Colorado Water Board Trying To Send 500K Acre-Feet Downstream To Powell, Which Is Dropping Rapidly

[hatrack]

After a year of meetings, workshops and in-depth discussions, state officials feel a feasibility investigation into a program that would pay water users to reduce consumption and add to a savings account in Lake Powell should continue.

Although no formal decision has yet been made on whether to implement a voluntary, temporary and compensated water-use reduction plan known as demand management, Amy Ostdiek, Colorado Water Conservation Board deputy section chief for interstate, federal and water information, told the state agency’s board of directors on Wednesday she has not found a reason to keep from moving forward.

“I didn’t identify any points that would indicate to me that we should stop the feasibility investigation,” said Ostdiek, who has been leading and organizing the process for the state. “From my perspective, we have not identified a reason not to continue the analysis or any hard reason it wouldn’t work.”

At the heart of a potential program is a reduction in water use in an attempt to send up to 500,000 acre-feet downstream to Lake Powell to bolster levels in the giant reservoir and meet 1922 Colorado River Compact obligations. Under such a program, agricultural water users could get paid to temporarily fallow fields and leave more water in the river, in order to fill a 500,000 acre-foot pool as an insurance policy in case of continued drought or further reduction in average flows.

EDIT

https://www.aspenjournalism.org/2020/07/19/colorado-official-says-demand-management-program-holds-water/

[Wellstone ruled]

1. About time.

Powells Water level is at critical and on the verge of shutting down Generation.

So next thing that needs to be addressed is,the Pumping of water to Phoenix and Tucson via the Salt River project.

Someone gave up their water rights for a price?

Most of the Irrigation water goes to Alfalfa which is sent to Japan and China.

[OnlinePoker]

2. Powell has only been lower than this twice in the past 10 years

In 2018, they started dumping water into it at the beginning of August but it barely made a dent in the downward slope. In 2013, it was already 12 feet lower than today but no water was dumped until September and it finished the cycle the following spring at the 3rd lowest level since it was filled in the '60s. This is not to say it won't fill again, but with the drying trend in the west in recent years, I wouldn't bet on it in the short term.

http://lakepowell.water-data.com/