I blame Coca-Cola and their ilk for the obesity epidemic, but water shortages are more caused by farming and climate change than they are by breweries or bottling plants.
How long does it take for that water to re-enter the ecosystem in a usable way? Water isn't just destroyed, yeah?
Water planning is definitely worthwhile, but seems there are a few other variables in play.
It depends on where you got the water from. If you got it from a river or lake, probably "until the next time it rains". If you got it from an aquifer, then it depends on how long it takes water to filter down into the aquifer, assuming it can do so at all.
> Water isn't just destroyed, yeah?
In the case of aquifers it actually can be, effectively. Per https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquifer#Human_dependence_on_gr... second paragraph:
Fresh-water aquifers, especially those with limited recharge by
snow or rain, also known as meteoric water, can be over-exploited
and depending on the local hydrogeology, may draw in non-potable
water or saltwater intrusion from hydraulically connected aquifers
or surface water bodies. This can be a serious problem, especially
in coastal areas and other areas where aquifer pumping is excessive.
In some areas, the ground water can become contaminated by arsenic
and other mineral poisons.
All of which is to say that in some places (and in particular in much of the Western US) water may closer to a non-renewable resource than a renewable one if it comes from an aquifer. At least on years-to-decades timescales.
What does this really mean though? In New England we have Walnut trees growing everywhere, and no one is watering them. If anything they're locking water into the soil that would otherwise just evaporate.
Problems start when people grow walnuts in places that average 10" a year....
Also, those trees aren't locking water anywhere. They are probably releasing the same amount per tree to evaporation.
But most almonds and pistachios are grown in a desert, with water extracted from ground-water aquifers. Without the wells, the almonds would not grow.
If you care about protecting our managed pollinators, giving up almonds is a good first step. I have also switched to peanuts.
The tricky part is ownership. Who owns groundwater? Who owns rainwater?
As a general rule, it's best to get your macronutrients from sustainable sources. In other words, eat peanuts instead of almonds, and eat olives instead of palm or coconut oil (unless you have allergies or other health issue preventing that). Avoid the high-labor, resource-intensive fad foods.
1. We need food, we don't need soda. So food will always get a priority for resources, thus its heavy water usage more excusable. Farming uses a lot of water, its just a given, and we need farming to survive. Raising beef actually is much more wasteful than almonds, for example. Almost all farming requires large amounts of water.
2. Rural irrigation is a bit different than urban irrigation. They may draw on their own springs and wells or impact less people with water restrictions due to low density rural populations. Plants in or near urban areas can impact millions of people. Worse, urban areas need to be kept clean or hygeine goes out the window then come the superbugs, epidemics, etc. If we ration urban water too strongly in favor of soft drinks, then that means less showering, baths, street cleaning, etc which isn't good for society.
According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydraulic_conductivity water moves through porous material at rates varying from 300 m/day (mixture of gravel and sand) to 3 mm/day (clay, sandstone).
EDIT: arithmetic.