By 2060, we can expect a 3.8 million acre-foot deficit in river supply. In the months since, water districts across the basin have been negotiating with each other to try to find a way to reach that level of cuts, but so far they havent come to an agreement. CalMatters, That layer of dust in your eyes and the wild hairdos youre rocking can only mean one thing: Santa Ana winds are back. A secondfree, downloadable modelidentified the combinations of reservoir inflow and consumption to sustain Lake Mead at its current level of 1,041 feet (Figure 1, dashed blue line). 5. In 1973, faced with deteriorating water quality in the Colorado River, the Basin states came together and persuaded the Congress to enact a law known as the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act. It makes no sense, they argue, for places like Californias Imperial Valley home to massive and water-intensive farmland to have first dibs over cities that are home to millions of people. The pandemic-sparked protections for renters will expire after March 31. The Southwests most important river is drying up. Under this complex system, more water is annually allocated to the seven Colorado River states and Mexico than the basin can provide, especially in dry years, creating a water deficit that threatens supply to roughly 36 million people and 6 million acres of land. The meeting took place in Santee, Calif. Complete negotiations between the United States and Mexico to better manage river flows across the international border. The 360 shows you diverse perspectives on the days top stories and debates. These examples give me hope for the future of our Colorado River. CNN See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. 2023 The Nature Conservancy Previously based in New York, and now in California, Trotta has covered major U.S. news stories such as the killing of Trayvon Martin, the mass shooting of 20 first-graders at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and natural disasters including Superstorm Sandy. Dire conditions in the Colorado River Basin call for collaborative solutions. Communities in the river basin that have been using water for longer, including farmers in Californias Imperial Valley and Yuma, Arizona, generally have more senior rights to the river. Opinion: Sand is disappearing from San Diego County beaches. Farms, businesses, cities and towns make plans well into the future, which take time to adapt. Even before that, some scientists warned that the river could not sustain that level of demand. Science Video Can the Colorado River keep on running? Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. To work, it must be voluntary, and farmers who participate must be adequately paid for the use of their irrigation rights. One proposal would dish out cuts based on seniority. the Colorado River Broadly speaking, cuts that follow the priority system will spare farming regions at the expense of cities a reality that may be politically unviable given that cities have much larger economies and many more people. But climate change is not the whole the story, we are also overusing what water there is. May 22 (Reuters) - Seven U.S. states that depend on the overused Colorado River on Monday reached agreement to cut consumption and help save a river that provides drinking water for 40 million people and irrigation for some of the country's most bountiful farmland. Ted is a senior program officer, leading the Walton Family Foundations Colorado River initiative. 5 Ways to Help Preserve the Colorado River Now - Walton The Colorado River needs a long-term plan for drought, How best to share the disappearing Colorado River. Its important that we have several ways we make money, just like its important for you to have a diversified retirement portfolio to weather the ups and downs of the stock market. A new Irrigation Reserve on a basin scale will also require significant public funding. Ancient bone may be earliest evidence of hominin cannibalism. Some students have turned to the tech for near-instantaneous essays, math help and other academic assignments. But every day without an agreement is another in which too much water is drained. Editorial, Washington Post, Curb the sprawl. Web1. The seven states that rely on it all know that drastic change is needed to keep it from drying up, but so far theyve failed to come to an agreement on what that change should look like and who will have to make the biggest sacrifice. Whats lacking is the vision and financing to bring these efforts to a basin scale. Others have called for communities to curb the growth of suburban sprawl by passing laws that incentivize denser housing that uses less water. hay fields may know something we Caucus members had reached an agreement to replace Speaker Anthony Rendon with Assemblyman Robert Rivas (D-Hollister), but now Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula (D-Fresno) is vying for the position, historically considered the second most powerful in state government. The meeting took place in Santee, Calif. Dead fish that someone propped between the cracks of dried mud present a stark image of climate change at Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States. The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authoritys last point-in-time count resulted in a finding that homelessness was down in three communities with large unhoused populations. Maybe youre brushing your teeth; perhaps youre rinsing your dishes; you could be watering your plants. Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic Society, Copyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. That brings us to Reclamations announcement on Tuesday. Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week. The river has been further strained by rapid population growth and, in this century, a historic drought that - until this year's rains - threatened to drain reservoir levels below the intake valves that deliver water downstream and cut off hydroelectric production. Thats what the science shows, and thats what the region faces. I will never forget it. First, we're thrilled to see our op-ed placed in dozens of newspapers across the Southwest U.S. over the past week. The federal government should support efforts by states in the lower Colorado basin (Arizona, Nevada and California) to complete a drought contingency plan to lessen the impact of over-consumption through management of water demand. Now the seven states must go back to work on longer-term deal starting in 2027, most likely for 20 years, that must be reached without being able to count on rainy years or a flood of federal dollars, and with effects of climate change looming. Prior to this agreement, the Imperial Valley had been conserving an average of 500,000 acre-feet of water every year, totaling over 7 million acre-feet since 2003. June 12, 2023 Gary Wockner River News Hi What can we do to save Colorado River, Lake Powell, Lake Mead Fast-growing Western cities face megadrought, One family makes sense of losing its Colorado River water, The Colorado River flooded the Chemehuevis land. | The Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Estevan Lpez will lead the federal delegation to the conference, which will also include officials from the Colorado River basin states, the Mexican government, Native American tribes and the private and non-governmental sectors. Who doesnt love the idea of a ring of giant bunny statues hanging out in a sculpture garden?. They wouldnt have to make any additional cuts in the near term, Porter said. Meanwhile, farms in California, which tend to have more senior rights, have mostly been spared. We cant rely on Mother Nature to solve this problem; we have to solve it ourselves. The water is used to grow much of the countrys winter vegetables, including all sorts of produce lettuce, broccoli, carrots, spinach, melons and lemons as well as hay to supply beef and dairy operations., So how do we fix this? In 2019 something extraordinary happened: after two decades of drought, strong storms, persistent precipitation, and cold temperatures resulted in overflowing rivers that began recharging Colorados reservoirs. The Colorado River, and the people it sustains, are in serious trouble. Save the Colorado River Partner Content for Finish dish detergent. Meanwhile, the river continues to dry up. I am a threat to no one, she told council members. Title VI Notice of Nondiscrimination With these two precedents, the Conservation Reserve Program and the Salinity Control Act, we have the road map to establish a Basin-wide Irrigation Reserve. Is draining human-made Lake Powell a practical solution to drought in the West? If by then states cant come to an agreement, its possible that the Bureau will act unilaterally and mandate cuts. The fierce winds also knocked out power to thousands of homes. Experts are no longer talking about a temporary (if prolonged) state of drought in the Colorado River Basin: they refer now to a permanent state of aridification. As drought hits, the Colorado River region is getting dryer; the government has begun issuing a severe warning to save the river. We then compared depletions and reservoir drawdown for the current rules and our new rule. Hi Friends of the Colorado River, As we head into the summer of 2023, dam removal is shaking the foundations of the U.S. river-protection movement! They make the case that every day that goes by without a cohesive plan means the situation becomes more severe and the steps that will be needed to solve it become more painful. Nor does it leave much of a buffer should conditions worsen. Joanna Allhands, Arizona Republic, The states need to quit their squabbling and make a deal now, Unilaterally imposing cuts would be politically tricky for any administration. Global sites represent either regional branches of The Nature Conservancy or local affiliates of The Nature Conservancy that are separate entities. Box 2030, Bentonville, AR 72712 | Social Media, Finding solutions for a river threatened by drought and overuse of water, Colorado River Initiative Lead and Senior Program Officer, Environment Program. the West The Colorado River PRESS RELEASE: Biden Belly Flops in the Colorado River. Over 40 million people in the U.S. and Mexico rely on this great American river for water, but by 2022 theres a 68 percent chance Lake Mead, one of the rivers largest reservoirs, will experience a serious shortfall. Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. The consequences of these actions, for farmers, farm workers, agricultural suppliers, communities, and for wetlands that rely on agricultural runoff, must be addressed. Michael Cohen and Peter H. Gleick, Time, States have to get past their myopic focus on short term, We can't continue to operate from crisis to crisis in perpetuity; we need to begin addressing now the foundational interstate agreement that got us into this situation. The public has 45 days to provide feedback on them, which the government will consider along with any outcomes from the negotiations between states before making a decision. The Imperial Valley shares much of its conserved water with roughly 4.3 million Southern California families each year. 5 min read How are we supposed to save Lake Mead and Lake Powell now? Its estimated that another 13 extraordinary water years would be necessary to erase the impacts of long-term drought in the West. The Colorado flows through sweeping pasturelands and deep mountain gorges before entering semi-arid and arid landscapes from which it receives little water. Along the parched shores of Lake Mead on the Colorado River, it appears as a giant bathtub ring, a sun-bleached stain marking the reservoirs steady decline. They would be spared by these cuts. We programmed a rule that capped basin depletions at an amount equal to average flow over the prior 10 years. Who gets a say in the Colorado River's water supply | WAMU Yet they continue to consume far more water than the river can supply. Strahm is a farmer who grows carrots, cantaloupes, alfalfa and wheat in the Imperial Valley. Starting in spring 2020, my colleague Jian Wang and I explored what the Colorado River would look like if we lived within our means. But this lifeline of the West is now straining under the burden of climate change: for nearly two decades the Colorado Basin has been in drought with decreasing precipitation and rising temperatures. We found that current operations drew down Lake Powell and Lake Mead to critical levels in just a few years. Its a massive number, equal to more than a quarter of the water allocated to the region. We can make significant progress on Colorado River management and look forward to working with other stakeholders and our federal partners towards a better future for all.