Thursday Top of the Scroll: U.S. to drastically alter Colorado River releases, Arizona officials warn
To prop up a declining Lake Powell, the federal government plans to significantly cut Colorado River releases from Powell to Lake Mead and to boost releases from Upper Colorado River Basin reservoirs to Powell, Arizona’s top water officials say. … The reductions now under consideration wouldn’t be severe enough to force additional cuts in water supplies for the Central Arizona Project canal system beyond those the three Lower Basin states have agreed to take starting in 2027, under proposals they’ve submitted to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. But it would leave Lake Mead in a much more vulnerable position to receive deeper cuts in the future if 2027 brings another dry year on the river.
Other Colorado River management news:
- FOX13 (Salt Lake City): Water could be released from Flaming Gorge to prop up Lake Powell
- The Wall Street Journal: San Diego now has so much water that it’s selling it
- Colorado Politics (Denver): Opinion: Colorado cannot afford to get the Colorado River wrong
- CounterPunch: Opinion: Water rights have become water wrongs
