Aug 8, 2007 Artificial snow drains mountain resources As
mountaintop temperatures rise and natural snow formation is
reduced and delayed, winter ski resorts are increasingly turning
to artificial snow production. But that could put water supplies
and ecosystems under stress in fragile areas where an influx of
tourists is already stretching resources. Artificial snow-making
takes place during autumn and winter when natural water
resources are limited, causing conflicts with drinking water.
What's more, the snow production process loses an estimated 30%
of the water consumed for good through evaporation. High-
altitude mountain basins are usually small in size and lie above
the un-saturated zone so surface water, as well as groundwater,
is scarce. Water loss through abstraction and evaporation in
winter has immediate effects on these limited water volumes,
especially on mountain streams whose discharge is reduced by
between 40 - 70% and which can easily run dry. As temperatures
rise considerably at high altitude