while the waters may look idyllic, a century-old sewage system and dangerously high levels of bacteria have made the urban national park unswimmable for decades. now, a team of volunteers is working to change that, one water sample at a time.

no-swim zone

d.c. residents know that swimming in the city’s waterways is not the best idea — in fact, it’s been illegal since 1971. lorde shocked concert goers and made national news last year when she claimed to float in the potomac before her show. there’s a stigma around the cleanliness of these rivers from decades of pollution, but in recent years, the waterways have been slowly improving.

the environmental protection agency has been trying to make the city’s waterways swimmable and fishable since the clean water act of 1972. while the original ten-year timeline for that goal passed forty years ago, the act set in motion a clean water agenda the city is hoping to reach in the next few years.

in 2019, city officials began floating the idea of relaxing or lifting the swim ban. but even after decades of cleaning up the waterways, environmentalists question whether the water is safe enough to open to public swimming. data from the d.c. volunteer water quality monitoring project is helping shed light on the state of the city’s rivers and streams.

watching the waterways

on a cool day in early may, the ground is damp and the water is high in rock creek park. it’s the first day of the 2023 water monitoring season, an overcast morning after several days of on-and-off rain.

landrum beard, community engagement coordinator at rock creek conservancy, sits under a picnic pavilion at a table lined with small red coolers for volunteers to pick up with their water testing kits. they’ll head out toward their assigned sites, marked with ribbons, along the creek and return with the coolers filled with water samples, which are taken to anacostia riverkeeper’s lab for testing.

anacostia riverkeeper launched the d.c. volunteer water quality monitoring project in 2018 to measure and track contamination levels in d.c.’s main waterways: the anacostia river, the potomac river, and rock creek.

with a $140,000 grant from the d.c. department of energy and environment, the project has grown into a collaboration between anacostia riverkeeper, alliance for the chesapeake bay, rock creek conservancy, and nature forward. the groups have trained almost 400 volunteers from all eight wards of the city, collecting more than 2,000 water samples from 2019 to 2022.

each wednesday morning from may to september — considered the outdoor recreational season — teams of volunteers take water samples at two dozen sites across the city and test for ph balance, e. coli levels, water temperature, air temperature, and turbidity, a measure of water clarity. they also note if they see anyone in the water, as many people and their pets still wade in the creek despite park signs warning against it. the results are posted each friday and updated in the swim guide app, which lets users check the water quality of nearby beaches.

most of the volunteers are consistent, beard says. there are some newcomers on this first day of the new season, but others have been a part of the program for years.

benita veskimets is one of those veteran volunteers. veskimets, who used to work in fundraising for rock creek conservancy, is in her fourth year of water sampling. “i’m really curious to see what happens this year,” she says. “last year, i feel like it was worse than the year before.”

only a few of the rock creek sites passed with safe bacteria levels last year, beard confirms. those were mostly on dry weeks, when there was little or no rainfall impacting the stormwater sewage overflow. this morning is not one of those times. after a rainy week, the creek is likely swimming with bacteria from runoff. not the best way to kick off the season, he admits.

rock creek park’s sewage problem

the root of this problem lies with infrastructure, and if you’ve ever walked through rock creek park after a rainstorm, you can smell why. 

after just half an inch of rainfall, hazardous waste and sewage flood into the creek from the city’s old combined sewer infrastructure. in this system, stormwater and sewage flow through the same pipes — and when it rains, they quickly fill up and overflow into the rivers. rock creek is considered dangerously contaminated when that happens, and recreators are advised to avoid the waterway for up to three days afterward.

volunteers have tracked that trend at the sampling areas. “all these sites, for the most part, have a storm drain a few hundred feet or so upstream from where the sampling site is,” beard said. “so after big rain events, we always see that the sites have extremely high bacteria.”

d.c. water is now working on a $2.6 billion overhaul to the city’s sewage system with the goal of redirecting some of these sewage lines away from the city’s waterways and back toward treatment plants. this plan, the clean river project, is set to be completed in 2030. 

in the current phase of the project, the national park service is teaming up with d.c. water to take on piney branch creek, one of rock creek’s main tributaries and victims of contamination. an estimated 39 million gallons of sewage and stormwater pour into the creek each year.

“the way to do it is to build bigger pipes under the ground that can handle all the sewage and the stormwater and keep it in the pipes and get it down to the treatment plant,” said steve dryden, a local conservationist who has worked in the piney branch area for years.

the city is expanding these pipes, aiming to reduce the amount of sewage flowing into the three waterways by 96 percent. it’s part of a hybrid plan for rock creek that includes both traditional “grey infrastructure” — like basins, drains, and pipes — and new “green infrastructure,” such as rain gardens and permeable pavers in 365 acres of the surrounding urban areas. a pilot program for this green infrastructure plan reduced runoff into the creek by nearly one fifth, surpassing d.c. water’s goals.

but sewage overflow and runoff after rainfall is not the only contamination source in rock creek. the water quality monitoring project reports that some sites have had persistently high levels of bacteria even during dry weather, which may be caused by “outdated infrastructure, leaking sewer pipes, or uninvestigated point-source pollution.”

jeanne braha, executive director of rock creek conservancy, said this may also come from pet waste and houses or businesses with sewer pipes that are accidentally hooked up to storm drain pipes that flow into the creek. construction in the urban area is another contributor, veskimets adds. while the potomac and anacostia bacteria levels are a direct result of combined sewer overflows, rock creek’s contamination comes from several sources — making solutions harder to find.

one sample at a time

while solving rock creek’s water contamination problem is a long process, participants in the d.c. volunteer water quality monitoring project are ensuring that city officials and environmentalists have the data to help. 

the potomac and anacostia rivers have been slowly improving in water quality since the anacostia was once dubbed “one of the most polluted waterways in the nation.” people debate whether the rivers have recovered enough to be swimmable.

“i think we’re getting there,” said louis eby, a longtime water quality volunteer and former attorney advisor in the epa’s office of water. he’s seen a lot of progress in the two rivers, but remains cautious about rock creek.

“i wouldn’t swim in rock creek,” he said. “we’ll get there some day for rock creek, but not soon.”

sure enough, the rain in early may was a forecast of remaining challenges. both upper and lower rock creek sites reported unsafe e. coli and ph levels in the first week of monitoring.

still, citizen scientists will continue to keep tabs on the water quality each week. as soon as rock creek is finally swimmable, they’ll be the first to know. 

as the summer recreation season kicks off, people flock to d.c.’s waterways for kayaking, paddleboarding, and sightseeing — and one day soon, they might be able to safely swim in them.

the ross specializes in watershed ecosystem science, where they use large datasets to produce actionable insights that their partners can implement. one of the ross’s most important partnerships is with the biogeochemistry lab at rocky mountain research station (rmrs), which helps the ross collect and analyze stream chemistry for some of their key study watersheds.

another exciting aspect of the ross’s work is the harmonization of water quality data (from partners like rmrs) with satellite imagery to help estimate water quality from satellites, which helps fill in data gaps. critical to their open science mission, they keep all code open and accessible, providing publically available reproducible workflows for others to use their tools.

along with being a leading voice in watershed ecosystem management, the ross wants to make science welcoming to everyone, with the goal that their work “fosters a better, just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive scientific community.”

our weather can be unpredictable, ranging from decades of drought to month-long storms that dump dozens of inches of rain. earlier this winter, california was recovering from a multi-week storm surge. we had trillions of gallons of rain and hundreds of inches of snow in only a few weeks’ time.

it was clear to anyone living here that we were and are not prepared for this amount of rainfall. here are four key issues that california is continuing to grapple with.

1. runoff pollution

as someone who lives on the coast, a common issue we face is the impact of runoff pollution. this runoff accumulates along the coast after storms, when contaminants from city streets, farms, and other urban areas are washed away and into the rivers, estuaries, and beaches. a common effect of runoff pollution is harmful algal blooms, these blooms are a consequence of increased nitrogen and phosphate in the water. in these conditions, toxic and nontoxic algae grow unchecked. eventually, they die and can suffocate the gills of fish and invertebrates.

helping to address this problem is the california cooperative oceanic fisheries investigations (calcofi), an affiliate of the california department of fish & wildlife, noaa fisheries service, and scripps institution of oceanography. i spoke with erin satterthwaite, who coordinates their program, and makes sure their research is accurately used, and accessible. satterthwaite said that calcofi values being inclusive and its data publicly accessible, using a holistic approach to solve questions we were once unable to answer, she called these “time machine questions.” we are now able to go back in time and answer questions from the past with the technology and information we now have access to. the goal is to be able to answer future questions, today.

satterthwaite and i spoke about how calcofi uses a holistic ecosystem approach, examining how elements of an ecosystem are impacted by changes in the surrounding area. they collect data up to 500 meters below sea level, testing the water for salinity, oxygen, phosphate, silicate, nitrate and nitrite, chlorophyll, phytoplankton biodiversity, zooplankton biomass, and zooplankton biodiversity. this data helps to paint a picture of what is happening to the ecosystem as a whole, and what may be changing within it.

2. flood management

researching for this article proved to be quite a feat, there are so many challenges facing water management in dense urban areas. currently, many of la’s rivers are paved entirely in concrete, an example is the los angeles river. the goal is to quickly move flood waters to long beach, and out of neighborhoods. while effective, this method ensures that no water is collected or recycled and flows directly into long beach.

this water is a mix of stormwater, street runoff, and trash. therefore, without filtration, it pours into the bay polluting the beaches and harbor. according to heal the bay’s beach report card, long beach is la county’s most polluted beach. long beach receives an ‘f’ rating after storms. to put it into perspective, the tijuana river slough receives the same score. this method of flood management is effective; however, it leads to water waste and pollution. 

3. drought preparedness

california is notoriously dry, with decade-long droughts that increase wildfire risks and damage, destroy crops, and turn the state a lovely shade of dusty brown. my family’s wild rice farm is in northern california, near mt. shasta. despite the numerous lakes, rivers, and dams in the area, we experience seasonal wildfires, some decimating thousands of acres of land. in fact, the largest reservoir in california is in shasta county, its water capacity is 4,552,000 acre⋅ft (5.615 km3). and while dams and reservoirs have their own ecological impacts, they are vital for collecting and storing rainwater. 

as for residential rainwater collection, it is not considered illegal in california to collect your own rainwater. some places even have rainwater harvesting incentive programs, but regulations may vary. when in doubt, collection of rainwater is best for plants and gardens, not for consumption. 

another form of water sequestration is infiltration basins, areas that allow water to naturally permeate the soil, filtering pollution, and refilling aquifers. cities like los angeles are far too dense and populated to have infiltration basins, but there are other methods of managing runoff and flood water that do not include water highways of cement and concrete. 

4. lack of gray infrastructure

last fall, i spoke to one of the researchers at tijuana river national estuarine research reserve, jeff crooks, ph.d. at the time, i did not realize that our conversation would be so relevant to my continued thoughts and research into statewide water issues.

we spoke about the importance of building gray infrastructure, and investing in better methods of collecting, treating, and diverting stormwater. i learned about the projects and goals of the estuary, and what we can do to solve the issues that the estuary is facing. crooks mentioned how the estuary can only filter so much stormwater before it flows directly into the ocean. therefore, it is vital that we build enough gray infrastructure to alleviate the pressures on the estuary. examples of gray infrastructure that would be beneficial are infiltration basins, stormwater storage, and water treatment plants. 

in 2014, california voted yes to passing the water quality, supply, and infrastructure improvement act of 2014, also known as proposition 1: water bond. a vote “yes” for this proposition supported issuing $7.12 billion in bonds for water supply infrastructure projects and allocating bond revenue. the goal of prop 1 was to allocate money to increasing gray infrastructure to better collect stormwater, protect drinking water, protect watersheds, drought preparedness, and flood management. but it’s 2023, and we’re seeing that a lot of work still needs to be done. 

there is a $19b-$24b dollar plan to transform the la river into a public open space and natural urban habitat over the next 25 years. it would help mitigate stormwater pollution, reduce drought impacts, increase public green spaces, and help to reduce the impacts of damaging and dangerous floods. amigos de los rios is one organization that is working to make this green infrastructure a reality.

they call these connected spaces of parks, gardens, and river paths the emerald necklace greenway. the goal is to connect the mountains and the ocean with public spaces that provide both public services and water sequestration via soil and plants. these areas are one of the best methods of flood reduction and are far more beautiful than entirely cemented washes and rivers

sustainable solutions for california

california is known as a dry place, with seasonal wildfires and never-ending droughts. however, storms like the ones we experienced last month are indicators that our weather is unpredictable. i believe that combining different methods and sciences to solve problems such as water management is key to finding sustainable solutions, preparing for droughts, and not polluting the ocean.

as erin satterthwaite said, look at a problem and see how the ecosystem interacts instead of looking at just one element. or as writer cj hauser says in the crane wife, “if you want to save a species, you don’t spend your time staring at the bird you want to save. you look at the things it relies on to live instead. you ask if there is enough to eat and drink. you ask if there is a safe place to sleep. is there enough here to survive?”

this is the takeaway: we must look at issues as whole entities, how we influence our environment, how their parts interact, and how they change, flow, and migrate. water is a vital resource that a state like california cannot afford to under-appreciate.

this story was featured in our series, slipping through our fingers: the future of water.

while abundant, inspiration can be fleeting and ungraspable. i lived in south texas, a region diverse in culture and ideology, but eternally linked to mistakes of the past; thus persists a narrative that leads some circles to resent science, even fear it. particularly within the latinx community in the region, against whom science and twisted methodologies have been weaponized.

making an impact

it is hard to be inspired to change the world for the better when the tools you are given are enshrouded with fear. but as a latina of that community, it fell upon my shoulders to erode that trauma that still resides deep in our daily lives, so my inspiration emerged as two objectives: 1) create pathways for students to become familiar with conducting research and normalized to the advantages and limitations of science, and 2) to create something impactful. 

in 2018, i developed a strain of bacteria capable of detecting the explosive tnt, and when it decomposes, dnt. in 2019, i founded herodotus research and development for my 17th birthday. the goal is to implement domestically in the united states to make a fool-proof highly resilient and uncompromisable product that can be shipped around the world to regions afflicted by war-related hazards. why? because of the number 17,000; that’s about how many people around the world are killed or injured by landmines and “remnants of war” each year.

also, because of the number 15 million; that’s how many acres of land in the united states are polluted by those “remnants of war” or munitions-related chemicals. i encountered these statistics as a descendant of veterans. these statistics are haunting, and they present a profound conclusion that innovation cannot right the wrongs of history, but innovation can right the future. 

an innovation for the earth and for community

i founded a program in which high school students accompanied me to the university to conduct their research on topics applicable to their interests. this grew into a class in which middle schoolers shadowed the high schoolers and conducted research. my community was eager to learn, but nobody tried to learn with them, and science became inaccessible. there was hope for technology changing lives for the better, and there was a desire to lead those discoveries. i went from presenting alone at the state science fair to accompanying a team of proud latinx students to their blue ribbons. 

the innovation in this video is not just a way of detecting and removing dangerous chemicals in the environment. this video was recorded in the av closet of my high school with my business partner and a few friends who all believed they were contributing to something impactful. my community felt the value of increasing accessibility to science education. this is a true innovation, empowering others to innovate, and it can be applied everywhere on the globe. 

the property neighbors top of the world farm, which has been at the center of controversy surrounding water rights in the area for years. according to carmona, who also goes by farmer dan, the business was started in the 1950s by a group of insurance companies who wanted to lose money for a tax write-off. top of the world farm received a permit to divert millions of gallons of water, said carmona, which severely disrupted the upper rio grande watershed while inducing distrust in local communities with their water rights. 

last summer, i met with carmona at his cerro vista farms to learn about his relationship with water and how he copes with water scarcity in one of the driest places in north america. during our conversation, carmona describes how the history of water rights and land use in northern new mexico has greatly influenced his ability to access water.

this multimedia presentation combines our conversation in podcast form, with a visual presentation of images captured at his cerro vista farms and the surrounding areas. please explore both below!

across all states, water issues are becoming more critical by the day. due to climate change and watershed management, new mexico has been experiencing water scarcity for longer and drier periods, making it more vulnerable to uncontrolled wildfires and salinization. limited precipitation at the headwaters of the rio grande river, is exacerbating water issues downstate. you can help mitigate water scarcity issues through watershed conservation and stream restoration initiatives, and by learning about water justice in your community.

this story was featured in our series, slipping through our fingers: the future of water.

full transcript below:

eva sideris: last summer, i met with daniel carmona, who is also known as farmer dan, to learn about his relationship with water and how he copes with water scarcity in one of the driest places in north america. farmer dan is the owner of cerro vista farm and has 42 years of experience farming in the high-altitude short-growing season of the sangre de cristo mountains near taos, nm, in cerro, arroyo hondo, las colonias, and lama. he has been growing and selling organic food in taos since 1977, in the roles of farmer, restaurant owner, and grocery store manager. during our conversation, farmer dan describes how the history of water rights and land use in this corner of new mexico has greatly influenced his ability to access water. generally speaking, many states west of the 100th meridian, including new mexico, function off of prior appropriation water rights meaning that one’s access to water for beneficial purposes is based on the first-in-time, first-in-right principle of the prior appropriation doctrine. this method allows the oldest, and therefore most senior appropriations of water to have priority over other younger, or more junior, water rights. however, when the water supply is limited, the most junior rights may not be fulfilled, so they must go without water. prior appropriation water rights are a controversial and complex topic due to the long history of proclaimed water ownership in the united states. they are especially critical in areas experiencing extreme water scarcity that is exacerbated by climate change. as water becomes more scarce, the ownership and seniority of one’s water rights will control outcomes of success and have even determined life or death for water rights owners. in this podcast, farmer dan shares his personal historical account of water, politics, underground rivers, and water witches!

farmer daniel: so i got this place in 1995, and five years later. i got a permit to pump water. it took five years, and i wasn’t going to stay here if i didn’t get that permit. i was going to just sell it or sell part of it and look for a place where i could pump water. when i got my first farm and got my first well, you only had to talk to the state engineer to get a permit. but in 2002, the ditch associations in new mexico were given the legal powers to control the water in their jurisdictions. so now, if you want to drill well to supplement surface waters, your ditch association has to approve it before you even approach the state engineer’s office.

eva sideris: acequias or community ditch associations are recognized under new mexico law as political subdivisions of the state. acequias are engineered canals that carry surface waters like snow runoff or river water to distant fields. many of them have been in existence since the spanish colonization period of the 17th and 18th centuries. the customary law of the acequia is older than and at variance with the doctrine of prior appropriation. although the doctrine of prior appropriation is based on the principle of “first in time, first in right,” the acequia norms incorporate not just priority but principles of equity and fairness because water is treated as a community resource that irrigators have a shared right to use, manage, and protect. while prior doctrines allow for water to be sold away from the basin of origin, the acequia system prohibits the transference of water from the watershed. acequias in new mexico have lengthy historical roots in pueblo and hispano communities and greatly contribute to local culture which is why they are carefully projected in places like cerro.

farmer daniel: the ditch association would have never approved me drilling a well, but i got my well permit in the year 2000, and the ditch association got its legal power to control the water in 2002. so i just slipped in by chance before the ditch association could say no, and i know they would say no, and i know the reason. and that’s because where the water is 4500ft deep, at the base of ute mountain, there’s a place called top of the world farm that was started intentionally by a group of insurance companies who wanted to lose money. they needed to lose some money somewhere, through a tax write-off. there was water there and they got a permit to pump. they pumped 10,000 gallons a minute, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and grew crops that they couldn’t even sell because there was no railroad and there wasn’t any paved highway to take crops from there to get them to a market – it was intentionally designed to fail. they told me, a lot of people who have passed on told me, who used to live here, that they could hear the pumps running in cerro that were at the base of that mountain, 24 hours a day. well, you know what that did? it dried up everybody’s well, everybody’s hand dug well, and cerro went dry! so that’s why the cerro ditch association members, who were kids then remember what happened and they don’t want anybody to drill a well because they’re afraid their wells are going to go dry.

eva sideris: starting in the early 1950s, abundant vegetables, grains, and alfalfa were grown in the semiarid climate of northern new mexico – thanks to more than a billion gallons of water pumped from just below an extinct volcano called ute mountain. although the farm was able to grow produce at an unsurmountable scale, the operation came with an extreme tradeoff that severely depleted the water table. whatever groundwater was pumped to the fields was diverted from the rio grande, so people, plants, and animals downstream were less likely to access water. according to local news, santa fe county and four indigenous pueblos are in the process to move 1,752 acre-feet of water rights from the farm to serve faucets in the area north of santa fe that would supply drinking water to thousands of people downstream while also respecting traditional uses and tribal claims to water. however, this is a highly contested issue, that continues to impact the greater new mexico community and no decisions have been made yet.

farmer daniel: wow! so i got a permit, and i had one year to drill a well. i didn’t have any money before i had the well drilled, so i got a water witch out here, or a dowser. dowsers find moving water, not standing water. so she found underground rivers using brass welding rods. some people use willow branches, and you have to be gifted in that way. i’m sure i could do it, but i’ve never tried.

eva sideris: water witches — also known as dowsers, have been around for at least 500 years, and records show their presence all over the world. in order to locate groundwater accurately, hydrologic, geologic, and geophysical knowledge is usually needed to study an area; however, dowers are able to provide many of the same services as hydrologists by substituting science with forked sticks and their intuitions.

farmer daniel: she found me three spots with rivers, and we marked those spots for my domestic well, which is why my house is in this spot. and she found the best spot for my irrigation well, which is right on the road where my driveway meets the road. so i found out later, probably 15 years after she was here, dowsing the well. i found out that, in fact, the biggest underground river in this whole aquifer is right where my well is. makes a big difference because the water table has dropped 18ft since i’ve been here. if your well is not deep enough, you’ll have to drill another well and go deeper. so i feel pretty secure with the water supply here. this is the only spot in cerro that has water. and it’s enough acres, 26 or 27 acres, that if we keep growing food on it, it can be continued to be a valuable asset to the community. we can’t sell the water because it’s in the jurisdiction of a ditch association, i wouldn’t want to anyway. i really want this farm, even when i’m dead and gone, to still be pumping out of that river and producing food for the community. that’s really important to me. i’ve grown most of my own food for most of my life since i started farming 43 years ago. i’ve lived here for 28 years. once i started growing produce here, all the old folks who grew up having to grow their own food became my best customers selling from my farm because they appreciated what i was doing, because they had to do it to survive. now they can just come here and buy it. so i feel totally rooted here, and i feel appreciated by the community.

eva sideris: after his lifelong journey to secure water, farmer dan has finally found it. he and his son are planning on expanding the cerro vista farm.

farmer daniel: when i realized maybe i could actually farm with my son, it was totally exciting to me. plus, he’s a totally cool person!

eva sideris: across all states, water issues are becoming more critical by the day. due to climate change and watershed management, new mexico has been experiencing water scarcity for longer and drier periods, making it more vulnerable to uncontrolled wildfires and salinization. limited precipitation at the headwaters of the rio grande river, is exacerbating water issues downstate. you can help mitigate water scarcity issues through watershed conservation and stream restoration initiatives, and by learning about water justice in your community

this photo essay creates a geographically organized story using photos and interviews from the upcoming “hold our ground” soil health documentary series produced by colorado state university’s center for science communication.

to view the story in fullscreen, click here.

this story was featured in our series, slipping through our fingers: the future of water.

this year, visitors looking for a fun fall activity are in for a surprise when they head to at’l do farms, located just outside of lubbock, texas, for there will be no corn found. in its place – a maze of multi-species cover crops that contains seven different plants. sorghum, sunflowers, pearl and foxtail millet, cowpeas, sun hemp and radishes will all work together to reduce water inputs. 

a family affair

eric simpson was born and raised on the same property that at’l do farms still calls home today, and agriculture has been a family affair for generations. originally, the land was a monoculture system that rotated growing cotton, sorghum and wheat until the mid-’90s. 

when a low period hit, the simpson family was forced to reevaluate their business. they decided to use the land in a different way and planted their first corn maze in an attempt to bring visitors to the farm and generate a new stream of revenue. 

“it became more and more profitable and in fact, we slowly transitioned out of the production side of agriculture and now we just do the maze and a kind of agritourism type of industry,” simpson said. 

at’l do farms has operated the maze and other fall attractions for 21 years and the farm now welcomes over 50,000 visitors each season.

slideshow by katie perkins

a dry area in drying times

dubbed the llano estacado by early spanish settlers, this region is an approximately 32,000 square mile plateau situated atop the southern boundary of the ogallala aquifer that receives an average of 18 inches of precipitation a year. 

widespread drought and as little as one-tenth of an inch of rain during the winter of 2021 meant corn had a slim chance of growing to the height necessary to construct the maze. 

“what we could see from last year is it didn’t rain pretty much from september all the way until may,” simpson said. “corn, which is a very water-intensive crop, just wasn’t going to cut it. because of climate conditions, it just didn’t rain, and it forced us to make a better decision.” 

these conditions sent simpson to the drawing board in order to find a way the maze could still happen while reducing its water consumption footprint. his neighbor uses a traditional pivot irrigation system but simpson knew he did not want to be reliant on the ogallala aquifer.

globally, approximately 70% of groundwater that is drawn out of aquifers is used for crop irrigation. 

“the entire agriculture industry right now is propped up on the ogallala (aquifer) as its water resource,” simpson said. “the ogallala is depleting at a way faster rate than what is being recharged.” 

the ogallala aquifer is a finite resource. in the next 50 years, 70% of the ogallala aquifer is estimated to be depleted, with the main withdrawals stemming from the agriculture industry. 

“i think in my lifetime we will see a drastic transition away from agriculture on the llano estacado because of a depleting aquifer and extreme climate change,” said simpson. 

an artist by trade, simpson never planned on returning to the family farm after graduating from texas tech. he found himself back in west texas after being accepted to an art residency in lubbock.

“it was at that time that i saw that farming didn’t have to be the way that it’s always been here,” simpson said. “in the sense that you could make changes about biodiversity, soil health and planting drought-tolerant crops.” 

forging a new maze

creating a polycultural farming system like simpson has done at at’l do farms this season has a multitude of benefits for the health of his land. the variety of plants attracts pollinators, reduces erosion, decreases pesticide and herbicide usage, reduces harmful pests, and increases nutrient cycling. 

“lubbock is notorious for being a little bit behind the times, but i think that’s ok,” simpson said. “it gives us young folks the opportunity to see what other folks are doing in other parts of the country and jump in.”

simpson and his family are forging new paths in the agriculture industry and he believes they can spark change amongst his peers in the agritourism industry. change towards a more sustainable future. 

“to my knowledge, we are the first ones to do a multispecies crop for a maze,” simpson said. “i think we are showing people throughout the country the options for doing types of things like this.” 

looking toward the future, simpson says he definitely wants to continue planting non-traditional crops for the annual maze, building healthy soil and working with the land — not against it. 

“as long as we can continue to make little baby steps towards alternative and more drought tolerant and resistant practices, that’s what we are going to do to keep the farm alive,” simpson said.

since 2002, the greenland ice sheet, a vast body of ice that covers 80% of the island, has been losing 273 billion metric tons of ice per year. this immense number signals that the ice sheet is in a negative mass balance, meaning that the ice is melting faster than it can be replenished. according to inger seierstad, an ice core scientist who lives in denmark and took part in greenland ice core drillings, there have been periods of unusual warmth in greenland in recent years and melting events so major that they have occurred at the top of the ice sheet – which is historically extremely rare.

it is no secret that this ice melt is due to the effects of climate change, which are causing the oceans and air temperatures to become significantly warmer, especially in the arctic regions. as a result, greenland is seeing immense changes, from thinning ice and glacial front retreat to new areas opening up for resource extraction. 

with greenland’s ice melting away, the extraction of several different kinds of resources has become an increasingly important topic of recent debate. according to multiple sources, three of the main resources in contention are metals (such as nickel and cobalt), glacial flour (a mix of sediments deposited by the glacier), and trade routes. 

heavy metal mining

mining for nickel and cobalt has only become a possibility in recent years due to the fact that the ice melt is exposing more land, making it easier to mine. metals like nickel and cobalt are used in the production of certain technologies, such as batteries, and thus are essential for electric cars and renewable energy sources. thus, many have argued that mining in greenland could actually help mitigate the climate crisis by allowing us to produce more sustainable energy opportunities. billionaires have flocked to greenland in a “treasure hunt” for these metals with the promise that this will end up being beneficial for the planet. 

however, it is also important to note the consequences of mining for metals such as these. these mines not only cause significant pollution, but also damage the previously pristine landscape. one study on a few of greenland’s former mines shows that these areas are still polluted with metals decades later. the study strongly advocates for environmental impact assessments (the process that evaluates likely environmental impacts of a project), especially in areas such as the arctic where the ecosystems are so delicate. 

glacial flour: greenland’s next export? 

glacial flour, or the sediment that is directly deposited by the glacier itself, is also a valuable resource that many are hoping to extract given its growing availability as a result of increasing glacial melt. the sand that the glacier pumps out is actually the perfect consistency for making concrete. the sediment also has the potential to be added onto farms as a kind of fertilizer. according to the ipcc, climate change is also affecting our food systems thus, using this glacial flour to create nutrient-rich soil could be extremely beneficial for our future. even though this idea is still in the early stages, scientists have stated that the extraction process wouldn’t be as invasive as mining for metals because glacial flour often accumulates on the banks of glacial lakes and rivers, where digging is not necessary to extract it.

a new global route

as the greenland ice sheet melts, the trade routes around the area become more navigable for longer periods of time. a variety of different routes will open up, allowing for ships to more efficiently take northern routes instead of the traditional southern ones. researchers at brown university have pointed out some of the positives of an increased diversity of trade routes, noting that a lot of these arctic trade routes can be shorter than typical ones like through the suez canal. these shorter routes would save fuel, thereby reducing carbon emissions and contributing less to our already increasing climate change problem. however, the arctic is extremely remote, and there are minimal emergency response systems in place. therefore, accidents in the arctic have an even greater impact on an already delicate area. if a shipping accident or oil spill were to occur along these new routes, it would be incredibly difficult for greenland and other arctic stakeholders to respond quickly. 

conservation versus fiscal independence

when examining arctic issues, it is essential to also address the indigenous population in the area. greenland has a complex and difficult history, and it is ultimately still part of the kingdom of denmark. thus, in any of these decisions surrounding mining, sand extraction, or trade routes, it is important to consider the greenlandic perspective. it is worth mentioning that the population of greenland is 88% inuit. the dilemma that greenlanders have to weigh is the conflicting goals of preserving the intrinsic beauty of their land and the pristine nature of the island versus increasing their financial independence from denmark. 

a recent survey, however, showed that 75% of greenlanders would support the extraction of the sand deposited by the glaciers. crucially, the majority of those surveyed prefer that this extraction is done so that greenlandic people are able to receive the profits, thus leading to greater financial independence from denmark. 

even though greenland’s melting ice is clearly dire, many are seeing an opportunity to leverage this situation to promote initiatives that could ironically mitigate our global climate impact. however, ice core scientist seierstad takes a broader perspective. she notes that these proposed initiatives like mining, sand extraction, and re-routing of trade routes are “not solutions to the climate crisis.” rather, she puts the emphasis on the big picture: “we need to find a way to reduce our carbon emissions drastically by moving away from fossil fuels, and we will need to carbon capture as well.” 

while caught up in the growing excitement around resource extraction, we can’t lose sight of the larger picture that greenland’s melting ice is an anthropogenic tragedy, or one that has been caused by humans. seierstad also said that, “climate change is happening extremely fast in the arctic – so fast in fact that greenlanders can see it almost from year to year.” seierstad is also witnessing how glaciers are shrinking and how sea ice is thinning or disappearing since her first visit to greenland in 2001.

this ice melt is affecting the livelihoods of many, if not all, of those that live in the arctic. should we choose to extract, we should bring all stakeholders to the table and run environmental impact assessments to know exactly how any new initiative would affect the area. and for greenland’s sake in particular, let’s not take our focus away from the broader, global solutions that will make the largest impact. 

when you pull into the gravel lot outside the visitor nature center, you realize that this is the last point of contact with civilization for the next 36 hours. suddenly, you’re pulling your canoe packed with all the basic survival necessities into the dark marshy waters and sending yourself off into the great unknown. the first waterway is underwhelming. it seems like many other small rivers in georgia, lined with overgrown brush and grassy banks. but as you turn the bend, the greenery on either side opens up and you are met with a view, the likes of which you have never seen. the large river is perpendicular to your boat, extending on either side for as long as the eye can see. there is a clear view of the sky, which is overcast but coats the scene in a serene gray beauty.

a steady sort of quiet hangs in the air, a settled sense of stillness that does not exist in the day-to-day life of suburban america. the water smells fresh, not dasani fresh, but rather the fresh scent that comes from the earth. your canoe paddle slices into water so dark that it acts as a mirror, reflecting the cyprus knees, slash pine, loblolly, and other trees of this place.

floating downstream, your stomach drops when you catch a glimpse of this land’s queen: the american alligator. the upper half of the intimidatingly enormous creature cuts through the water, her body elegantly moving forward. you row hard and try and keep up, and your shoulders burn as you watch her disappear into the scenery.

the sun begins arching downward, and you start to make your way toward your campsite after a long day of navigating narrow streams that wind through groves of bald cypress trees emerging out of the murky swamp. your body feels exhausted in a way that is reminiscent of the days you spent as a child playing all day in the yard with your friends, and you feel a great sense of relief when you arrive at the campsite. you bring your canoe parallel to the dock floating among the shining lily pads and gleeful golden trumpet pitchers.

once you finish setting up your tent and sleeping bag, you settle in for a snack as the day finally rests into night. the air shifts from hot and wet humidity to a misty coolness. just as you feel your eyes start to close and you drift off to sleep, you are awoken by the sight of a sparkling night sky. gazing upward, it seems as if the space is taken up more by stars than darkness. a paint splatter of stardust fills the vast dome and the water reflects it below you as well, creating an all-encompassing cocoon of magic. you wrap yourself tighter in your puffy sleeping bag to the sounds of bugs chirping and frogs humming. this melody peacefully lulls you to sleep.

there is something so wonderful and eye opening about traveling into an environment in which you are forced to immerse yourself into a different culture. in fact, i would argue that nature itself has a culture. one all but forgotten to people in overpopulated cities and even the suburbs.

conservation has become a part of our daily lives in the golden state, to the point where there are laws, daily habits, and lifestyle changes that californians overwhelmingly abide by to cope with this drought. i still remember when i was five or six years old being told “don’t shower for more than five minutes” and definitely “don’t leave the water on when you brush your teeth.”

i have heard about low-flow appliances and filling the dishwater all the way before you run it since before i could talk. all of my life i had known nothing but living in a drought, and only until traveling across the country for college, did i realize how abnormal that lifestyle is. 

the issue of grass

a big concern that has always come up surrounding droughts has been the issue of grass, and more specifically, people’s yards. having a green grass-filled front yard has long been considered wasteful in california. for example, a lawn needs about 1 to 1.5 inches of water per week, which for even a small lawn, is thousands of gallons of water per year. only recently have people started to acknowledge this waste and make a change.

alternatives include drought-resistant plants, stones or a hard surface, or simply choosing not to water your lawn at all. although some people are reluctant to leave their green grasses behind, many californians are now fond of the phrase “brown is the new green” when it comes to their front yards. 

in my household, we finally decided to make the transition a few years ago, as shown in the pictures below. 

we went from the wasteful green grass to a mulch-covered area with drought-resistant plants. in addition, we also got rid of our sprinklers (another big water waster) and added drip irrigation. although there was a small cost to changing our sprinkler systems to perforated hoses, we ended up saving money in the long run with a lower monthly water bill. importantly, drip irrigation only works when you have plants or trees and is less efficient on grass. this is just an example of one of the many ways californians have had to adapt their everyday lives and homes to the worsening water crisis. 

the time for action in california is now

for as much progress that is being made now, drought conditions are a long-standing problem in my state — longer than i have been alive. it’s only recently that people have started to make changes as, in the past, the responsibility was thought to have fallen on the agriculture industry, which uses 70% of the world’s freshwater on average. 

indeed, it is true that agriculture and other sectors must also apply changes and adapt to the water crisis in california and elsewhere, but studies have shown that every single person has a role to play. for example, a government plan that would help to reduce 25% of personal water use over three years would save 1.5 million acre-feet of water. this is substantial when compared to the 8 million acre-feet of water total that goes to the residential sector or the 30 million acre-feet of water that goes to the agricultural sector in california every year.

despite the discussion of this issue for decades, many californians didn’t consider the issue of water waste really personal until more recently, as the effects of climate change are likely to worsen water supply in the coming years.  

a lot of progress has been made by individual californians to conserve water in their own homes, however, there are still major concerns over water use in the state. there are still massive golf courses, places like resorts in palm springs (which are built literally in the middle of a desert), and snowmaking — all critical areas of vast amounts of water waste. the most reasonable next step is to spread sustainable water ideas to businesses and cities in california, and even to individuals around the country.

from the examples embodied by many californians, we have learned that it is vital for people to take responsibility for their water and to acknowledge that lifestyle changes for the sake of conservation are not only reasonable, but can be beautiful too.