Water, water, everywhere, but not a drop to drink.

[tony human]

The Ogallala Aquifer is being drained at a rate of approximately 800 gallons per minute.

According to the US Geological Survey, since 1940 "a volume equivalent to two-thirds of the water in Lake Erie" has been permanently lost from the Ogallala Aquifer.

Decades ago, the Ogallala Aquifer had an average depth of approximately 240 feet, but today the average depth is just 80 feet.  In some areas of Texas, the water is gone completely.

According to the US National Academy of Sciences, the US interior west is now the driest that it has been in 500 years.

The drought of 2011 virtually brought Texas agriculture to a standstill and Oklahoma only got about 30% of the rainfall that it normally gets last summer. Unfortunately, scientists tell us that it would be normal for dust bowl conditions to persist in parts of North America for decades. 

Lake Mead supplies about 85% of the water to Las Vegas, and since 1998 the level of water in Lake Mead has dropped by about 5.6 trillion gallons.

It has been estimated that the state of California only has a 20 year supply of fresh water left. It has been estimated that the state of New Mexico only has a 10 year supply of fresh water left.

Approximately 40% of all rivers in the US and approximately 46 % of all lakes in the US have become so polluted that they are no longer fit for human use.

Eight states in the Great Lakes region have signed a pact banning the export of water from the Great Lakes to outsiders - even to other US states.