scales from dysfunctional to full-blown shutdowns. Roughly 30 percent of state parishes are at risk of saltwater intrusion into their wells and aquifers.

But the problems go beyond power and pipelines. With rising sea levels, approximately 30 percent of the state parishes are at risk of saltwater entering the wells and aquifers where they source their water, according to ASCE’s 2017 report card.

Finding long-term solutions to the state’s water woes will not be easy, but experts say funding is a must. Conservation and creating a water resource management plan can help.

(1) “Hurricanes and Flooding Effect on Drinking Water.” Clearwater Systems, 11 Sept. 2018, www.clearwatersystems.com/how-hurricanes-and-major-flooding-affect-drinking-water.

(2) Postiff, Michelle. “How Do Hurricanes Affect Water Quality?” Connect For Water, 9 Sept. 2021, www.connectforwater.org/how-do-hurricanes-affect-water-quality.

(3) Walton, Brett. “Hurricane Ida Damages Louisiana Water Systems, Cuts Water Service.” Circle of Blue, 1 Sept. 2021, www.circleofblue.org/2021/world/hurricane-ida-damages-louisiana-water-systems-cuts-water-service.

(4) Rubiano A., María Paula. “Hurricane Ida Left a Huge Water Crisis in Its Wake.” Mother Jones, 10 Sept. 2021, www.motherjones.com/environment/2021/09/hurricane-ida-unsafe-drinking-water-crisis-new-orleans-louisiana.

Cover Photo from AP