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2. Houston, TX

Major Water Supply: Jasper Aquifer, Lake Houston, Lake Conroe
Population (U.S. rank): 2,257,926 (4th)
Population Growth Rate: 15.6%
Average annual rainfall: 53.34 inches

Throughout most of its history, the city of Houston primarily drew water from the Jasper Aquifer, located along the southeastern coast of Texas. Over the last 30 years, the city began to suffer from dramatic rises in sea level of nearly an inch a year. Geologists eventually realized that the cause was Houston’s withdrawal of fresh water from the aquifer located under the city. This discovery forced city officials to use nearby Lake Houston and Lake Conroe for municipal water instead of the aquifer. Since 2000, Houston has been the fifth-fastest-growing city in the country, and its presence in an area with high drought likelihood makes it an immediate risk for serious water shortages.

1. Los Angeles, CA

Major Water Supply: Colorado River Basin
Population (U.S. rank): 3,831,868 (2nd)
Population Growth Rate: 3.7%
Average annual rainfall: 14.77 in.

In the 1980’s, Los Angeles suffered a major crisis when the city was forced to stop using 40% of its drinking water due to industrial runoff contamination. Like Las Vegas, the city now relies on importing water from the Colorado river via hundreds of miles of aqueducts. The Colorado may only be a temporary solution, however, as the fastest growing city in the country continues to increase its demand at an unsustainable rate. In its utility risk rating, CERES gave the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power the highest likelihood of risk among the cities it assessed. That list included Atlanta and the Ft. Worth Area. On top of this, The Hoover Dam, which is the main source of electricity for LA and much of the greater southwest, is also producing at a lower rate than it has historically. Some scientists suspect this drop-off will continue to a point where its electricity production is too small to sustain the dam economically. Los Angeles, even if the dam doesn’t cease production in 2013, as some predict, it still faces serious water shortages.

You can download the CERES report by visiting this page: http://www.ceres.org/Page.aspx?pid=592. Here is a direct link to download the PDF: http://www.ceres.org/Document.Doc?id=625.



Read more: The Ten Biggest American Cities That Are Running Out Of Water - 24/7 Wall St. http://247wallst.com/2010/10/29/the-ten-great-american-cities-that-are-dying-of-thirst/3/#ixzz146EkDkSE