US West faces reckoning over water but avoids cuts for now
4 years, 4 months ago

US West faces reckoning over water but avoids cuts for now

Associated Press  

CARSON CITY, Nev. — The white rings that wrap around two massive lakes in the U.S. West are a stark reminder of how water levels are dropping and a warning that the 40 million people who rely on the Colorado River face a much drier future. “But people certainly ought to be aware that water — the importation of a scarce commodity into a desert environment — is expensive and, with climate change, going to get even more expensive.” The Colorado River supplies Arizona, California, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming and Mexico. Last year, with increasingly less water flowing to Lake Mead and Lake Powell — the two largest man-made reservoirs in the United States — Arizona, California and Nevada agreed to a drought contingency plan that built in voluntary cuts to prevent the reservoirs from dropping to dangerous levels. Lake Mead’s expected level of 1,089 feet is almost identical to last year’s projections because conservation efforts and a snowy winter prevented an expected drop, said Michael Bernardo, Bureau of Reclamation river operations manager. All the climate models and the current drought suggest that,” said Colby Pellegrino, Southern Nevada Water Authority’s deputy general manager of resources.

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History of this topic

Letters to the Editor: It’s time to build a water pipeline to supply the Colorado River
1 week, 5 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 …

‘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 …

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 …

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

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. Hydrologists from the National Oceanic …

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 …

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.” …

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 …

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 …

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 …

The West’s snow boom could ease the water crisis. But experts worry more hot, dry weather is coming
1 year, 11 months ago

The West’s snow boom could ease the water crisis. But experts worry more hot, dry weather is coming

CNN  

CNN — A parade of storms has given the West some relief from its historic drought, replenishing the soil, filling reservoirs and increasing much-needed snowpack. The snow’s been “very exciting,” Schwartz said, and he is “cautiously optimistic” that it will go far to alleviate reservoir concerns this year, at least in California. #CAwx #CAwater pic.twitter.com/AJjBLJWBLL — UC Berkeley Central Sierra …

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 …

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 …

New US plan could lead to federal action on Colorado River
2 years, 1 month ago

New US plan could lead to federal action on Colorado River

Associated Press  

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — The Interior Department announced Friday 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 once-massive but shrinking reservoirs behind them. “At the same time, we are committed to taking prompt and decisive action necessary …

In Arizona, worry about access to Colorado River water
2 years, 3 months ago

In Arizona, worry about access to Colorado River water

Associated Press  

TUCSON, Ariz. — Robbie Woodhouse’s grandfather began nearly a century of family farming along the Gila River near Yuma in the middle 1920s when he dug up a bunch of mesquite stumps on his land to make way for his barley, wheat, Bermuda seed, cotton and melon fields. Due to a logjam in interstate negotiations for massive cuts in Colorado …

Crisis looms without big cuts to over-tapped Colorado River
2 years, 4 months ago

Crisis looms without big cuts to over-tapped Colorado River

Associated Press  

SALT LAKE CITY — Hydroelectric turbines may stop turning. People have “been hoping to stave off this day,” said Felicia Marcus, a former top water official in California, which holds the largest right to the river’s water. Entsminger and his counterparts in Arizona, Utah and California, as well as local officials in and around Phoenix, also repeated what has become …

Drought in the US: Water Supply Cut for States Colorado, Arizona; Mexico’s Quota Reduced
2 years, 4 months ago

Drought in the US: Water Supply Cut for States Colorado, Arizona; Mexico’s Quota Reduced

News 18  

Water supplies to some US states and Mexico will be cut to avoid “catastrophic collapse” of the Colorado River, Washington officials said Tuesday, as a historic drought bites. More than two decades of well below average rainfall have left the river — the lifeblood of the western United States — at critical levels, as human-caused climate change worsens the natural …

Western states hit with more cuts to Colorado River water
2 years, 4 months ago

Western states hit with more cuts to Colorado River water

Associated Press  

SALT LAKE CITY — For the second year in a row, Arizona and Nevada will face cuts in the amount of water they can draw from the Colorado River as the West endures more drought, federal officials announced Tuesday. “They have called the bureau’s bluff time and again,” Kyle Roerink, the executive director of the Great Basin Water Network, said …

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, …

Deadline looms for western states to cut Colorado River use
2 years, 4 months ago

Deadline looms for western states to cut Colorado River use

Associated Press  

SALT LAKE CITY — Banks along parts of the Colorado River where water once streamed are now just caked mud and rock as climate change makes the Western U.S. hotter and drier. Last year, federal officials for the first time declared a water shortage, triggering cuts to Nevada, Arizona and Mexico’s share of the river to help prevent the two …

Severe drought at US’s largest reservoir revealed through the decades by Nasa satellite images
2 years, 5 months ago

Severe drought at US’s largest reservoir revealed through the decades by Nasa satellite images

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 New satellite images released by Nasa have shown water levels at historic lows in Lake …

Governor signs $1.2B water plan as Arizona faces cutbacks
2 years, 5 months ago

Governor signs $1.2B water plan as Arizona faces cutbacks

Associated Press  

PHOENIX — Arizona Gov. Climate change and a nearly 30-year drought forced the move, which comes as Arizona faces cutbacks in its Colorado River water supply and more loom. “So today we are taking action to do what the men and women of Arizona hired us to do — position our state for success today, tomorrow and for generations to …

As water crisis worsens on Colorado River, an urgent call for Western states to ‘act now’
2 years, 6 months ago

As water crisis worsens on Colorado River, an urgent call for Western states to ‘act now’

LA Times  

A person walks past a formerly sunken boat on a now-dry section of lakebed at Lake Mead, the country’s largest reservoir. She provided details about the federal government’s approach to the crisis two days after Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton announced that major cuts of between 2 million and 4 million acre-feet will be needed next year to keep reservoirs …

Major water cutbacks loom as shrinking Colorado River nears ‘moment of reckoning’
2 years, 6 months ago

Major water cutbacks loom as shrinking Colorado River nears ‘moment of reckoning’

LA Times  

Exposed banks of Lake Mead behind Hoover Dam show how low water levels have dropped on the Colorado River-fed reservoir due to persistent and worsening drought. As the West endures another year of unrelenting drought worsened by climate change, the Colorado River’s reservoirs have declined so low that major water cuts will be necessary next year to reduce risks of …

Tucson may forego some water to help keep Lake Mead level up
2 years, 7 months ago

Tucson may forego some water to help keep Lake Mead level up

Associated Press  

TUCSON, Ariz. — Arizona’s second most populous city has signaled it may forego part of its allotment of Colorado River water delivered by the Central Arizona Project aqueduct in order to help forestall a shortage declaration for Lake Mead that would trigger mandatory reductions. The Tucson City Council included its potential willingness to take 20% less CAP water in voting …

Water shortages on Colorado River could eventually hit California, Arizona warns
2 years, 7 months ago

Water shortages on Colorado River could eventually hit California, Arizona warns

LA Times  

A rainbow hangs over Lake Powell on March 28 in Page, Ariz. Lake Powell has declined to just 24% of full capacity, the lowest point since it was filled in the 1960s following the construction of Glen Canyon Dam. Federal projections show Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the country’s two largest reservoirs, will keep on declining in the coming months, …

US to hold back Lake Powell water to protect hydropower
2 years, 7 months ago

US to hold back Lake Powell water to protect hydropower

Associated Press  

SALT LAKE CITY — U.S. officials announced what they called extraordinary steps on Tuesday to keep hundreds of billions of gallons of water stored in a reservoir on the Utah-Arizona line to prevent it from shrinking more amid prolonged drought and climate change. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation plans to hold back about 480,000 acre-feet of water in Lake Powell …

As drought crisis deepens, government will release less water from Colorado River reservoir
2 years, 7 months ago

As drought crisis deepens, government will release less water from Colorado River reservoir

LA Times  

A boat floats on Lake Powell, a vast reservoir of Colorado River water situated near the Utah-Arizona border. Representatives of the seven states responded in a letter on April 22, saying they agreed that “additional cooperative actions should be taken this spring to reduce the risk of Lake Powell declining below critical elevations.” The state officials said they support the …

Lake Powell officials take emergency steps to preserve hydropower from Glen Canyon Dam
2 years, 7 months ago

Lake Powell officials take emergency steps to preserve hydropower from Glen Canyon Dam

CNN  

CNN — The federal government announced Tuesday it is taking unprecedented, emergency steps to help boost water levels at Lake Powell. The agency said in a statement Tuesday’s decision was intended to protect “hydropower generation, the facility’s key infrastructure, and the water supply for the city of Page, Arizona, and the LeChee Chapter of the Navajo Nation.” The emergency actions …

Vegas water intake now visible at drought-stricken Lake Mead
2 years, 7 months ago

Vegas water intake now visible at drought-stricken Lake Mead

Associated Press  

LAS VEGAS — A massive drought-starved reservoir on the Colorado River has become so depleted that Las Vegas now is pumping water from deeper within Lake Mead where other states downstream don’t have access. The Southern Nevada Water Authority announced this week that its Low Lake Level Pumping Station is operational, and released photos of the uppermost intake visible at …

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