US states hit by extreme drought face more water cuts
2 years, 4 months ago

US states hit by extreme drought face more water cuts

Al Jazeera  

Cuts affecting Arizona and Nevada come as water levels at the nation’s largest manmade reservoir, Lake Mead, are set to drop further. For the second year in a row, the US states of Arizona and Nevada will face cuts in the amount of water they can draw from the Colorado River as the Western United States endures an extreme drought, federal officials have announced. Last year, the lake fell low enough for the federal government to declare a first-ever water shortage in the region, triggering mandatory cuts for Arizona and Nevada as well as Mexico in 2022. After water levels at Lake Powell reached levels low enough to threaten hydropower production, federal officials said they would hold back an additional 480,000 acre-feet of water to ensure the dam could still produce energy.

Water States Arizona Nevada Mexico Officials River Next Year Lake Cuts Levels Water Levels Lake Mead  levels  hit  million  extreme  states  drought  lake  officials  cuts  arizona  river  nevada  face  water

History of this topic

Letters to the Editor: It’s time to build a water pipeline to supply the Colorado River
1 week, 4 days ago

Letters to the Editor: It’s time to build a water pipeline to supply the Colorado River

LA Times  

Tourists visit the Hoover Dam, which impounds the Colorado River to create Lake Mead, in Nevada in April 2023. Knowing the dire sense of urgency, we should at least consider — in lieu of toilet to tap, paying farmers to fallow their fields, sucking more groundwater out of sinking land and starting more water wars — a 1,000-mile water pipeline …

Arizona, Nevada and Mexico will lose same amount of Colorado River water next year as in 2024
4 months, 1 week ago

Arizona, Nevada and Mexico will lose same amount of Colorado River water next year as in 2024

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Arizona, Nevada and Mexico will continue to live with less water next year from the Colorado River after the U.S. government on Thursday announced water cuts that preserve the status quo. Officials do so based on water levels at Lake Mead, one of the river’s two main reservoirs that act as barometers of its health. Based on those …

As Colorado River states await water cuts, they struggle to find agreement on longer-term plans
4 months, 1 week ago

As Colorado River states await water cuts, they struggle to find agreement on longer-term plans

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The federal government is expected to announce water cuts soon that would affect some of the 40 million people reliant on the Colorado River, the powerhouse of the U.S. West. In 2007, following years of drought, the seven U.S. states in the basin — Arizona, Nevada, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — and the federal government …

California farmers set to cut use of Colorado River water, temporarily leaving fields dry
5 months, 1 week ago

California farmers set to cut use of Colorado River water, temporarily leaving fields dry

LA Times  

Welcome to Boiling Point. The Imperial Irrigation District delivers the single largest share of the Colorado River’s water to farmlands that produce hay for cattle as well as many of the country’s vegetables. Tina Shields, the district’s water manager, called it a “mini-fallowing program.” “The goal is to strengthen the Colorado River and ensure long-term viability and reliability,” Shields said. …

US dedicates $60 million to saving water along the Rio Grande as flows shrink and demands grow
7 months, 1 week ago

US dedicates $60 million to saving water along the Rio Grande as flows shrink and demands grow

Hindustan Times  

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The U.S. government is dedicating $60 million over the next few years to projects along the Rio Grande in southern New Mexico and West Texas to make the river more resilient in the face of climate change and growing demands. “When drought conditions like this strike, we know it doesn’t just impact one community, it affects all …

US dedicates $60 million to saving water along the Rio Grande as flows shrink and demands grow
7 months, 1 week ago

US dedicates $60 million to saving water along the Rio Grande as flows shrink and demands grow

Associated Press  

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The U.S. government is dedicating $60 million over the next few years to projects along the Rio Grande in southern New Mexico and West Texas to make the river more resilient in the face of climate change and growing demands. “When drought conditions like this strike, we know it doesn’t just impact one community, it affects all …

Plumbing problem at Glen Canyon Dam brings new threat to Colorado River system
8 months, 1 week ago

Plumbing problem at Glen Canyon Dam brings new threat to Colorado River system

Associated Press  

ATLANTA — Plumbing problems at the dam holding back the second-largest reservoir in the U.S. are spurring concerns about future water delivery issues to Southwestern states supplied by the Colorado River. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which operates the major dams in the Colorado River system, is evaluating issues related to Glen Canyon Dam when Lake Powell reaches low levels. …

‘We can do better’: Western states divided over long-term plans for Colorado River water
9 months, 2 weeks ago

‘We can do better’: Western states divided over long-term plans for Colorado River water

LA Times  

With climate change compounding the strains on the Colorado River, seven Western states are starting to consider long-term plans for reducing water use to prevent the river’s reservoirs from reaching critically low levels in the years to come. In one camp, the three states in the river’s lower basin — California, Arizona and Nevada — say their approach would share …

As a deadline approaches, Colorado River states are still far apart on water sharing
9 months, 2 weeks ago

As a deadline approaches, Colorado River states are still far apart on water sharing

NPR  

As a deadline approaches, Colorado River states are still far apart on water sharing Enlarge this image toggle caption Alex Hager/KUNC Alex Hager/KUNC Ahead of a deadline next week, the seven states that share the Colorado River have revealed competing plans for how the river should be managed in the future. Reservoirs drying up Mitchell and her Upper Basin colleagues …

California cities and farms will get 10% of requested state water supplies when 2024 begins
1 year ago

California cities and farms will get 10% of requested state water supplies when 2024 begins

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California water agencies serving 27 million people will get 10% of the water they requested from state supplies to start 2024 due to a relatively dry fall, even though the state’s reservoirs are in good shape, state officials said Friday. “California’s water year is off to a relatively dry start,” Karla Nemeth, director of the Department of …

California sets initial State Water Project allocations at 10% after two dry months
1 year ago

California sets initial State Water Project allocations at 10% after two dry months

LA Times  

Last winter’s historic storms filled California’s reservoirs to the point that the state was able to deliver water agencies 100% of their allotments from the State Water Project for the first time since 2006. The State Water Project’s aqueducts and pipelines transport water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to 29 water agencies that supply 27 million people. In Southern …

Federal officials say plan for water cuts from 3 Western states is enough to protect Colorado River
1 year, 1 month ago

Federal officials say plan for water cuts from 3 Western states is enough to protect Colorado River

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Federal officials said Wednesday that conditions have improved on the Colorado River to the point that a plan by California, Arizona and Nevada to voluntarily reduce water use should help keep the river basin on stable footing for the next few years. The U.S. Department of the Interior said in a statement that the risk of reaching …

Feds say Colorado River water cuts are sufficient to stave off immediate risks
1 year, 1 month ago

Feds say Colorado River water cuts are sufficient to stave off immediate risks

LA Times  

Current plans for reducing water use along the Colorado River should be sufficient to stave off the risk of reservoirs reaching critically low levels over the next three years, according to a new analysis by the federal government. Deputy Interior Secretary Tommy Beaudreau said the ongoing conservation efforts by states in the Colorado River Basin have helped ease the immediate …

Western states will not lose as much Colorado River water in 2024, despite long-term challenges
1 year, 4 months ago

Western states will not lose as much Colorado River water in 2024, despite long-term challenges

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Federal officials said Tuesday they will ease water cuts for Western states reliant on the Colorado River in 2024, thanks to a slightly improved outlook, but long-term challenges remain. The tribe gets Colorado River water through the the same aqueduct system that delivers river water to Arizona’s major cities. One farming district in Arizona’s Pinal County outside of …

10 trillion gallons of water lost in Colorado River Basin due to rising temperatures: Report
1 year, 4 months ago

10 trillion gallons of water lost in Colorado River Basin due to rising temperatures: Report

Hindustan Times  

The harmful effects of global warming are being felt very starkly across the United States. According to a report published by CNN, the Colorado River Basin has lost more than 10 trillion gallons of water between 2000 and 2021 due to rising temperatures. Colorado River Notably, the Colorado River runs through seven Western states and provides water for drinking, irrigation …

Here’s how much Lake Mead could rise after an epic winter and new water cuts
1 year, 6 months ago

Here’s how much Lake Mead could rise after an epic winter and new water cuts

CNN  

CNN — Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir, spent much of last spring and summer in free fall. “We’re doing great from a water year perspective,” Paul Miller, a hydrologist at the Colorado Basin River Forecast Office, told CNN. For Western states, he added, the situation allows time to figure out “how do we take advantage of this relatively wet …

Explainer: What does the latest Colorado River proposal mean for California, Arizona, Nevada?
1 year, 7 months ago

Explainer: What does the latest Colorado River proposal mean for California, Arizona, Nevada?

Associated Press  

LAS VEGAS — Facing the future with a dwindling Colorado River supply and intense pressure from the federal government, Arizona, California and Nevada have offered a plan to cut their water use significantly. Metropolitan will turn to other sources of water and leave about 250,000 acre-feet in Lake Mead this year, said Bill Hasencamp, the district’s manager of Colorado River …

Explainer: What does the latest Colorado River proposal mean for California, Arizona, Nevada?
1 year, 7 months ago

Explainer: What does the latest Colorado River proposal mean for California, Arizona, Nevada?

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Facing the future with a …

Breakthrough proposal would aid drought-stricken Colorado River as 3 Western states offer cuts
1 year, 7 months ago

Breakthrough proposal would aid drought-stricken Colorado River as 3 Western states offer cuts

Associated Press  

LAS VEGAS — Arizona, Nevada and California said Monday they’re willing to cut back on their use of the dwindling Colorado River in exchange for money from the federal government -- and to avoid forced cuts as drought threatens the key water supply for the U.S. West. Though adoption of the plan isn’t certain, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille …

Editorial: Colorado River water deal gives California another reprieve. For now
1 year, 7 months ago

Editorial: Colorado River water deal gives California another reprieve. For now

LA Times  

A “bathtub ring” displays the drop in water levels on Lake Mead, which provides much of Southern California’s water and is fed by a diminishing Colorado River. The real reckoning comes when operating agreements expire for Lake Mead, which feeds the Colorado’s water to Southern California and the two other lower-basin states, and Lake Powell, which regulates the flow into …

Arizona, California and Nevada propose water cuts from Colorado River to avert forced cuts
1 year, 7 months ago

Arizona, California and Nevada propose water cuts from Colorado River to avert forced cuts

The Independent  

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Arizona, California and Nevada on Monday proposed a plan to significantly reduce their water use …

Half of US West out of drought, but not fully recovered
1 year, 7 months ago

Half of US West out of drought, but not fully recovered

Associated Press  

DENVER — Nearly half of the U.S. West has emerged from drought this spring, but the welcome wet conditions haven’t entirely replenished the region, scientists said Tuesday. Hydrologists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said deep snowpack across much of the West will bring short-term relief, but the equally deep “bathtub rings” at Lake Powell and Lake Mead reservoirs …

Editorial: Drought and flood, California’s double whammy
1 year, 8 months ago

Editorial: Drought and flood, California’s double whammy

LA Times  

Just as federal officials were laying out alternative scenarios last week for steep water supply cuts from the Colorado River due to the drying Southwest, California officials were warning that this year’s historic Sierra snowpack could flood much of the state later this year. Lake Mead, and farther up the Colorado River, Lake Powell — Southern California’s two big out-of-state …

What might cuts to dwindling Colorado River mean for states?
1 year, 8 months ago

What might cuts to dwindling Colorado River mean for states?

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration floated two ideas this week to reduce water usage from the dwindling Colorado River, which supplies 40 million people. Tuesday’s analysis from the Interior Department considers two ways to force cuts in the water supply for Arizona, Nevada and California: use the existing water priority system or the same percentage across the board. California is …

EXPLAINER: What might Colorado River cuts mean for states?
1 year, 8 months ago

EXPLAINER: What might Colorado River cuts mean for states?

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Tuesday's analysis from the Interior …

US floats options to reduce water pulled from Colorado River
1 year, 8 months ago

US floats options to reduce water pulled from Colorado River

Associated Press  

BOULDER CITY, Nev. — The Biden administration released an environmental analysis Tuesday that outlined two ways that seven Western states and tribes reliant on the overtapped Colorado River could cut their use, but declined to publicly take a side on the best option. But Beaudreau said states, Native American tribes and other water users recognized that it would be in …

Tribe, US officials reach deal to save Colorado River water
1 year, 8 months ago

Tribe, US officials reach deal to save Colorado River water

Associated Press  

PHOENIX — A Native American tribe in Arizona reached a deal Thursday with the U.S. government not to use some of its Colorado River water rights in return for $150 million and funding for a pipeline project. Officials termed it “compensated conservation.” It’s part of a broader effort to get states that rely on the Colorado River to substantially lessen …

Tribe, US officials reach deal to save Colorado River water
1 year, 8 months ago

Tribe, US officials reach deal to save Colorado River water

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Officials termed it “compensated conservation.” …

Drought over? Spring outlook finds relief -- and flood risk
1 year, 9 months ago

Drought over? Spring outlook finds relief -- and flood risk

Associated Press  

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Record snowfall and rain have helped to loosen drought’s grip on parts of the western U.S. as national forecasters and climate experts warned Thursday that some areas should expect more flooding as the snow begins to melt. Paul Miller, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service’s Colorado Basin River Forecast Center, said that sounds like a lot …

Editorial: An unfair plan to cut California’s use of Colorado River water
1 year, 9 months ago

Editorial: An unfair plan to cut California’s use of Colorado River water

LA Times  

The immediate question before the seven states that use rapidly vanishing Colorado River water is not how to renegotiate the century-old agreement and accompanying laws that divvy up the supply. The urgent question at present is what emergency steps the states must take in the interim to keep enough Colorado River water in two huge but dangerously depleted reservoirs to …

How the Colorado River crisis affects hydropower.
1 year, 10 months ago

How the Colorado River crisis affects hydropower.

Slate  

The Colorado River, which allows the desert to sustain itself and powers millions of American homes, is currently engaged in the fight of its life. The Hoover Dam at Lake Mead and the Glen Canyon Dam at Lake Powell provide power for approximately 4 million Americans in the seven basin states. Despite these concerns, hydropower makes up almost one-third of …

Why California is so far apart from other states in Colorado River water cuts plan
1 year, 10 months ago

Why California is so far apart from other states in Colorado River water cuts plan

LA Times  

Lake Mead, held back by Hoover Dam, has declined to its lowest levels since it was filled. The figures in the two alternatives submitted to the federal government also show significant differences in how quickly cuts would take effect in the river’s three Lower Basin states — Arizona, California and Nevada — as the reservoir’s levels continue to decline. Under …

Colorado River crisis is so bad, lakes Mead and Powell are unlikely to refill in our lifetimes
1 year, 10 months ago

Colorado River crisis is so bad, lakes Mead and Powell are unlikely to refill in our lifetimes

LA Times  

The snowpack in the Sierra Nevada is the deepest it’s been in decades, but those storms that were a boon for Northern California won’t make much of a dent in the long-term water shortage for the Colorado River Basin — an essential source of supplies for Southern California. “To think that these things would ever refill requires some kind of …

At the heart of Colorado River crisis, the mighty ‘Law of the River’ holds sway
1 year, 10 months ago

At the heart of Colorado River crisis, the mighty ‘Law of the River’ holds sway

LA Times  

The Colorado River cuts through Marle Canyon in the Navajo Nation en route to the Grand Canyon. But as California argues most strongly for strict adherence to this system of water apportionment, the other states say it makes little sense when the river’s largest reservoir, Lake Mead, continues to decline toward “dead pool” level, which would effectively cut off the …

Pumping Mississippi River water west: solution or dream?
1 year, 10 months ago

Pumping Mississippi River water west: solution or dream?

Associated Press  

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Waves of torrential rainfall drenched California into the new year. An in-depth feasibility study specifically on pumping Mississippi River water to the West hasn’t been conducted yet to Larson’s knowledge. In 2012, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation completed “the most comprehensive analysis ever undertaken within the Colorado River Basin” at the time, …

California is alone in battle over Colorado River water cuts
1 year, 10 months ago

California is alone in battle over Colorado River water cuts

LA Times  

After a key deadline passed this week without an agreement on how to address the Colorado River’s crisis, California is now sharply at odds with six other states over how to take less water from the shrinking river. “California is trying to play its best card, which is, ‘The law is on our side.’ And the other six states are …

California releases its own plan for Colorado River cuts
1 year, 10 months ago

California releases its own plan for Colorado River cuts

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California released a plan Tuesday detailing how Western states reliant on the Colorado River should save more water. Unlike the other states’ plan, California’s does not factor the roughly 1.5 million acre feet of Colorado River water lost to evaporation and transportation. “That was the issue over the summer, that was the issue over the fall, that’s …

Battling to avoid massive water cuts, California offers proposal on Colorado River crisis
1 year, 10 months ago

Battling to avoid massive water cuts, California offers proposal on Colorado River crisis

LA Times  

California has given the federal government its own proposal for making cuts in Colorado River water use, saying a plan offered by six other states would disproportionately burden farms and cities in Southern California. In the proposal letter, J.B. Hamby, chair of California’s Colorado River Board, said the state’s alternative “provides a realistic and implementable framework to address reduced inflows …

California is lone holdout in Colorado River cuts proposal
1 year, 10 months ago

California is lone holdout in Colorado River cuts proposal

Associated Press  

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Six Western states that rely on water from the Colorado River have agreed on a model to dramatically cut water use in the basin, months after the federal government called for action and an initial deadline passed. Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Wyoming sent a letter Monday to Reclamation, which operates the major dams in …

California floated cutting major Southwest cities off Colorado River water before touching its agriculture supply, sources say
1 year, 10 months ago

California floated cutting major Southwest cities off Colorado River water before touching its agriculture supply, sources say

CNN  

CNN — In a closed-door negotiation last week over the fate of the Colorado River, representatives from California’s powerful water districts proposed modeling what the basin’s future would look like if some of the West’s biggest cities – including Phoenix and Las Vegas – were cut off from the river’s water supply, three people familiar with the talks told CNN. …

US states propose Colorado River cuts, California lone holdout
1 year, 10 months ago

US states propose Colorado River cuts, California lone holdout

Al Jazeera  

Authorities in US West are in talks to cut water use as Colorado River faces historically low levels amid drought. Six states in the western United States that rely on water from the Colorado River have agreed on a model to dramatically cut water use in the basin, months after the federal government called for action and an initial deadline …

States miss deadline to address Colorado River water crisis; pressure builds on California
1 year, 10 months ago

States miss deadline to address Colorado River water crisis; pressure builds on California

LA Times  

Water levels in Lake Powell have been dropping during the past 23 years of drought in the Colorado River Basin. In announcing the proposal Monday, Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, called it a key step in the “ongoing dialogue” among the seven states “as we continue to seek a collaborative solution to stabilize the Colorado …

In the West, pressure to count water lost to evaporation
1 year, 10 months ago

In the West, pressure to count water lost to evaporation

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Exposed to the beating sun and hot dry air, more than 10% of the water carried by the Colorado River evaporates, leaks or spills as the 1,450-mile powerhouse of the West flows through the region’s dams, reservoirs and open-air canals. For decades, key stewards of the river have ignored the massive water loss, instead allocating Arizona, California, Nevada …

In the West, pressure to count water lost to evaporation
1 year, 10 months ago

In the West, pressure to count water lost to evaporation

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Exposed to the beating sun and hot dry air, more than 10% of the water carried by the Colorado River evaporates, leaks or spills as the 1,450-mile powerhouse of the West flows through the region’s dams, reservoirs and open-air canals. For decades, key stewards of the river have ignored the massive water loss, instead allocating Arizona, California, Nevada …

The Times podcast: Colorado River in Crisis, Part 1: A Dying River
1 year, 11 months ago

The Times podcast: Colorado River in Crisis, Part 1: A Dying River

LA Times  

A formerly sunken boat stands upright along the shoreline of Lake Mead at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Interior Department announced last fall that it will consider revising a set of guidelines for operating two major dams on the Colorado River in the first sign of what could lead to federal action to protect the shrinking reservoirs behind them. …

Federal officials say urgent action needed to protect shrinking Colorado River reservoirs
2 years ago

Federal officials say urgent action needed to protect shrinking Colorado River reservoirs

LA Times  

A boat sits in a cove on Lake Powell, in Utah, in May. Speaking at the conference Friday, Touton said: “I can feel the anxiety, the uncertainty in this room, and in the basin, as we look at the river and the hydrology that we face.” Touton noted that an agreement a century ago, the 1922 Colorado River Compact, divided …

Growing fears of ‘dead pool’ on Colorado River as drought threatens Hoover Dam water
2 years ago

Growing fears of ‘dead pool’ on Colorado River as drought threatens Hoover Dam water

LA Times  

The Colorado River’s largest reservoirs stand nearly three-quarters empty, and federal officials now say there is a real danger the reservoirs could drop so low that water would no longer flow past Hoover Dam in two years. Outlining their latest projections for Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the nation’s two largest reservoirs, federal water managers said there is a risk …

Drought-hit California cities to get little water from state
2 years ago

Drought-hit California cities to get little water from state

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California water agencies that serve 27 million people will get just 5% of what they requested from the state to start 2023, water officials announced Thursday. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which services Los Angeles and much of Southern California, relies on the state for about one-third of its water supply. We can get through …

Drying California lake to get $250M in US drought funding
2 years ago

Drying California lake to get $250M in US drought funding

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The federal government said Monday it will spend $250 million over four years on environmental cleanup and restoration work around a drying Southern California lake that’s fed by the depleted Colorado River. The lake is largely fed by runoff from farms in California’s Imperial Valley, who use Colorado River water to grow many of the nation’s winter …

Feds to Colorado River states: reduce water usage, or we will do it for you
2 years, 1 month ago

Feds to Colorado River states: reduce water usage, or we will do it for you

Salon  

This story is part of the Grist series Parched, an in-depth look at how climate change-fueled drought is reshaping communities, economies, and ecosystems. In theory, the federal government can unilaterally cut water deliveries from the Colorado River's two main reservoirs, Lake Powell and Lake Mead, which release more than 2 trillion gallons of water to farms and cities across the …

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