"The lab started making plutonium bomb cores, or 'pits' for a new generation of warheads well before an environmental impact statement was published in March. In its latest move, however, the Department of Energy has set its sights on an even larger - and thirstier - expansion."
"The expanded lab would use more water in one day than the average farmer uses in a single year, said Joni Arends, executive director of Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety. 'But farmers are growing food, whereas the lab is building nuclear weapons,' she said."
"Most of the water going to the lab comes from the Española Basin, a sole-source aquifer that stretches across almost 3,000 miles of north-central New Mexico. It currently supplies eight tribes and towns, including Santa Fe, the state capital."
"'Increasing temperatures and decreasing precipitation totals will strain existing water resources,' a recent water conservation plan authored by Los Alamos."
Los Alamos National Laboratory is undergoing a major expansion that will demand 504 million gallons of water annually, significantly affecting local water supplies. This expansion includes new facilities for artificial intelligence supercomputers and microreactors. The lab's water usage will surpass that of local farmers, raising concerns about resource allocation. The primary water source, the Española Basin, is already under stress, with declining well levels and increasing temperatures exacerbating the situation. The expansion poses challenges to water conservation efforts in the region.
#los-alamos-national-laboratory #water-resources #nuclear-expansion #environmental-impact #new-mexico
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