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Post by 1dave on Mar 21, 2024 11:21:48 GMT -5
www.accuweather.com/en/climate/where-sinking-cities-are-pushing-sea-level-rise-into-overdrive/1629311 Why are coastal cities sinking? According to a report in the Journal Nature, cities in the Northeast and along the Gulf coast are especially at risk for devastating flooding due to rising waters. Groundwater extraction is one of the primary drivers of coastal subsidence. Cities and industries are pumping water from underground aquifers faster than it can be replenished, a situation exacerbated by climate change-fueled drought. Excessive pumping lowers the water table and causes the overlying land to sink. The same thing happens when oil and gas are extracted from underground. On and offshore, the Gulf Coast is dotted with oil and gas facilities, which not only contribute to the climate crisis that is exacerbating sea level rise but are also one of the leading causes of land subsidence in the region. Other causes include seismic activity and soil compaction, either naturally from the weight of accumulating sediments over time or from heavy buildings pressing down on the ground, causing land to steadily sink. This is a particular problem in areas where new coastal land has been created over the years by backfilling with sediment.  Cities on the East Coast where sinking land is exacerbating sea level rise include New York City and Atlantic City; Virginia Beach; Charleston, South Carolina; and Savannah, Georgia. New York City was hit with flooding during Tropical Storm Ophelia as shown here in late September, 2023. (Bing Guan/Reuters via CNN Newsource)
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Post by RickB on Mar 21, 2024 11:31:32 GMT -5
1dave we have a family plot in Charleston, SC. Instead of being buried there when I pass, I plan on going to the Fort Jackson National Cemetery near Columbia which is right along the ancient fall line here in the southeast. Stays too damp down in Charleston.
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Post by HankRocks on Mar 21, 2024 13:06:07 GMT -5
The Houston area population has more than doubled to almost 7 million in the last 30 years. Subsidence has been a big issue with some areas near the coast having subsided over 10 - 12 feet and more. One of the biggest contributor to that subsidence has been the pumping of ground water. The city of Houston gets most of their water from Lakes. The county areas were I live has been pumping water from wells. The state passed a law several years back mandating a conversion to Lake water and the shutting down of wells. That has been completed for most part as we have been on Lake water for the past 4 or 5 years.
The growing metro area is scary here. I believe that in Toffler's book from the 70's, water would be the resource that will be the most limited.
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Post by 1dave on Mar 21, 2024 15:25:10 GMT -5
We need to start desalination of sea water.
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titaniumkid
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Member since June 2023
Posts: 512
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Post by titaniumkid on Mar 21, 2024 15:30:17 GMT -5
Jakarta is the most rapidly sinking city in the world because of groundwater extractions and sea level rises. Indonesia is moving its capital city to Borneo.
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Post by HankRocks on Mar 21, 2024 15:33:58 GMT -5
We need to start desalination of sea water. That is an option, an expensive one. Water bills would definitely go up. Being close to the Gulf it would be viable for Houston. If you are more than a couple hundred miles from the coast and the cost starts to be prohibitive. |
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Post by parfive on Mar 21, 2024 15:43:56 GMT -5
If you think it’s bad at high tide now, just wait’ll they put more shit on the Moon.  |
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Post by parfive on Mar 21, 2024 15:54:00 GMT -5
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Post by parfive on Mar 21, 2024 16:11:04 GMT -5
I’ve seen twenty feet mentioned before . . . not quite. : )
Since the 1920s, excessive pumping of groundwater at thousands of wells has caused land to subside, or sink, by as much as 8.5 meters (28 feet) in sections of California’s San Joaquin Valley.
Several trouble spots that were identified in 2015 have continued to subside at rates as high as 0.6 meters (2 feet) per year.
earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/89761/san-joaquin-valley-is-still-sinking
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titaniumkid
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Posts: 512
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Post by titaniumkid on Mar 21, 2024 16:42:02 GMT -5
An alternative to desalination is recycling wastewater to drinking water quality, but the public tends not to like the idea much. It's done in Singapore. I think they are (or were planning) to do it at some Antarctic stations because there are concerns about discharging wastewater into the environment.
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ThomasT
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Post by ThomasT on Mar 21, 2024 17:08:40 GMT -5
1dave Good thing for us... we have beaucoup water above and below ground. The trick here is not polluting it with industrial waste and ag runoff. However, all mountains are always washing to the sea... slowly.
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Post by chris1956 on Mar 21, 2024 17:37:30 GMT -5
An alternative to desalination is recycling wastewater to drinking water quality, but the public tends not to like the idea much. It's done in Singapore. I think they are (or were planning) to do it at some Antarctic stations because there are concerns about discharging wastewater into the environment. Here is the funny part about drinking recycled wastewater (from a former wastewater engineer). If you get your drinking water from lakes, rivers, or shallow wells along rivers and lakes, chances are you are drinking recycled wastewater. All that "treated" wastewater goes back into rivers and lakes. Not much difference as long as it is treated right. I once read that the water in the Missouri River between I think Omaha and St. Louis is "used" five times.  |
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ThomasT
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Post by ThomasT on Mar 21, 2024 17:41:25 GMT -5
In some western xeric communities wasting water watering lawns and such doesn't make much sense.
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titaniumkid
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2023
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Post by titaniumkid on Mar 21, 2024 17:46:14 GMT -5
An alternative to desalination is recycling wastewater to drinking water quality, but the public tends not to like the idea much. It's done in Singapore. I think they are (or were planning) to do it at some Antarctic stations because there are concerns about discharging wastewater into the environment. Here is the funny part about drinking recycled wastewater (from a former wastewater engineer). If you get your drinking water from lakes, rivers, or shallow wells along rivers and lakes, chances are you are drinking recycled wastewater. All that "treated" wastewater goes back into rivers and lakes. Not much difference as long as it is treated right. I once read that the water in the Missouri River between I think Omaha and St. Louis is "used" five times. The solution to pollution is dilution. What are natural water bodies if not free sewer systems? |
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gemfeller
Cave Dweller 
Member since June 2011
Posts: 4,069 
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Post by gemfeller on Mar 21, 2024 17:57:26 GMT -5
Not only does 'the grass grow greener over the septic tank," but that particularly nasty wastewater eventually ends up coming out of someone's tap, pure and clear. All fresh water is recycled when one takes into consideration the water cycle: sea evaporation to clouds, clouds to rain, rain to rivers, rivers to the sea and over and over again. Our astronauts at the Space Station seem to do OK on recycled water too. We'll never get to Mars without it.
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Post by parfive on Mar 21, 2024 20:08:45 GMT -5
Wikipedia:
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Post by parfive on Mar 21, 2024 20:10:23 GMT -5
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Post by parfive on Mar 21, 2024 21:30:14 GMT -5
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titaniumkid
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Post by titaniumkid on Mar 21, 2024 22:22:21 GMT -5
It's the idea of "toilet to tap" that makes people reluctant. Stick a few more things in there (toilet to wastewater treatment plant to river to sea to clouds to mountains to river/lake/aquifer to water treatment plant to tap) and no one thinks twice. Recycled water probably undergoes better treatment to remove pollutants than natural water anyway, given wastewater is so complex with all the pharmaceuticals and metabolites, personal care products, hormones, and other things that get flushed. |
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titaniumkid
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Member since June 2023
Posts: 512
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Post by titaniumkid on Mar 21, 2024 22:37:25 GMT -5
Creating new coastal land is an interesting (bad) idea. We saw new houses on reclaimed land in Penang with huge cracks in the walls, possibly because the land was developed before it "settled". Most likely the houses were going to have issues anyway. Despite this, they are still going crazy with reclaimed land, despite criticisms. Coastal living comes with risks, and the risks get higher the more we modify things so someone out there makes a few dollars. thesun.my/local_news/reclaimed-island-can-be-destroyed-in-40-years-expert-HF1135485 |
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