As the effects of climate change coupled with economic and population growth put increasing strain on water resources in the Southwest, what can be done to adapt? WATA is a resource that helps provide answers to that question. Adaptation to aridity has always been a necessity in the Southwest and the current patterns of growth and development in the region would not have been possible without monumental adaptation. As changing conditions challenge the assumptions upon which the dams and canals of the past century were constructed, new efforts are taking shape at multiple scales to cope with water scarcity. WATA seeks to document these efforts, whether they are concerned with reducing water use, increasing water supply, or changing the way water flows through the landscape.
Solutions to water scarcity, however, are rarely straightforward success stories. Securing a new water supply for one region, for example, may deprive others of that same flow. Some solutions for creating new supplies – like large-scale desalination - come with high costs, both economic and environmental. Novel crops may be able to withstand hot, dry conditions better than those currently in vogue, but farmers might be hesitant to take on a risky investment. And when a solution is successful – and its harm or impact at other scales is minimized – it may not always be appropriate for different environmental or social conditions. Each case in WATA provides information about a given solution, as well information that will help users critically evaluate these practices.
When a case is selected, its associated information will appear in this window. The “Zoom to Feature” button will take you to its location. Switching to satellite view (“change basemap” button, above right) along with the notes in “pin location” will help interpret the site. The description for each case provides relevant information, along with hyperlinked references to conduct further research.
To find the cases of interest to you, use the search or filter tools. The search bar will return results across all fields, while the filter is useful for finding a particular type of activity. Each case is tagged with categories – the first tag determines the display color (see legend), but secondary tags will also return results when using the filter. Detailed information about each category is contained in the info buttons in the filter tool. Briefly, the main categories into which cases are organized are:
Additional information is included within each case, including identification of specific organizations and institutions involved (this field is called “Actors”). These are not available in the filter, but typing the name of an organization in the search bar will return matching results.
We welcome comments on any aspect of WATA, including – the way cases are organized or tagged, the user interface, the content of a specific case, or suggestions for what to include next. Please submit suggestions and comments about this tool here.