UA geosciences professor Jonathan Overpeck ("Peck") [right, credit UA] testified to the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology today that "Current scientific understanding of both climate variability (drought) and climate change indicates that there is a real future likelihood of both natural and human-caused reductions in climate-related water supply" especially for the West, Southwest, Texas, and across to the Southeast areas of the country.
I took particular note of his comments on groundwater:
"How much groundwater exists locally around the country, and how quickly can
groundwater be recharged in the future, both by precipitation, and/or human
mechanisms? Many parts of the country, particularly in the West, consider
groundwater to be a principal source of water, at least in times of surface-flow
shortage. And yet, precise information about the volume of these underground
water resources is often not available, nor is the full potential of underground
water banking fully understood. This limits realistic planning."