Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

You raise an interesting point about inland population centers. My guess: Household daily water usage is a tiny fraction compared to Ag. As a result, at some point, I assume that states will slowly raise the cost of Ag water, until the most wasteful practices disappear. Example: They could move to drip irrigation that Israel uses, but it must at least 10x more expensive.


My limited understanding of the irrigation history in the US tells makes me extremely pessimistic about the likelihood of your prediction.

I think you only need to look at the water politics of the Great Salt Lake to see the difficulty.

Look at how little water use has changed during the last 25 years of the southwestern North American megadrought.

The US policy appears to be to pray for rain.




Consider applying for YC's Winter 2026 batch! Applications are open till Nov 10

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: