Sept. 26, 2025 7 AM PT
To the editor: I’ve the deepest sympathy for employees author Ian James, who has to repeatedly cite such acquainted quotes as: “We’ve received an actual drawback”; “Everyone wants … to chop proper now”; “A near-term disaster is unfolding”; and “This can be a second that calls for urgency, collaboration and transparency” (“The dwindling Colorado River can’t wait for states to cut water use, experts say,” Sept. 14).
These quotes are basically the identical ones we heard 5, 10 and 15 years in the past. However, on high of that, new analysis within the journal Nature Geoscience strongly suggests our 25-year megadrought will most definitely prolong to 2050 and past. If that doesn’t gentle a hearth underneath you, possibly it will: There are actually 682 data centers within the seven states depending on the dwindling water from the Colorado River Basin. Collectively, these information facilities are utilizing billions of gallons of water instantly from municipal suppliers.
Peak water is right here now and we should produce hyper-creative, out-of-the-box options — similar to exploring the potential of a 1,000-mile water pipeline from a supply like Lake Michigan — for a long-term answer.
Sadly for James and the remainder of us, we’re simply treading water till the bureaucratic hand-wringing and basic complacency finish — and till there’s no extra water left to tread. This complacency overrides any sense of dire urgency to construct a sustainable answer for the 40 million residents within the West.
John Boal, Burbank
