Water worries grow on Colorado River
Drought conditions lasting 5 or more years will persist 40 percent of the time over the next five decades on the Colorado River, according to a federal analysis released Monday .
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which manages water flows on the river, issued the first installment of a long-range study about bridging the gap between supply and demand for river water. The next update will deal with water-use projections and ways to address shortages. The final report, with recommendations, is expected in July 2012.
The Colorado River is one of the San Diego region's two main water sources, along with the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Local officials are trying to develop local sources such as groundwater, reclaimed wastewater and desalinated ocean water.
After a long line of dreary forecasts for the Colorado River Basin, no one expected the bureau's projections to be rosy -- and they weren't. The study anticipates roughly a 9 percent decrease in flows on the river over the next 50 years, along with increased drought periods. Projections are based on climate models that show decreased precipitation across the Southwest in years to come.
"This is the most comprehensive look at the water supply and water demand picture in the Colorado River Basin," said Halla Razak, Colorado River program director for the San Diego County Water Authority. "Everybody really believes that this study will give us a pretty good road map to move forward."
That's no easy task given that there's more demand for Colorado River water than it can provide today, let alone with lower flows and higher demands.
Monday's study said the period from 2000 through 2010 represents the lowest 11-year average natural flow at a given point on the Colorado River in recorded history, approximately 20 percent below the 103-year average. Although an 11-year drought of that magnitude is unprecedented in over 100 years, reconstructions of prehistoric stream flows show that equal or greater droughts have occurred.
On the demand side, the study said that from 1971-1999 water use in the Colorado River Basin increased by about 23 percent.
San Diego County and the rest of the state emerged from a three-year drought and related water-use restrictions after heavy snowfall last winter. Many water experts expect the reprieve to be temporary.
About 15 percent of Colorado River withdrawals are used by the basin’s urban water utilities use that serve more than 30 million people and support hundreds of billions of dollars in economic activity annually. In addition, the Colorado River is a major source of water for agriculture, irrigating nearly 4 million acres of land. The river also is a major source of hydroelectric power.
Map Of Lake Mead - News
Lake Mead has been showing the "bathtub rings" of drought stress for most of the past decade. — NASA Drought conditions lasting 5 or more years will persist 40 percent of the time over the next five decades on the Colorado River,
Fears about the potential invasion of zebra and quagga mussels are increasing in the American West, after the environmentally detrimental species established a stronghold in Lake Mead in Southern Nevada in 2008 and procreated at an alarming rate.
"He wanted a letter from the city saying it would allow and support the application to the FAA to place Lake Jackson on the FAA map as a seaplane base," Pollard said. Bob Hoffman, the assistant city administrator, asked if the city has the authority to
somewhat skeptical of a recent finding by Dr. Famiglietti that from October 2003 to March 2010, aquifers under the state's Central Valley were drawn down by 25 million acre-feet — almost enough to fill Lake Mead, the nation's largest reservoir.
In the upper Colorado River Basin, water managers are predicting the biggest flow into Lake Powell since 1997 - raising hopes that a stubborn drought may finally break. Powell's level is expected to rise 17 feet this year. The water level at Lake Mead,
Where is all the water going??? Not Lake Mead!!! - Wayne's Words ...
By the way, Lake Havasu can go from as low as it gets to as high as it gets in a couple of days. In fact, when we had our sailboat convention there in February, the organizers called up the BLM and had them fill the lake so that we could access all of the slips at London Bridge Resort with our deeper keels. I asked them to make that same call to Powell but no luck! By the way, Lake Havasu can go from as low as it gets to as high as it gets in a couple of days. In fact, when we had our sailboat convention there in February, the organizers called up the BLM and had them fill the lake so that we could access all of the slips at London Bridge Resort with our deeper keels. I asked them to make that same call to Powell but no luck! Lake Havasu has a very narrow range of water levels because it isn't that deep a lake (a little over 60 feet down at the dam) and we have two major pumping stations -- California and the CAP to Tucson. Normally they bring the level up here around Memorial Day and hold in the 448 - 449 level until fall when they draw it down a bit. When they were filling Diamond Lake in California and Tempe Lake at the same time Havasu was drawn down to the max, launching here was very difficult and the boat docks on certain parts of the lake were sitting in mud.
This web site has no affiliation with, nor is it owned, operated, or funded by any Federal, State or Local government agencies, or private businesses. It is the sole property of Wayne Gustaveson. The purpose is to promote fishing and recreational opportunities while protecting Lake Powell from aquatic invaders and other threats. I enjoy doing it and hope you can benefit from the information contained within.
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