Groundwater Levels

4 Pages 984 Words

A Look at Groundwater Levels in the Desert Southwest In Relation to Population Change.

Introduction
The population in the Desert Southwest of the United States has grown at a rate exceeding 1,000% over the last 90 years, almost twelve times higher than the rest of the country in the same time span. (http://az.water.usgs.gov/) This fact poses a major problem for the driest region in the US. The DSW has federal, state and local regulations and appropriations on the water distribution for this region that date back to the 1920’s. With the population growing at an exponential rate, many feel that there needs to be changes made in the managing of the water within this region before the dilemma is out of control. As population has grown, so too has the amount of water consumption in the DSW. Groundwater levels in the DSW have dropped dramatically within the last fifty years. The groundwater levels in the Desert Southwest of the United States will continue to decline due to the rapid growth of population within the region.
Experimental Procedure
The methods that will be followed in this experiment will be a basic system of data collection and analysis. There will be data collected for: 1.)The population trends in the DSW region 2.) The groundwater level trends in the DSW region 3.) The amount of water consumed in the DSW region. The search for data will be done through multiple websites that deal with the relating information dealing with the DSW region. After the data is compiled, there will be analysis of what was found and conclusions will be drawn from the provided information. Assumptions for this experiment will be that population is the sole factor for the water issues for the DSW. There will be no research done on other relevant issues such as: precipitation levels, climate change, surface change, agricultural developments or industrialization within the region. This being said, there may be misinterpretations of...