As summer break neared, I was unable to contain my growing excitement for our upcoming trip.

My family was going to the Grand Canyon, and I was especially looking forward to white-water rafting. As we got there though, my excitement died down. I couldn't help but notice something different about the Colorado River. Something... strange. Instead of the usual raging whitewater rapids, it was slow and quiet. Instead of its wild gushing torrents of water, it was trickling and peaceful. Instead of its crystal clear blue water, it was dark and muddy. The whole time there I thought, this can't be right. When we left a week later, it dawned on me that not only had I lost a wonderful vacationing spot, but our water resources across the country are being depleted or contaminated so quickly without being properly replenished. I realized that this is a serious threat that continues to proliferate at alarming rates, and, as a result, all across America, the lakes and rivers that we've been relying on so heavily for our water needs in the past, are finally drying up for good. Little to nothing is being done at all. Yet we have destroyed so many water sources that our day to day needs are becoming unsustainable. So today, we will first dive into this muddy river to better understand the problem that plagues our freshwater. Next, by wading through this receding river, we can better address the cause of this water shortage. Finally, with the help of a proposed legislative solution, we will be able to tear down the dam that has constricted this mighty river for far too long. Lack of water. That seems like a pretty bad joke to someone who lives on a planet that's made up of 70% water. But really, can you imagine a life without water? Hmm.. that might be a bit hard, but not for this town. Orme, a town in the mountains of southern Tennessee, is an example of what every single city in the United States is now vulnerable to. In the summer of 2007, the waterfall that fed the town's creek slowly diminished until it dried up completely (entirely). Residents were frightened. There was no water to shower with, no water to wash the dishes, clean the clothes. No water to drink. Luckily, the town's population was only 145, and federal aid was immediately given to build a new pipeline to another different water supply. But the possibility remains: We can run out of water. After all, what's stopping this from happening on a much larger sale? The Colorado River basin is now facing its tenth (10th) continuous year of drought. It is currently only 40% full and continues to drop. It is estimated that this valuable Midwest life-line can completely dry up, just like the waterfall creek at Orme, by 2021. When Orme ran out of water, only 145 people were affected. If the Colorado River were to fail, over thirty million people will have no access to water. But the crisis doesn't end there. Animal husbandry, or the practice of raising livestock, relies heavily on freshwater. One widely-accepted estimate to produce a pound of beef is 2,500 gallons per pound. Newsweek puts it another way: "The water that goes into a thousand pound steer could FLOAT a Navy destroyer." With water playing such a monumental part in our food industry, meat will become scarcer and more expensive as our national water crisis grows. So why don't we all become vegetarians? I'm afraid not. California's Central Valley produces over a quarter of the nation's veggies and fruits, but farmers there are struggling to maintain their crops. John Giacone, a farmer in the Central Valley, lost over a thousand acres of almonds last year because the Bureau of Reclamation decided that the San Joaquin River delta simply couldn't handle the demand any longer because of its level of contamination. There is, of course, a law that regulates the amount of contamination in water sources. But it seems that over the years, the Clean Water Act passed by the EPA has lost its meaning. Water pollution runs rampant across the country and state regulators are failing to convict repeating offenders. Jennifer Massey from Charleston, West Virginia has experienced this first hand. Her family has to rely on water brought in by trucks every day because they refuse to use local sources. Her youngest son has scabs all over his body where the bathwater -- polluted with lead, nickel, and other heavy metals -- caused painful rashes. The New York Times reports that in the past 5 years, chemical factories, manufacturing plants, and other workplaces have violated water pollution laws over FIVE MILLION times. It's no

wonder that our clean freshwater sources have diminished so greatly in recent years when they are all being polluted to a point where it cannot be controlled. There are many reasons as to why we're having this water crisis, and experts all agree that water pollution is the biggest one. Farmers are unable to use any water from the San Joaquin delta simply because it is too contaminated. In April of 2009, environmental group American Rivers declared that the San Joaquin-Sacramento river delta, the most important water source in Northern California, is the nation's most endangered waterway system. The current EPA administrator herself admits that "today's water does not meet public health goals and enforcement of water pollution laws is extremely low." Low precipitation levels and rising global temperatures are another. According to the National Climate Data Center, the top ten warmest years since 1880 are all in the last 10 years. California has suffered a continual three-year drought in which some areas received only 20% of their average rainfall. In the last three years alone, the temperature in California has reached over 1.2 degrees Fahrenheit above average. This gargantuan increase causes a massive rise in sea level, which results in sea water intrusion into coastal freshwater aquifers. This contaminates our coastal freshwater sources and renders them useless. The biggest culprit of all... is us. The average American uses 6 times as much water as anyone else, about 159 gallons of water every day when everyone else in the world can live by on a mere 25 gallons a day. Not only that, but the average meat eater uses 4000 gallons of water a day for their food production. We as Americans have no need to conserve, corporate or otherwise. We have this absurd misleading mindset that we shouldn't need to bother ourselves with conserving when we THINK that there's so much of it. But there isn't. For years, we've enjoyed this luxury, believe it or not, without thinking of the consequences that we will one day have to face because of our recklessness. Whether it be leaking faucets in an ordinary household, to millions of gallons of water used up every day by corporations such as Starbucks to churn out their products, we are all contributing to a widespread catastrophe that will continue to grow until it threatens our existence on Earth, unless we act now. The water crisis issue here is just as real as an earthquake or any natural disaster, but we can reverse the effects. By accepting the fact that this is a serious problem, we can finally combat the problem head on before it's too late. Thus I advocate the following three-step legislative plan that will attack the issue on the local, state, and national levels. On the national scale, the EPA, or Environmental Protection Agency, will have to amend and better enforce their Clean Water Act, the primary federal law in the US governing pollution. Although water quality here is generally good relative to other countries, only 89% of the nation's community water systems are in compliance with EPA standards. The Clean Water Act must be amended to force inspections on all water systems to ensure that every single one is agreeable with EPA requirements. State regulators have turned a blind eye to intentional pollution and corporations are getting away with it without even being fined. This has to change. I propose that if inspections fail, the offender must be jailed based on the severity of the pollution and the company behind it must be shut down. By attacking the contamination before it spreads, we are lowering the levels of pollution and ultimately, we will be able to maintain a higher flow of readily available water resources. On the state level, consideration on how water is acquired will have to be debated. California's Inland Empire agency defied a century old So. Californian tradition when they used local water sources to meet local demands. Most water agencies here would shudder at the mere thought of this and send the storm runoff to sea as fast as they can. Why? Well, we're just addicted to water from other places, such as the Eastern Sierra, Colorado River, and Northern California. According to California's Department of Water Resources, local sources make up less than 15% of Los Angeles' supply. In a typical year, the LA Basin sends 75% of LA's annual water demand into the ocean in the form of runoff. We must replicate

the Inland Empire agency's method, that is, we have to begin using local sources. Either the private sector or the government must gather funding to build more desalination plants to treat storm runoff and sewage water so that it can be reused by residents. This will cut off our dependence on water from elsewhere and instead, tap into the sources we have here in our own backyards. Finally, every city in the US will be required to impose conservation restrictions. Depending on the guidelines that the city council sets, citizens will have to abide by strict rules that could potentially curtail overall water usage. These rules can range from mandatory shutoff nozzles on hoses to limiting sprinkler times. Businesses will also have to abide by these rules. For example, restaurants will only be able to serve water upon request. This will aid government efforts greatly to restore our lakes and rivers. Instead of looking at this like it's the end of the world, think of it as a wakeup call to a problem we've ignored for so long. We all have to realize that we all have the responsibility to preserve and maintain our natural environment. Benjamin Franklin once wrote, "When the well is dry, we know the worth of water." When everyone can appreciate water as a valuable lifeline instead of taking it for granted, only then can action truly take place. Act now, and it's only a matter of time before that trickling stream reclaims the glory of a mighty river.