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I sit to enjoy the sunrise. The morning fog is here. Water covers every leaf on my garden. I am grateful.
Around 10 a.m., the sun rises and I see water evaporate. This happens every day over the span of a week. And I worry.
When interviewing people about water in the Willamette Valley, I hear echoes: “It is not raining like it used to”; “The seasons are changing and the same plants do not survive like they used to.”
The National Weather Service confirms all of our concerns: “The water supply forecast for the spring and summer of 2022 is below average for most of Oregon … much above-normal precipitation and snowpack will be needed to largely reduce drought impacts.”
This is not a trivial fact. As the U.S. Geological Survey attests: Rain “is the primary connection in the water cycle that provides for the delivery of atmospheric water to the Earth.” We need rain and snow to replenish wells, creeks, rivers, lagoons. Without rain and snow, life on earth is endangered by perennial drought, fires and waters that do not have the proper oxygenation and mineral components to sustain all life […]