Healthy, balanced water and soil microbial communities are the foundation of and essential to life as we know it on the Earth. As featured in her May 2020 Bigger than Us podcast interview, Earth Impact (Ei) Founder & CEO Holly Elmore is known for the following quote:
In order for life as we know it to survive and thrive on planet Earth, we must - absolutely must - get our soil and water microbial communities back to a healthy, balanced state.
Promo graphic for the podcast
As established in the 2022 Regeneration in ACTION (RiA) Magazine article, Soil & Water: the foundation of life, soil and water are in a sacred marriage and support life on Earth; soil and water must be addressed in unison. Healthy well-structured soil is a living, breathing ecosystem and retains significantly more water than depleted soil. Additionally, healthy soil absorbs, filters, and removes contaminates from water as it flows to aquifers. In return, water keeps a healthy soil ecosystem hydrated.
Though its topic is water security, this article inherently addresses soil within the water discussion.
Water Security
Though water is abundant on our blue planet, less than one percent is fresh water necessary to support land-based plants, wildlife, and humans. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA:)
The ocean covers more than 70 percent of the surface of our planet.
Blue Planet image courtesy of
Science Learning HubIt's hard to imagine, but about 97 percent of the Earth's water can be found in our ocean. Of the tiny percentage that's not in the ocean, about two percent is frozen up in glaciers and ice caps. Less than one percent of all the water on Earth is fresh. A tiny fraction of water exists as water vapor in our atmosphere.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Inger Andersen, “Our planet is facing a triple crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste. These crises are taking a heavy toll on oceans, rivers, seas and lakes,”
Water security is a crisis, pending in some regions and realized in others, that is wreaking havoc on the survival of civilizations and overall life as we know it on the Earth.
From an overview perspective, water security is broken down into three broad categories:
- Quality/Quantity
- Control/Ownership/Accessibility
- Global Flooding & Sea Level Rise
- Quality/Quantity - May 28, Agriculture, Water, Land Nexus: Unlocking the Intricacy
- Control/Ownership/Accessibility - Fall, The Colorado River Water Challenges.
- Global Flooding & Sea Level Rise - Summer, Increased Global Flooding & Sea Level Rise
Depleted available water supplies, whether from usage or contamination, are a growing crisis across the globe. Agriculture, rising global temperatures, and pollution are three of the many human-caused scenarios resulting in depletion of available fresh, clean water.
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| Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone Photo courtesy of Ocean Today |
The Mississippi River is like a drainage system for your street, but it connects 31 U.S. states and even parts of Canada. These nutrients are ultimately funneled into the Gulf of Mexico, sometimes traveling more than a 1,000 miles downstream to start a chain of events in the Gulf that turns deadly.The nutrients fuel large algal blooms that then sink, decompose, and deplete the water of oxygen. This is hypoxia, when oxygen in the water is so low it can no longer sustain marine life in bottom or near bottom waters—literally, a dead zone. And it happens every summer.When the water reaches this hypoxic state, fish and shrimp leave the area and anything that can't escape like crabs, worms, and clams die. If the amount of pollution entering the Gulf isn't reduced, the dead zone will continue to wreak havoc on the ecosystem and threaten some of the most productive fisheries in the world.
On May 28, 2025, the LAI Group hosts the Agriculture, Water, Land Nexus: Unlocking the Intracity global webinar. Attendance is free yet registration is required. Ei Advisor Durga Poudel, Ph.D. is the lead speaker and Holly is the webinar moderator
Per Durga:
This webinar aims to explore the intricate relationships between agriculture, water quality, and land economics, with a focus on the Mississippi River Basin of the United States of America. It will provide a comprehensive overview of how agriculture contributes to non-point source pollution and the Gulf of Mexico’s hypoxia problem. Furthermore, it will examine the economic implications of water pollution on land values, especially in regions like Louisiana, where agriculture and waterways are vital to the economy and ecosystem.
In layman's terms, the webinar explains how chemical-based agricultural practices in the Midwest are responsible for the hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico, commonly known as the Dead Zone.
Time-Released Fertilizers and Pesticides
With the common use of time-released fertilizers and pesticides in conventional farming came an unintended consequence: the flooding of micro and nanoplastics into the soils from the plastic-coated capsules. ... and what goes into the soils eventually ends up in the aquifers and waterways.
In May 2022, the Center for International Environmental Law published a report on the plastics in the soils, Sowing a Plastic Planet: How Microplastics in Agrochemicals Are Affecting Our Soils, Our Food, and Our Future. From the astonishing report:
Plastics are everywhere in agriculture, from greenhouse films and landscaping fabrics to crop coverings and product packaging. Many of these uses provide pathways for plastic contamination. But the application of plastic-coated agrochemicals to soils and crops directly introduces microplastic into the environment and potentially into the food supply. It also compounds the health and environmental hazards posed by agrochemicals themselves.One of the least known and most concerning sources of microplastic pollution is their deliberate addition to synthetic fertilizers and pesticides used in industrial agriculture.
Microplastics disintegrate into nanoplastics that are capable of segueing through cell walls. Thus, plants may join the animal-protein food contaminated with plastics. The micro and nanoplastics will run-off the fields or filter through the soil causing plastic contamination in our above and underground waterways.
As they use compost and other natural substances for crop nutrition and generally abstain from agrochemicals, organic and regenerative farms do not contribute to the tremendous plastics in the soils from plastic-coated capsules.
Water-Intensive Food
According to the New York Times (NYT) December 2023 article, How America’s Diet is Feeding the Groundwater Crisis, depletion of once abundant aquifers is due to America's increased consumer demand for cheese and chicken, mainly pizza and chicken wings.
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| Young dairy cows |
With water-scarcity challenges in California, many dairy farmers moved their California operations to high-dessert states like Idaho where regulations were less stringent on water usage. Before the dairy-farm migration in the 1990's, Idaho enjoyed a bountiful aquifer that supported life in the arid climate. Yet, over the past decades, the dairy farms along with animal-feed crops severely depleted the aquifer to a dangerous, cautionary state.
According to the NYT article, "Idaho recently joined Wisconsin and California in an elite club: States that produce at least 1 billion pounds of cheese annually; each pound of cheese produced requires, on average, 10 pounds of milk. And the cows producing that milk need to eat high-protein foods, including water-intensive alfalfa."
While Idaho's water woes are caused by dairy ranching, in Arkansas, America's chicken headquarters, once bountiful aquifers are stressed by the expanding chicken farms and the related row crops to feed the fowl. Over the past decade, the value of the state's largest agriculture commodity doubled to an estimated $6.3 billion.
Additionally, the vast amount of chicken waste often pollutes local water.
Control/Ownership/Accessibility
Even if there is ample water available, other human-caused hindrances may prohibit accessibility to the water. Control of the water through land ownership, public policy, agreements/contracts, and laws may limit access to water otherwise available for use.
Property-Owner Water Rights
Water rights may be as simple as a property owner has the right to access ground water beneath their land. Yet, in areas where water is scarce and/or in a crisis, there are often strict laws and policies governing the access and removal of ground water, no matter the land ownership. Water rights do not equate to ownership; they are similar to a permit for legal use water for a specified purpose in predetermined amounts.
In addition to ground water, water rights also apply to surface water in streams, rivers, and lakes.
The Landgate FAQ: Everything You Need to Know About Water Rights article discusses the differences in water rights across the United States as follows:
Water rights vary significantly across the United States due to the country's diverse climate and geographic conditions. The legal frameworks governing water rights have evolved to address these regional differences, leading to a variety of systems and laws.
In the Eastern U.S., water is generally more abundant. Therefore, the riparian doctrine is commonly used, which allows landowners whose property adjoins a water source to use that water, as long as it doesn't harm other users. This system is based on shared access and reasonable use.
Conversely, the Western U.S. experiences more arid conditions, making water a scarcer commodity. Here, the doctrine of prior appropriation is more prevalent. This system grants water rights based on a "first in time, first in right" principle, meaning those who first divert water for beneficial use have priority in times of scarcity.
These differences are rooted in the varying needs and challenges posed by the local environments. Therefore, understanding the regional nuances of water rights is crucial for landowners across the country.
When water flows across state lines, state laws are no longer applicable; in these cases, water rights are governed by interstate compacts, court decrees, or congressional acts that dictate how the water use is allocated among the impacted states. With the depletion of accessible water in many regions, "water wars" among states are common.
Colorado River Basin
Originating along the Continental Divide in Rocky Mountain National Park, the Colorado River flows approximately 1450 miles to its destination in the Gulf of California in Mexico. According to the Bureau of Reclamation:
The Colorado River is a critical resource in the West, because seven basin states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming) depend on it for water supply, hydropower production, recreation, fish and wildlife habitat, and other benefits. Although agricultural uses depend on 70 percent of Colorado River water, between 35 and 40 million people rely on the same water for some, if not all, of their municipal needs. Moreover, the United States also has a delivery obligation to Mexico for some of the Colorado River waters pursuant to a 1944 Treaty with Mexico.
Colorado River, a river in crisis
Photo: The Nature Conservancy
The University of Southern California February 2023 article, The water wars of the future are here today: Seven thirsty states, including California, are fighting over the dwindling waters of the Colorado River. USC experts look at how we got here — and why this was inevitable opens with the statement: Once hailed as the “American Nile,” the Colorado River spans 1,450 miles and supplies nearly 40 million people across seven states plus northern Mexico with drinking water, irrigation for farmland and hydroelectric power. But after decades of drought and overuse, major reservoirs along the river are drying up.
Once abundant, the Colorado River is in severe crisis and no longer able to nurture the seven states and northern Mexico with adequate water for agriculture, hydropower, recreation, and drinking water.
The LAI Group intends to host a global webinar in late 2025 on the land economics challenges associated with the dwindling Colorado River flow. Group Co-Chair Jim Musbach is the webinar lead; the webinar will address ownership, public policy, and executed agreements that impact the Colorado River Basin water crisis.
Tri-State Water Wars
The disputes over control of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) river basin-water flow culminated in a 2021Supreme Court ruling that favored Georgia where the headwaters originate. Known as the Tri-State Water Wars, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida vie over rights of the ACF river basin waters. Additionally, Georgia and Alabama dispute water rights within the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa Basin.
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| Chattahoochee River Walk in Atlanta photo courtesy of Explore Georgia |
Fun fact: the Flint River originates literally under Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, once the busiest airport in the world. The RiA Magazine article, The Flint River: a river ready to regenerate, gives an overview of the river's origins and current challenges. Flowing unimpeded for nearly 220 miles, the Flint River is one of forty rivers in the nation that flows unimpeded for more than 200 miles. In the 1970's, the Georgia Natural Areas Council named the Upper Flint River Georgia’s “Most Scenic River.” Beyond recreational purposes, the Flint River is known for its vast biodiversity.
The Flint River joins the Chattahoochee River at the Georgia-Florida border to form the Apalachicola River, which flows on to the Gulf of Mexico.
South of Atlanta and into Florida, the water-use issues mainly relate to environmental concerns. According to Dan Tonsmeire, Apalachicola Riverkeeper:
"The Apalachicola River, floodplain and bay comprise one of the most biodiverse and productive riverine and estuarine systems in the northern hemisphere. The historic natural function and cultural heritage of the surrounding communities remain intact much of the way it has been for generations of commercial fishermen on one of Florida's last working waterfronts. This ecosystem and its people are truly an American treasure."
Reduced water flow in the Apalachicola River is the result of up-river water management, drought, and channel revisions. Lower water levels severely impact the local ecosystem and the oyster fishery.
As the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of Georgia in the long-standing water dispute with Florida, the reduced water flow into the Apalachicola River continues to wreak environmental and ecosystem havoc.
Global Flooding & Sea Level Rise
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| Atmospheric River photo courtesy: Scientific American |
From the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) article Why are floods hitting more places and people?:
According to research from NASA, the proportion of people across the globe living in flood-prone areas has risen by 20% to 24% since 2000 — 10 times greater than the number previous models had predicted, as climate change drives extreme rainfall, rising sea levels and more intense hurricanes.
Often heatwaves and droughts precede heavy rains creating dehydrated soils; dry soils do not absorb water well, often erode into waterways during rain events, and increase the chances of flooding.
The EDF article shared some startling facts:
River Flooding
Interior land flooding is generally caused by extreme rainfall, glacial melts, earlier and faster snow melts, dam failures, and manmade infrastructure. Deforestation, wetland destruction, and urban areas filled with impermeable surfaces prevent the land from absorbing excess river or lake waters; the result is increased flood levels.
On September 26, 2024, Hurricane Helene moved north through the Gulf around 100 miles off the Florida Central Gulf Coast. Helene made landfall as a massive Category 4 Hurricane in Florida's Big Bend Region. After making landfall, Helene traveled north causing catastrophic damage in the North Carolina western mountains and other areas; the destruction path was 500-miles long.
Located in Western North Carolina, Asheville and nearby communities were devastated by Hurricane Helene. According to the Global Water Forum article, Examining the historic flooding in Western North Carolina:
Western North Carolina is no stranger to heavy rainfall, but its mountainous terrain and river valleys make it particularly susceptible to flooding. The topography funnels water into rivers and streams, which can swell rapidly during intense rain. Hurricane Helene’s rain fell on already saturated ground, and the runoff quickly turned into flash floods that tore through the region.
Overall, property damage costs from the flood are estimated to be up to US$47.5 billion, affecting thousands of homes and businesses in Asheville alone.
The flooding also wreaked havoc on Western North Carolina’s ecosystems. The Great Smoky Mountains and the surrounding national parks experienced significant landslides that disrupted habitats and threatened local wildlife.
As floodwaters rushed through forests and river valleys, they carried away soil and uprooted trees, leaving behind a scarred landscape. In addition, the sediment-laden floodwaters flowed into streams and rivers, clouding water and affecting aquatic habitats.
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| Blue Ridge Parkway hurricane damage photo: Asheville Citizen Times |
On October 29, 2024, a DANA weather event near Valencia, Spain, the third largest Spanish city, caused the Turia River to release up to 300,000,000 cubic metres (390,000,000 cu yd) of water into the city. A total of 224 individuals died in the region; according to the Bank of Spain, the 2024 flooding cost Spain's financial sector over $20 billion.
Per the Royal Meteorological Society's article, Cut-off lows, cold drops and DANA:
In Spain, the DANA storm system forms when warm moisture-laden winds off the Mediterranean Sea get dragged under the stagnant pool of cold air sitting in the cut-off low higher up in the atmosphere. That creates an unstable environment, allowing huge storm clouds to quickly form, made even bigger by the mountainous topography. The warmer the waters, the bigger the storms and the heavier the rainfall. Which, thanks to the near-stationary nature of the DANA, is released over the same area.
A warming climate exasperates naturally occurring weather systems into catastrophic events causing monumental urban, environment, and economic destruction. The above examples occurred across the globe in varying topography and via different weather events.
Sea Level Rise
Warming global temperatures, melting glaciers and ice sheets along with thermal expansion are the primary drivers for sea level rise. When ocean waters warm, water and other molecules move at a higher velocity causing them to take up more space. According to NASA's Understanding Sea Level article, thermal expansion accounts for approximately one third of sea level rise.
As stated in the NOAA article, Is sea level rising? Yes, sea level is rising at an increasing rate:
Global sea level has been rising over the past century, and the rate has increased in recent decades. In 2014, global sea level was 2.6 inches 67 mm above the 1993 average—the highest annual average in the satellite record (1993-present). Sea level continues to rise at a rate of about one-eighth of an inch 3.2 mm per year.
Sea level rise has severe implications for coastal communities including flooding, shoreline erosion, loss of wetlands and marshes, and displacement of urban development. Salination of surface waters, aquifers, and coastal soils is another grave concern.
Once it enters coastal aquifers, sea water contaminates the fresh water for many of the human uses including drinking water, agriculture irrigation, and hydration for livestock. A contaminated aquifer, whether from sea water, micro and nanoplastics, or toxic substances, is difficult to nearly impossible to cleanse. Thus, a portion of the less than 1% of fresh water on our blue planet is declining.
"We have a saying in ecosystems for aquatic ecosystems, at least in estuaries. that elevation is destiny; I think that is going to be true. The urban coasts will probably harden like the Dutch have done over 1,000 years or so. Some coasts are too expensive to harden, and we will simply let them go.
Sea-level rise is a particular challenge for barrier islands and places subject to hurricanes, like the entire Florida coast.
The big coastal cities that have ample resources, are very well organized, and have access to tremendous expertise will still face sea-level rise challenges. It' will be fairly expensive for them to raise their waste facilities, their drainage systems, and their wastewater-discharge systems. Additionally, the cities must protect their land from flooding."
From the same webinar then Ei Advisor and LAI FL Suncoast Chapter member Steve Suau, P.E., Consultant at Carbon Life, stated:
"Many coastal communities have what we refer to as "sunny-day flooding" during a King Tide, an exceptionally high tide during a full moon. Based on the orientation of the moon to the earth, King Tides will be more frequent starting around 2030.
Most homes and buildings on the barrier islands are elevated due to hurricanes and are expected to fare well with sea-level rise. Planning for the infrastructure including roads, utilities, water & sewer lines, and lift stations is underway. Yet, roads can only be elevated so much. Sea-level rise is an exceptional challenge for the barrier islands.
... and sea-level rise will have a huge impact real estate values."
Over the past century, sea levels in downtown Annapolis, Maryland rose over one foot, more than twice the global average. Nuance flooding, or sunny-day flooding as Steve refers to it, is commonplace with sections of the Annapolis City Dock now flooding approximately100 days annually.
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| Annapolis flooding photo: Patch |
As stated in the Access Annapolis About The Project page:
On the City Dock side, this $71* million infrastructure project, funded through federal and state grants and the Public Private Partnership (P3) concession payment from the rebuild of Hillman Garage, will help protect the historic downtown from the impacts of flooding for the next century. On the Compromise Street side, a $16* million pumping project will be installed to push the water away from roads and buildings.
*Estimated figures – subject to change due to factors including labor and materials.
Upon completion, a combination of a berm, walls, and gates will provide eight feet of flood protection. In addition, the nearby Naval Academy recently completed $37MM of flood walls, and a future section will tie-in with the City’s project.
According to LAI Eastern Region VP Nathan Betnum, a financial consultant on the Annapolis City Dock project with a Ph.D. in Urban Studies and Planning, "The City of Annapolis is among the national leaders in dealing with flooding in an historic community."
Glacial Melt
According to the World Wildlife Fund article, Why are glaciers and sea ice melting?, 10% of land area on the Earth is covered with glacial ice. Rapid glacial melt in Antarctica and Greenland influences ocean currents; massive amounts of very cold glacial-melt water enters warmer ocean waters and slows ocean currents. As ice on land melts, sea levels continue to rise.
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| Melting glacier Photo: Geology page |
In addition to sea level rise, glacial melt and warmer water shift ocean currents, impact weather events, dilute the ocean's salinity levels, and disrupt fresh water supplies as well as wildlife habitat and feeding abilities.
Mountains, often referred to as Water Towers, are critical to the Earth's fresh water supply with sources stating that 60% of the accessible fresh water is attributed to mountains, mainly via snow and ice melts. Though snow melts are seasonable and in theory replenishable, when glacial ice melts the fresh water supply released is gone with no replenishment.
Though Antarctica and Greenland glaciers are often a primary focus, there are over 200,000 mountain glaciers spread across the globe. Mountain glaciers play a critical role in global weather patterns and support more than 2 billion people with fresh water, food security, livelihoods, and cultural traditions.
Glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) caused by rapidly melting glaciers devastate mountain villages as well as communities and agriculture compounds located near the mountain base.
Emphasizing the significant role glaciers play on many fronts, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly proclaimed 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation to raise awareness on the vital role glaciers, snow, and ice play in the climate system and water cycle, as well as the far-reaching impacts of rapid glacial melt. UNESCO and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) are the lead agencies overseeing the UN's efforts.
In the Himalayas, a mountain range that separates the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau and contains some of the highest peaks on the Earth, glacial melt is further compounded by black clouds or "atmospheric brown clouds" over the mountains. The toxic clouds are caused by black carbon aerosols from biomass burning and fossil fuel combustion that disperse into the atmosphere; the clouds further warm the Himalaya mountain peaks, increase glacial melt, and deposit toxins into the ground snow.
Within the water security categories, examples were provided that showcase the pending or realized crisis for fresh water on our blue planet. Though the scenario seems dire, solutions emerge within holistic global approaches and invoking collective consciousness. The RiA Magazine article, Collective Consciousness: a movement, a solution, introduces collection consciousness and gives examples of how it is incorporated within Ei's empowering work.
Yet, collective consciousness begins with individual and group consciousness. Ei Advisor Michael Barbour, Ph.D.., a renowned aquatic ecologist, reminds us "The world that our children's children inherit depends on the decisions we make today!"
Collective Consciousness: a movement, a solution
As humanity toils with significant survival challenges – rising sea levels, extreme weather, diminished fresh, clean water, excessive toxins and pollution, and more – ancient wisdom emerges from within the chaos with a message: collective consciousness is a solution. Working together in a holistic manner where ALL benefit is a must to ensure survival.
ALL is defined as the entire spectrum of living species and ecosystems as well as inanimate earth resources. Within humanity, ALL refers to the various societal structures and ensuring that the worker population is treated with dignity, respect, and cared for with the necessities of food, shelter, and clothing.
Though the current environmental and water crisis may seem overwhelming, there are ample actions whose impact is negligible on an individual basis yet tremendous from a cumulative perspective. Individuals are consumers whose dollars vote for their choice in products, manufacturing standards and practices, and treatment of the labor force. To maintain profitability, companies and organizations must provide products and services that the consumer is willing to purchase.
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Tax-deductible donations in any amount are greatly appreciated to support Ei's important work.
For additional information, contact Holly Elmore at 404-510-9336 | holly@earth-impact.org.
