Drought-US Government Rations Colorado River Water For First Time In History

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US Government Rations Colorado River Water For First Time In History

For the first time since the Hoover Dam was completed, the federal government has announced cuts in the amount of water some states
will receive from the Colorado River



We have been writing about it for years, the cataclysmic undoing that will occur someday when there is not enough water in the Colorado River to meet the needs of the 40 million Americans who rely on it for their drinking water and irrigation. Now someday is here.

According to the Daily Beast, the US government has declared a shortage of water on the Colorado River system for the first time in history. That declaration will trigger mandatory water cuts at Lake Mead that will primarily impact Arizona farmers. “As this inexorable seeming decline in the supply continues, the shortages that we’re beginning to see implemented are only going to increase,” says Jennifer Pitt, director of the Colorado River program. “Once we’re on that train, it’s not clear where it stops.”

So far, the shortage only affects lower basin states such as California, Nevada, and Arizona but shortages in upper basin states such as Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico could happen as soon as next year. Lake Mead typically holds nearly 30 million acre-feet of water but currently has less than half of that because of the extended drought in the American Southwest. “The river is in uncharted territory,” says Kevin Moran, senior director of the Colorado River Program, adding that much of the river’s decline is due to climate change.

CNBC reports the Bureau of Reclamation will impose cuts in the water supplied from the Colorado River to Arizona, Nevada, and Mexico beginning in January. Arizona will take the biggest hit, with about 18% of the state’s annual apportionment set to be eliminated. Phoenix is the fastest growing city in America according to the latest census data and will be directly affected by the reduced water supply.

Earlier this summer, reservoirs in the Colorado River Basin dropped to their lowest levels on record following 22 consecutive years of drought. In just five years, Lake Mead and Lake Powell have lost 50% of their capacity. Officials expect water level in Lake Mead to be 1,066 feet by January 1. That is about nine feet below the 1,075 foot level that triggers cuts in water supply. Lake Mead was created by the construction of Hoover Dam between 1931 and 1936 and has more than 750 miles of shoreline. Arizona was the last state to tap into the Colorado River, and so it is the first to feel the pinch of reduced water supplies.

Government officials say additional actions will “likely be necessary in the very near future” as the situation worsens. More than 98% of the Western U.S. is currently in a drought, with 64% under extreme drought conditions, says CNBC.

“We are seeing the effects of climate change in the Colorado River Basin through extended drought, extreme temperatures, expansive wildfires, and in some places flooding and landslides, and now is the time to take action to respond to them,” says Tanya Trujillo, assistant secretary for water and science at the Department of the Interior.

Raging forest fires sweep across the land. 20 year droughts go on and on. And still the federal government provides hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies to fossil fuel companies. Reactionaries in Washington continue to kowtow to the fossil fuel benefactors. Oil and gas companies keep marching to the tune of “Drill, baby, drill” even though their activities endanger every human on Earth and those as yet unborn. Maybe Thelma and Louise had the right idea after all.

https://cleantechnica.com/2021/08/1...lorado-river-water-for-first-time-in-history/
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THE WELL FIXER’S WARNING

The lesson that California never learns

By Mark Arax

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/08/well-fixers-story-california-drought/619753/

Giant Reservoir to Limit Water Supply For Millions of Americans After Chronic Drought

AFP
18 AUGUST 2021

A huge reservoir that supplies water to tens of millions of people in the Western United States is at such low levels that populations it feeds must reduce their usage next year, the government said Monday.

https://www.sciencealert.com/giant-...r-millions-of-americans-after-chronic-drought


Southern California water officials declare supply alert amid worsening drought

https://www.latimes.com/california/...ening-drought-mwd-declares-water-supply-alert

Despite recording-breaking rain, southern Arizona still in drought

https://www.kgun9.com/weather/droug...eaking-rain-southern-arizona-still-in-drought


Northern California wildfire triples in size, forcing thousands to evacuate

https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/18/weather/us-western-wildfires-wednesday/index.html


PG&E warns California customers it could shut off power to prevent wildfires

https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/pge-california-customers-shut-off-power-wildfires


Anger and evacuations as deadly wildfires char France and Greece

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/wildfire-in-greece-france-deaths-damage-global-warming-neglect/


Wildfire updates: Dixie Fire swells to over 600,000 acres; Caldor Fire growth explodes

https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/fires/article253519799.html#storylink=cpy
 
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TruckElectric

TruckElectric

Well-known member
First Name
Bryan
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Jun 16, 2020
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769
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Country flag
THE WELL FIXER’S WARNING

The lesson that California never learns

By Mark Arax

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/08/well-fixers-story-california-drought/619753/

Giant Reservoir to Limit Water Supply For Millions of Americans After Chronic Drought

AFP
18 AUGUST 2021

A huge reservoir that supplies water to tens of millions of people in the Western United States is at such low levels that populations it feeds must reduce their usage next year, the government said Monday.

https://www.sciencealert.com/giant-...r-millions-of-americans-after-chronic-drought


Southern California water officials declare supply alert amid worsening drought

https://www.latimes.com/california/...ening-drought-mwd-declares-water-supply-alert

Despite recording-breaking rain, southern Arizona still in drought

https://www.kgun9.com/weather/droug...eaking-rain-southern-arizona-still-in-drought


Northern California wildfire triples in size, forcing thousands to evacuate

https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/18/weather/us-western-wildfires-wednesday/index.html


PG&E warns California customers it could shut off power to prevent wildfires

https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/pge-california-customers-shut-off-power-wildfires


Anger and evacuations as deadly wildfires char France and Greece

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/wildfire-in-greece-france-deaths-damage-global-warming-neglect/


Wildfire updates: Dixie Fire swells to over 600,000 acres; Caldor Fire growth explodes

https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/fires/article253519799.html#storylink=cpy
No. The rain is not going to cure Utah's drought

SALT LAKE CITY — As rain sweeps across much of Utah, the big question on the minds of many residents is how much does this moisture help in the face of the unrelenting drought.

Some. To be sure.

But Utah water managers say they need at least 11.5 inches of precipitation between now and snowfall to get to an "average" water year.

This monsoon season, while welcome, will not deliver anywhere close to that. What it will do is infuse much needed moisture into the soils so the spring runoff, hopefully, will be more efficient next year.

"To get streams running at healthy levels while filling reservoirs, Utah needs late summer and early fall storms to return soil moisture levels to normal, which will help snowpack runoff make it to the streams and reservoirs rather than get absorbed by soils," a state-issued drought report said. "The state also needs an above-average snowpack to refill reservoirs."
https://www.ksl.com/article/50225490/no-the-rain-is-not-going-to-cure-utahs-drought


Megadry
Americans are moving to a region plagued by a 22-year drought

Pricing water properly would help ease shortages

https://www.economist.com/leaders/2...ving-to-a-region-plagued-by-a-22-year-drought
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