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Comment by achow | Hacker News Reader

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USA annual rainfall = 7000 Billion Cubic Meter [1]

Annual rain water runoff = 2100 Billion Cubic Meter. As per source runoff could be between 10% to 50%, taking 30% as a value [2]

USA annual consumption = 445 Billion Cubic Meter [3]

So, looks like one has to harvest 20-25% of the rainwater to be self sufficient (without tapping into ANY of the current source of water.)

[1] https://knoema.com/atlas/United-States-of-America/topics/Wat...

[2] https://www.britannica.com/science/climate-meteorology/Amoun...

[3] https://irrigreen.com/pages/water-consumption-statistics#:~:...

The problem with this analysis is it's hard to get the water from where it falls to where it's wanted.

There may be pie-in-the-sky ideas of a water pipeline from Alaska to California, or from the Great Lakes to Utah, but the costs are prohibitive.

It is not about directly tapping into the rainwater collection, but managing the rainwater run off into ocean.

'Watersheds' are meant for that, and development of that is a serious endevor.

When rain falls on dry ground, some of the water soaks in, or infiltrates the soil. Some water that infiltrates will remain in the shallow soil layer, where it will gradually move downhill, through the soil, and eventually enters the stream by seepage into the stream bank. Some of the water may infiltrate much deeper, recharging groundwater aquifers.

https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/sci...

> managing the rainwater run off into ocean.

Right. But how does that get water from high rainfall watersheds to the various drying out watersheds Americans love to live in and farm in?

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