SUSTAINABLE SURVIVAL IN CONTEXT OF HYDROLOGIC TRENDS (OR VICE VERSA)?

The distribution and availability of water resources are obviously among primary factors controlling economic and demographic sustainability. While information from such diverse fields such as paleohydrology, climatology, and hydrogeology is available for synthetic interpretations, the profound socioeconomic implications are often ignored or misinterpreted in favor of short-term economic or political gains. The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) and the St. Croix Watershed Research Station (SCWRS) at the Science Museum of Minnesota have conducted an evaluation of current climatic trends and reconstructed paleohydrologic conditions for the last 2000 years for Devils Lake. Results indicate that 1) frequent climatic fluctuations resulting in alternating periods of drought and wet conditions are typical for the northern Great Plains, 2) the severity and length of extremes exceeded those on modern record, and 3) decisions based only on available modern-day records are insufficient for long-term planning, often resulting in costly errors. Groundwater resources were extensively used during 1930 to partially offset water shortage. The water levels in individual Aquifers of the Moorhead-West Fargo Aquifer system were close to or, locally, even above the ground surface in the early 1900s and have declined dramatically since. This trend is even more alarming with respect to the fact that the regional hydrologic system, as documented in our study, is currently at its wet stage and the aquifer usage will considerably increase once the system moves to the dry cycle. Without a profound change in attitude toward water resources, long-term periods of drought will limit socioeconomic development in the region and may threaten even the sustainability of current conditions.