Imminent Collapse of Western States Water Resources

Corporate Bond funding of AI reached $3.68 Trillion as of June. Mostly on Data Centers. But how are Data Centers profitable?  Their ONLY market is to rent space for storage and electricity is their biggest expense. Electricity just went up 15%.  And most Data Centers are being built by the same companies needing storage in the fueled AI war with China. The water they are draining for current use is static and will lead to complete drainage of rivers and lakes over a short period of time given consumption needs. The entire architectural management of the system is doomed to collapse.

Lake Powell is a reservoir created in 1968 to store water primarily for agriculture. It now sits at 25% of capacity and ‘scientists’ are debating calling it a day and draining the entire reservoir. While agriculture was the main driver, it was a necessary evil to support ‘eating’. By contrast, Data Centers are gobbling waterways dry in a matter of a couple years.  What happens to the 4,000+ Data Centers when America goes Dry? What happens to America’s food and drinking water supply?

The Glen Canyon Dam was built by 1963 and Lake Powell was the recipient with full capacity reached by 1980 at 24,322,000 ac ft.  It currently stands at 5,716,800 ac ft. It operates in conjunction with Lake Mead formed by the Hoover Dam from the Colorado River. Government water managers have played havoc with the releases and now both Lakes are in dire straits of failing.

Lake Havasu, also a reservoir not a lake, is the end point of the Colorado River.  It provides the drinking water for multiple cities across the southwest. Built in 1938, its purpose was to be a ‘storage unit’ for two aqueducts fed by Lake Mead which is also at around 27% of capacity. Havasu was stocked with fish and became a major recreation destination for boating and skiing. The Dam creating Havasu pumps the water upward hundreds of feet in order to fill the two aqueducts serving nearly all of Arizona and Southern California.   

27 million people are about to lose this water – WHY? Federal water managers are playing a dangerous shell game—systematically draining upstream giants like Lake Mead and Lake Powell to keep Havasu artificially full and prevent public panic. If upstream supplies collapse and Lake Mead hits its absolute dead pool limit, the flow terminates.

What is at point?  The pumping systems themselves built in 1938 based on water levels at the time.  When the two feed Lakes reach critical levels the pumps pump air. The ability to feed Havasu no longer eists. And the shell game the Federal Government played will impact agriculture and drinking water availability. This isn’t a distant threat, ie in the ‘future’, the Bureau of Reclamation is preparing for a complete system crash. And they have no backup plan.

California for its part doesn’t build reservoirs for rain collection claiming they are too expensive.  And at this point reservoirs may be too little, too late, to reverse the course. The Colorado River itself won’t cease to exist, but its ability to reliably deliver water is facing an unprecedented crisis. Managers warn that the river’s flows could shrink by up to 31% by 2050.  What are they doing?  Nothing.

Because war takes precedence.

The fact that given these circumstances Data Centers are allowed to use ANY freshwater is a death sentence to America. While California consumes the most water, followed by Texas, California is America’s largest agriculture center.  As a direct result of mismanagement, California has failed to build new reservoirs to collect rainwater during Monsoons and thus has become an infinite eater, a Pacman gobbling up everything in its path while rainwater flows into the Pacific.

There are two Federal Agencies in charge of water and infrastructure management; Bureau of Reclamation and the US Army Corps of Engineers.  The US Army Corps is led by Lt General Butch Graham jr.  The US Army Corps has 37,000 dedicated civilians and soldiers on the payroll – operating in 130 countries across the globe.  Just not in America – apparently.  And definitely not anywhere in the Midwest to western states according to their website maps.

The Bureau of Reclamation is currently run by the Deputy Commissioner, Aubrey Bettencourt. Her bio states: “During the first Trump Administration, Aubrey brought her expertise to both the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). As Deputy Assistant Secretary at DOI, she shaped water and science policy, working to ensure responsible stewardship of the nation’s resources.”  She has a degree in History… – her qualifications were the fact that her family owned a farm.

Scott Cameron is the “Acting Head” of Reclamation with experience that spans 40 years in the Federal Government – meaning he is a career fill-in as an Acting Person until a real Person can be appointed.  Prior to his acting position, he served in the Department of the Interior as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management, and Budget. Prior to this position, he served as Acting Assistant Secretary for Water and Science. He has assigned all duties to the Deputy Assistant Bettencourt as he continues working part-time in various civilian capacities.

In other words, protecting America’s water resources is so unimportant it hasn’t been a consideration.  And we have now entered a critical point of no return with focus on War instead of America and Americans water preservation while appointing Trump sycophants who fill positions but do NOTHING.  It rained today – for less than 10 seconds…