Ex-senator hails water district’s plans

Ellen McCarty

FOUNTAIN VALLEY -- At the Orange County Water District last week, former

Sen. Paul Simon predicated that water may be the impetus for the next

world war unless politicians dedicate time and resources to resolving the

problem of vanishing water resources.

“We’re near calamity,” he said. “The only reason we’re not reading more

headlines about water is because it’s not a crisis, not yet.”

The county’s water district, based in Fountain Valley, says it can avert

that crisis with ground water replenishment, a system that converts

sewage water to drinking water.

“There is something aesthetically displeasing about reuse,” Simon said.

“But this system pioneered here will soon set an example for cities

across the country and around the world.”

Although Third World countries have the fastest growing populations and

are most likely to face the most severe water shortages and resulting

wars, the United States needs to address the problem before violence hits

home, Simon said.

Wearing his trademark bow tie, Simon discussed his 1998 book, “Tapped

Out: The Coming World Crisis in Water and What We Can Do About It.”

“People fight over oil now,” he said, “but there are substitutes for oil.

There are no substitutes for water.”

When the world population reaches 11 billion in a few decades, the

earth’s limited drinking water supply won’t be enough, he predicted.

Orange County cities won’t be spared from the fight for water rights, he

added. As rocketing populations in Nevada, Arizona and Northern

California drain the Colorado and Sacramento rivers, Orange County will

have to find new sources of water to sustain its own growth.

Although water conflicts in the United States are not likely to result in

war, Simon said difficult decisions will be made affecting farmers,

environmentalists and city folks all dependent on the same water sources.

“Write your congressmen,” he said. “Sometimes a vote is cast a certain

way because a congressman received three letters about an issue.

Sometimes that’s all it takes. You don’t need to argue for specific

action, just encourage your representatives to pay attention to the water

crisis.”