Organ Pipe #borderwall update: Well drillers spotted within 5 miles of Quitobaquito Spring. DHS is drilling wells to extract precious desert groundwater to mix concrete for wall construction.
These reckless actions imperil Quitobaquito & all species that depend on it.
Sources say each foot of border wall will require 2 cubic yards of concrete. A yard of concrete takes 39 gallons of water. This means each mile of wall = 411,840 gallons of water.
For the planned 68 miles of wall, DHS would suck up 28 MILLION gallons of desert groundwater.
I’m no hydrologist, but I’m pretty sure sucking 28 million gallons of water out of a rare desert aquifer will have serious consequences.
NPS has long considered groundwater extraction Quitobaquito’s biggest threat. Trump’s wall could be the nail in the coffin.
If you’re thinking: drilling wells in a natl. park home to rare desert springs & endemic pupfish must be illegal — You’re right.
But recall, DHS has waived every relevant enviro law. Trump has cut them loose with a blank check to destroy anything & everything they please.
.@CenterForBioDiv & our allies are fighting this in court. In response to our emergency injunction, DHS delayed most construction 45 days, allowing time for the judge to rule. But preparations, as well as construction on a 2-mile stretch replacing old fencing, are moving forward.
@CenterForBioDiv Here's a gorgeous shot of Quitobaquito Spring. It's an irreplaceable desert oasis with in immense natural and cultural history. There's nowhere else in the Sonoran Desert--or in the world--quite like it.
Water is sacred. Water is life.
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