If it rains an inch in Palo Alto, that water is valued at approx 8.5m USD, if priced at normal residential water rates.
- Palo Alto total area: 25.8 sq mi (Census).
- Volume in CCF: 599,386 CCF
- 1 CCF is 100 cubic feet, and weighs 2,830 kg
- × $14.34: $8,595,190
- Volume in cubic meters: 1,697,271 m³
- Weight in kilograms: 1,697,270,928 kg
Palo Alto doesn't have a distribution system separately for potable water (according to brief research).
This is nothing like a proposal to capture or use this water in any way in reality.
Why
I think it's funny how large the gap between "earth literally has multiple millions of cubic MILES of water", its surface is approx 70% made of water; we are living in a local region which has so much water that it's taking up ~50% of the nearby surface area on the order of 50 mile radius; water falls from the sky for free in large volume; yet most still find nothing strange about holding the view that water is precious, in need of protection, scarce, and worth paying lots of attention to. Also, we spend less than 1% of human energy "getting clean water". Individuals, churches, social groups, and companies also almost never focus much on water. Of course this is after selection - water availability and price does massively influence our world; most of the west still isn't used for farming compared to the east.
From a Bayesian point of view, there's really not that much more room to increase how water-infused Earth is. Like, we easily could have evolved on a world with only 10% ocean cover; with less humidity; etc. So I'm pretty suspicious of this placement.
Let's go the other way, too - pump up our bodies to 85% water, and make earth 90% water; make ocean water less salty; etc.
I'm speaking generally; I also am naturally against pollution, poisoning wells etc. But still, I'm looking for a general acknowledgement that even still, compared to if we were living in orbit or on mars, claims that water is precious and scares WOULD make a lot of sense in THOSE places due to absolutely awful initial distribution extent and amount.
