Articles for Colorado River

Letters to the Editor: It’s time to build a water pipeline to supply the Colorado River
1 week, 3 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 …

Water Colorado River Colorado River
‘Zero progress’: Western states at impasse in talks on Colorado River water shortages
1 week, 6 days ago

‘Zero progress’: Western states at impasse in talks on Colorado River water shortages

LA Times  

Seven Western states that depend on the Colorado River are ending the year at an impasse in negotiations over the writing of new rules for dealing with chronic water shortages. Representatives of California and other states who attended an annual Colorado River conference in Las Vegas last week said they remain deadlocked in their talks on long-term plans for reducing …

Water States California Nevada Las Vegas Colorado Utah
Where California stands in the multistate negotiations over the Colorado River
1 week, 6 days ago

Where California stands in the multistate negotiations over the Colorado River

LA Times  

In this aerial photo, a bathtub ring of light minerals show the high water mark on the shore of Lake Mead along the border of Nevada and Arizona, Monday, March 6, 2023, near Boulder City, Nev. Good morning. “But they also say easing the stalemate will be difficult.” The lower Colorado River photographed on April 4, 2023 in the Imperial …

Water States Trump California Nevada Franklin Colorado
Biden administration urges states to move forward with Colorado River sharing agreement
1 month ago

Biden administration urges states to move forward with Colorado River sharing agreement

NPR  

Biden administration urges states to move forward with Colorado River sharing agreement The seven states that share the Colorado River have a 2026 deadline for a new sharing agreement. SCOTT SIMON, HOST: The Biden administration this week urged the seven states that share the Colorado River to speed up negotiations over its future. HAGER: Biden's Interior Department wanted the states …

Trump Administration Colorado River Npr Seven States Colorado River
Feds outline ‘necessary steps’ for Colorado River agreement by 2026 but no recommendation yet
1 month ago

Feds outline ‘necessary steps’ for Colorado River agreement by 2026 but no recommendation yet

Associated Press  

LAS VEGAS — Federal water officials made public on Wednesday what they called “necessary steps” for seven states and multiple tribes that use Colorado River water and hydropower to meet an August 2026 deadline for deciding how to manage the waterway in the future. It would add delivery and storage for Powell and Mead, encourage conservation and agreements for water …

Water Las Vegas Colorado River Powell Colorado River Basin
As California farms use less Colorado River water, worries grow over shrinking Salton Sea
2 months, 1 week ago

As California farms use less Colorado River water, worries grow over shrinking Salton Sea

LA Times  

It was 111 degrees when Mark McBroom stepped from his air-conditioned pickup and onto a dry alfalfa field. Reyes has criticized IID officials for doing “backroom deals” and “leaving the community out.” Leaders of several other groups, including Alianza Coachella Valley and Audubon California, said the water cuts under the new program come on top of lower-than-expected water use in …

Water Colorado Fields Dry Sea River Lake
Boiling Point: Heat, fires, floods — extreme weather has affected 99% of Americans
4 months ago

Boiling Point: Heat, fires, floods — extreme weather has affected 99% of Americans

LA Times  

Welcome to Boiling Point. The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, known as Cal/OSHA, says it’s creating a new agricultural unit that will “significantly expand enforcement.” Climate change is altering conditions for desert plants, and scientists have for years projected that rising temperatures will make large portions of the Mojave Desert unsuitable for Joshua trees to survive by the …

Weather Climate Change Change Climate Water Heat California
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 …

Water California Arizona Nevada Mexico Colorado River
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 …

Water States California Nevada New Mexico Mexico Plans
A rare and wild adventure on the Colorado River
4 months, 1 week ago

A rare and wild adventure on the Colorado River

BBC  

A rare and wild adventure on the Colorado River Cassidy Randall Cataract Canyon was once one of the most ferocious stretches of whitewater on the Colorado River Imagine running rapids that haven't been seen in six decades and camping on beaches that didn't exist a mere few months earlier. The muddy current of the Colorado River carries our rafts through …

Credit Water Wild Colorado River Powell Rapids
A plan to replenish the Colorado River could mean dry alfalfa fields. And many farmers are for it
4 months, 4 weeks ago

A plan to replenish the Colorado River could mean dry alfalfa fields. And many farmers are for it

Associated Press  

A plan to help shore up the depleted Colorado River by cutting off water to alfalfa fields in California’s crop-rich Imperial Valley is finding support from the farmers who grow it. The idea to pay the farmers to halt irrigation arose last year as part of an agreement among Arizona, Nevada and California to aid the dwindling Colorado River, which …

Water Farmers California Fields River Program Hay
Boiling Point: Why Los Angeles can’t afford to go third on clean energy
5 months ago

Boiling Point: Why Los Angeles can’t afford to go third on clean energy

LA Times  

A view of the downtown Los Angeles skyline, with the 110 and 101 freeways in the foreground. The youth-led Sunrise Movement joined the list this week, with the climate advocacy group’s executive director saying that the president “isn’t positioned to mobilize young people and win in November,” as NYT’s Lisa Friedman reports. She also profiled biking advocate Michael Schneider, describing …

Energy Climate Change Clean Energy Climate Water Heat Trump
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. …

Water California Nevada Colorado Fields River Valley
Water-rich Gila River tribe near Phoenix flexes its political muscles in a drying West
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Water-rich Gila River tribe near Phoenix flexes its political muscles in a drying West

Associated Press  

SACATON, Arizona — Stephen Roe Lewis grew up seeing stacks of legal briefs at the dinner table — often, about his tribe’s water. Stephen Roe Lewis walks past a solar panel project before the panels are placed over a water canal in the Gila River Indian Community, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Sacaton, Ariz. Stephen Roe Lewis pauses along the …

Water Native American West Arizona Phoenix Solar Panels River
The U.S. Drought Monitor is a critical tool for the arid West. Can it keep up with climate change?
6 months, 2 weeks ago

The U.S. Drought Monitor is a critical tool for the arid West. Can it keep up with climate change?

LA Times  

Known for its glowing swaths of yellow, orange and red, the U.S. Drought Monitor has warned farmers, residents and officials throughout the nation of impending water scarcity every week since 1999. “And we in the drought community need to have a conversation about what it looks like to think about drought monitoring in the context of an aridifying climate.” The …

Climate Change Change Climate Water Drought West California
Tribes say their future is at stake as they push for Congress to consider Colorado River settlement
6 months, 4 weeks ago

Tribes say their future is at stake as they push for Congress to consider Colorado River settlement

Associated Press  

Within the heart of the Navajo Nation and in the shadow of the sandstone arch that is the namesake of the tribal capital, a simple greeting and big smiles were shared over and over again Friday as tribal officials gathered: “Yá‘át’ééh abíní!” It was a good morning, indeed, for Navajo President Buu Nygren as he signed legislation in Window Rock, …

Water Congress Tribal Settlement Navajo Tribes Colorado River
Native American tribes give unanimous approval to proposal securing Colorado River water
7 months ago

Native American tribes give unanimous approval to proposal securing Colorado River water

Associated Press  

The Navajo Nation Council has signed off on a proposed settlement that would ensure water rights for its tribe and two others in the drought-stricken Southwest — a deal that could become the most expensive enacted by Congress. Congress has enacted nearly three dozen tribal water rights settlements across the U.S. over the last four decades and federal negotiation teams …

Water Congress Settlement Colorado Tribe River Navajo
Boiling Point: Six months until November, climate change looms large
7 months ago

Boiling Point: Six months until November, climate change looms large

LA Times  

Actor Jane Fonda, at center in red coat, rallies at the White House in 2019 to protest the Trump administration’s inaction on climate change, as part of her “Fire Drill Fridays.” We’ve got six years to cut global carbon pollution nearly in half — and less than six months until a presidential election that could have long-lasting consequences for whether …

Climate Change Change Climate Water Trump Gas Solar
Proposed settlement is first step in securing Colorado River water for 3 Native American tribes
7 months, 1 week ago

Proposed settlement is first step in securing Colorado River water for 3 Native American tribes

Associated Press  

LEUPP, Ariz. — A proposed water rights settlement for three Native American tribes that carries a price tag larger than any such agreement enacted by Congress has taken a major step forward with its introduction to the Navajo Nation Council. Nearly a third of homes in the Navajo Nation — spanning 27,000 square miles of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah …

Water Congress Tribal Settlement New Mexico Colorado Utah
Column: Here’s what Exxon’s CEO gets wrong about the climate crisis
7 months, 2 weeks ago

Column: Here’s what Exxon’s CEO gets wrong about the climate crisis

LA Times  

Oil and gas conglomerate Exxon Mobil could be a key player in global efforts to combat the climate crisis — if only governments would remove burdensome regulations and stop wasting money on inefficient clean energy incentives. I also shook my head in amazement as Woods suggested that a major barrier to slashing carbon pollution is that the world lacks “a …

Energy Climate Change Climate Tesla Texas California Oregon
Editorial: Even with the coming tax and rate hikes, water in SoCal is pretty cheap
7 months, 3 weeks ago

Editorial: Even with the coming tax and rate hikes, water in SoCal is pretty cheap

LA Times  

It’s the most frustrating part of conservation. Ratepayers in cities such as Los Angeles that have their own water supplies may not notice, because they will need relatively little Met water after the wet winter. Southern California’s water rates and taxes are byproducts of the 20th century, an era with vastly different climate and economic conditions from today. When the …

Tax Water Taxes Costs Property Taxes California Los Angeles
Plumbing problem at Glen Canyon Dam brings new threat to Colorado River system
8 months 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. …

Water California Arizona Mexico Dam Colorado River
Damage found inside Glen Canyon Dam increases water risks on the Colorado River
8 months, 1 week ago

Damage found inside Glen Canyon Dam increases water risks on the Colorado River

LA Times  

Federal officials have discovered damage inside Glen Canyon Dam that could force limits on how much Colorado River water is released at low reservoir levels, raising risks the Southwest could face shortages that were previously unforeseen. “Because of the dam’s design, there are real structural risks under low elevations that could potentially leave stranded as much water in Lake Powell …

Water California Nevada Mexico Dam Colorado Utah
Opinion: One way to save the Colorado River? Give up one hamburger a week
8 months, 2 weeks ago

Opinion: One way to save the Colorado River? Give up one hamburger a week

LA Times  

In 2019, I joined a water agency in southern California as an engineer. My role is to help manage the water we import from the Colorado River, which makes up about a quarter of the region’s total water supply. He said he’d gone vegan after learning how much Colorado River water irrigates cattle feed — almost a third of all …

Water Meat California Colorado Eat River Beef