Water Crisis Edges Closer; Past 19 Years Among Driest Periods In Past 1,200 Yrs For Colorado Basin
With Lake Mead dropping to levels that could trigger water cutbacks in less than two years, there's been a lot of talk lately about negotiating a deal to keep the reservoir from falling even further. But in a new report, scientists say the situation is just as worrisome upstream at Lake Powell.
The declines there during the past 18 years, they say, also reflect the Colorado River's worsening "structural deficit." The 10 scientists, who make up the Colorado River Research Group, said even though the four Upper Basin states — Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — haven't been using all the water they're legally entitled to, Lake Powell has declined due to extra water releases into Mead.
Those releases, they said, are "the only thing that has kept Lake Mead from dropping into shortage conditions." "I want people to know that what's going on at Lake Mead is very, very closely tied to what's going on Lake Powell," said Doug Kenney, the group's chair and a professor at the University of Colorado. "We're draining Lake Powell to prop it up."
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Lake Powell now sits 48 percent full, and Lake Mead is 38 percent full. (Ed. - actually, Powell is at 47.51% full as of yesterday - and it won't see any seasonal inflow until April or May of next year -
http://lakepowell.water-data.com/ ) The Colorado River basin, which stretches from Wyoming to Mexico, has been drying out during what scientists say is one of the driest 19-year periods in the past 1,200 years. The river has long been over-allocated, with the demands of farms and cities exceeding the available water supply, and the strains are being compounded by growing population, drought and climate change.
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https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-environment/2018/08/28/scientists-colorado-river-water-crisis-lake-powell-mead/1088871002/
