Dear Editor:On early morning walks it's interesting to observe how we irrigate our property. Sometimes sprinkler heads are broken and water gushes up like Old Faithful and then cascades into the gutter, or sprinkler heads are directing water onto sidewalks and streets. We, including this writer, waste our precious supply of fresh water big time. We think it's an infinite supply, that it never will be depleted, that it will always be there for us. Not true. We constantly strive for a beautiful lawn in our semiarid, desert-like environment. Some scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography predict a 50 percent probability that Lake Mead will be completely dry by 2021 because of climate change, unsustainable overuse of the Colorado River and population increase. Lake Mead, a huge reservoir of Colorado River water supplying Arizona, Nevada, California and Northern Mexico is dropping to a level not seen since it was first being filled in the 1930s. We have been in an 11-year ongoing drought. Many of our large water reservoirs are down 50 percent or more. Look at hills that haven't burned and notice how brown they are. That is how Southern California would look in its natural state without large amounts of imported water. We continue sticking our heads in the sand by not immediately taking steps to radically save our diminishing water supply. This writer and his family have spent many happy days on Lake Powell, Mead, Mohave and Lake Havasu boating, swimming, fishing, skiing and camping. It's amazing to watch the mighty Colorado flow by and know how vital it is for those of us who live in the Western U.S. It is amazing to see all the water behind these giant dams and now some experts believe that in the future, lack of water may make it necessary to close either Boulder Dam or Glen Canyon Dam. Byron Dillon Downey

********** Published: Jan. 23, 2014 - Volume 12 - Issue 41