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Topic: Lake Powell

Overview April 24, 2014

Lake Powell

The construction of Glen Canyon Dam in north-central Arizona also created Lake Powell. Lake Powell serves as a holding tank for the Colorado River Upper Basin States: Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

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Aquafornia news February 3, 2023 Los Angeles Times

At the heart of Colorado River crisis, the mighty ‘Law of the River’ looms large

It’s a crisis nearly 100 years in the making: Seven states — all reliant on a single mighty river as a vital source of water — failed to reach an agreement this week on how best to reduce their use of supplies from the rapidly shrinking Colorado River. At the heart of the feud is the “Law of the River,” a body of agreements, court decisions, contracts and decrees that govern the river’s use and date back to 1922, when the Colorado River Compact first divided river flows among the states. But as California argues most strongly for strict adherence to this system of water apportionment, the other states say it makes little sense when the river’s largest reservoir, Lake Mead, continues to decline toward “dead pool” level, which would effectively cut off the Southwest from its water lifeline. The Law of the River, they say, is getting in the way of a solution.

Related articles: 

  • Voice of San Diego: California Isn’t Playing Nice on the Colorado River
  • USA Today: Colorado River Compact water crisis: California plan explained
  • Central Arizona Project: News release – New terms alert: SEIS and Consensus-Based Modeling Alternative! What do these terms mean and why should you care?
  • Audubon: Blog: Conservation organizations emphasize need to protect environmental priorities in Colorado River basin
  • WyoFile: Colorado River states fail to strike agreement; feds may step in
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Aquafornia news February 2, 2023 Yale Climate Connections

Wet winter won’t fix Colorado River woes

Snowpack has been running well above average this winter across the Colorado River watershed. It’s a rare bright spot after 23 years of grinding megadrought brought the driest conditions in 1,200 years to the basin that supplies 40 million people in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, and Mexico. Should the generous rains and mountain snows continue into spring, they would head off a deeper water crisis, including perhaps an unprecedented loss of hydropower generation from severely depleted Lake Powell and Lake Mead. As of August 2022, chances that such a loss of generation, known as a “minimum power pool,” could happen by late 2023 had risen to an alarming 30%, according to calculations released by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.  Autumn and early winter moisture has now pushed those odds back below 10% as of the January update from the bureau.

Related articles: 

  • Sierra Nevada Ally: Officials avoid sacrificing Lake Powell sacred cow
  • Land Desk: Blog - Lake Powell – What is it good for?
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Aquafornia news February 2, 2023 Los Angeles Times

Why is California going it alone in Colorado River talks?

With the recent expiration of a federal deadline, California now finds itself sharply at odds with six other states over how to take less water from the shrinking Colorado River. After rejecting a plan offered by the rest of the region, California has entered a political tug-of-war with high stakes. So why has the state that uses the most Colorado River water decided to go it alone? California appears to be banking on its high-priority senior water rights, while the other states are presenting a united front to show the federal government they support a plan that would have California give up more water. … The parties are at an impasse as the federal government begins to weigh alternatives for rapidly reducing water use and preventing the river’s reservoirs from reaching dangerously low levels.

Related articles: 

  • CNN: California floated cutting major Southwest cities off Colorado River water before touching its agriculture supply, sources say
  • 8 News – Las Vegas: California’s water plan ignores evaporation, honors letter of ‘Law of the River’
  • Arizona Daily Star: California’s Colorado River plan would hit Arizona hard
  • Fast Company: What’s happening to the Colorado River? Drought and overuse spark a crisis
  • Mother Jones: This Deal Could Save the Colorado River—if California Doesn’t Blow It Up
  • Imperial Valley Press: Colorado River Board of California released an alternative plan to conserve water
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Aquafornia news February 1, 2023 High Country News

Glen Canyon revealed

Lake Powell, like its downstream neighbor Lake Mead, stands at a quarter of its full capacity. An increasingly arid climate, high demand from thirsty agriculture, and the bad math embedded in the century-old compact that divides the Colorado River’s water have shrunk the two reservoirs to levels not seen since they were first filling. On Lake Powell’s new shoreline, old boat propellers lie in the dust along with scads of sunglasses. Red plastic drinking cups, some bearing names scrawled in Sharpie, have yellowed to the color of piano ivory.  At its low point last year, Lake Powell’s surface was only 32 feet above operating levels for Glen Canyon Dam’s hydropower intakes, reducing the dam’s power output by half.

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Aquafornia news February 1, 2023 CalMatters

Wednesday Top of the Scroll: California, other states reach impasse over Colorado River

California and other Western states that import water from the parched Colorado River failed to reach an agreement today on how to cut their use despite a deadline from federal officials. Six states presented the federal government with a proposal to slash the lower basin’s use by 2.9 million acre-feet from their historic allotments— including more than 1 million acre-feet from California, or 25% of its entitlements. But California, the largest user of Colorado River water, refused to sign onto the proposal and, instead, hours later issued its own — which mirrors its offer last fall to cut imports by 9%, or 400,000 acre feet.  The impasse is over water delivered to Imperial Valley farmers and cities in six Southern California counties.

Related articles: 

  • Colorado River Board: California Water Agencies Submit Colorado River Modeling Framework to Bureau of Reclamation
  • Desert Sun: California fires back at other Western states with its own Colorado River plan
  • Los Angeles Times: California offers proposal on Colorado River crisis, disagreeing with six states
  • NPR: California opposes the water use plan between the states that share Colorado River
  • Washington Post: As the Colorado River dries up, states can’t agree on saving water
  • Colorado Newsline: Colorado leaders hail drought ‘consensus’ among 6 of 7 Colorado River Basin states 
  • jfleck@inkstain: Deadpool Diaries - The numbers in the states’ two proposals
  • The Spectrum: Utah signs on to Colorado River proposal as lawmakers pump out new bills
  • Time: Opinion – How to Save the Colorado River and the American West 
  • Mercury News: Editorial: California has major stake in Colorado River water use fight 
  • Southern Nevada Water Authority: News release: Southern Nevada achieves major water conservation measures 
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Aquafornia news January 31, 2023 Los Angeles Times

Tuesday Top of the Scroll: States miss deadline for agreement on Colorado River water

The seven states that depend on the Colorado River have missed a Jan. 31 federal deadline for reaching a regionwide consensus on how to sharply reduce water use, raising the likelihood of more friction as the West grapples with how to take less supplies from the shrinking river. In a bid to sway the process after contentious negotiations reached an impasse, six of the seven states gave the federal government a last-minute proposal outlining possible water cuts to help prevent reservoirs from falling to dangerously low levels, presenting a unified front while leaving out California, which uses the single largest share of the river. The six states — Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — called their proposal a “consensus-based modeling alternative” that could serve as a framework for negotiating a solution.

Related articles: 

  • New York Times: How Colorado River cuts could affect California
  • Colorado Sun: Six western states agreed on a plan to dramatically cut their Colorado River use. California is the lone holdout.
  • Las Vegas Review-Journal: Most Colorado River states agree on water cuts
  • Ark Valley Voice: Bennet Addresses Colorado Water Congress Amid Critical Colorado River Negotiations
  • The Hill: Why California, other western states face growing pressure to reduce water consumption  
  • KUNC – Greeley, Colo: Federal pressure mounts as states attempt to break Colorado River standoff
  • CNN: A showdown over Colorado River water is setting the stage for a high-stakes legal battle
  • Bloomberg: Opinion: The Colorado River Needs the Feds to Step In ASAP
  • Jfleck@Inkstain: Deadpool Diaries - Trapped, again, in a world we never made
  • Steamboat Pilot: State officials approve 2023 Colorado Water Plan
  • Roll Call: Colorado River states still fractured over water cuts
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Aquafornia news January 30, 2023 E&E News

Could a river finally run through the Glen Canyon Dam?

In the fall of 1956, President Dwight Eisenhower touched a telegraph key in the White House Cabinet Room to trigger a dynamite blast 1,900 miles to the west, marking the start of construction on the Glen Canyon Dam. More than six decades later, conservation advocates and environmentalists are hoping the Biden administration will set an implosion in motion — albeit a metaphorical one — this time mothballing the 710-foot dam on the Colorado River in northern Arizona. … Modern critics of the Glen Canyon Dam — which has never lacked for detractors, dating to early denunciations that the structure changed the ecology of the river and drowned canyons and Native American artifacts when the reservoir filled — see new momentum to circumvent the structure and drain Lake Powell.

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Aquafornia news January 30, 2023 Associated Press

Monday Top of the Scroll: As Colorado River talks continue, emails show tension over water use

Competing priorities, outsized demands and the federal government’s retreat from a threatened deadline stymied a deal last summer on how to drastically reduce water use from the parched Colorado River, emails obtained by The Associated Press show. … Reclamation wanted the seven U.S. states that rely on the river to decide how to cut 2 million to 4 million acre-feet of water — or up to roughly one-third — on top of already anticipated reductions. … California says it’s a partner willing to sacrifice, but other states see it as a reluctant participant clinging to a water priority system where it ranks near the top. Arizona and Nevada have long felt they’re unfairly forced to bear the brunt of cuts because of a water rights system developed long ago, a simmering frustration that reared its head during talks.

Related articles: 

  • Colorado Springs Gazette: Colorado River states facing new deadline on water usage reduction
  • Coyote Gulch Blog: What’s Up With #Water – January 17, 2023 — Circle of Blue @circleofblue
  • San Diego Union-Tribune: Column - Colorado River and Lake Mead are rising, but don’t get your hopes up
  • KLAS – Las Vegas: Law of the River - How the west was watered 
  • Jfleck at Inkstain: Deadpool Diaries: Can the Colorado River community walk, chew gum, and recite Homer’s Odyssey at the same time?
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Aquafornia news January 27, 2023 The New York Times

As the Colorado River shrinks, Washington prepares to spread the pain

The seven states that rely on water from the shrinking Colorado River are unlikely to agree to voluntarily make deep reductions in their water use, negotiators say, which would force the federal government to impose cuts for the first time in the water supply for 40 million Americans. The Interior Department had asked the states to voluntarily come up with a plan by Jan. 31 to collectively cut the amount of water they draw from the Colorado. … Negotiators say the odds of a voluntary agreement appear slim. It would be the second time in six months that the Colorado River states, which also include Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, have missed a deadline for consensus on cuts sought by the Biden administration to avoid a catastrophic failure of the river system.

Related articles: 

  • Roll Call: Colorado River states attempt to reach water-use plan — again
  • Arizona Department of Water Resources: Blog - How a productive burst of winter moisture may (or may not) impact drought in the Southwest
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Aquafornia news January 26, 2023 Los Angeles Times

Colorado River in crisis – The West faces a water reckoning

Over the last several years, managers of water agencies have reached deals to take less water from the river. But those reductions haven’t been nearly enough to halt the river’s spiral toward potential collapse. As Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir, continues to decline toward “dead pool” levels, the need to rein in water demands is growing urgent. Efforts to adapt will require difficult decisions about how to deal with the reductions and limit the damage to communities, the economy and the river’s already degraded ecosystems. Adapting may also drive a fundamental rethinking of how the river is managed and used, redrawing a system that is out of balance. This reckoning with the reality of the river’s limits is about to transform the landscape of the Southwest.

Related articles:

  • Marketplace: Drought threatens hydropower produced by Colorado River
  • The Hill: Why the snowfall in Colorado Rockies isn’t likely to alleviate the drought 
  • Los Angeles Times: Lake Powell’s decline and the Colorado River crisis
  • Arizona Department of Water Resources: How A Productive Spate Of Winter Moisture May (Or May Not) Impact Drought In The Southwest
  • Los Angeles Times: The Colorado River - Where the west quenches its thirst
  • Los Angeles Times: Inside the water crisis - A journey across the Colorado River Basin
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Aquafornia news January 25, 2023 Las Vegas Review-Journal

Lake Mead’s decline may slow, thanks to winter’s wet start

Hefty snowfalls from a series of atmospheric rivers have brought a slightly rosier outlook for the beleaguered Colorado River. While not enough to fend off the falling water levels entirely, the snow that has dropped in recent weeks across the mountains that feed the river is expected to slow the decline at Lake Mead, according to the latest federal projections released last week. Forecasters now expect Lake Mead to finish this year around 1,027 feet elevation, about 19 feet lower than its current level. That’s about 7 feet higher than the 2023 end-of-year elevation in the bureau’s forecast from last month. As for Lake Powell, the reservoir located on the Utah-Arizona border is now expected to finish 2023 at 3,543 feet, or 16 feet higher than last month’s forecast and about 19 feet higher than its current level.

Related articles: 

  • Newsweek: Is the Colorado River Drying Up?
  • KSL-Salt Lake City: Here’s how much the drought has weakened so far this winter for Utah, the West
  • Colorado Water Conservation Board: News release: 2023 Colorado Water Plan will inspire action to build stronger water future
  • Water for Colorado: Press Release - Water for Colorado Congratulates State on Release of Updated Water Plan, Looks Forward to Implementation
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Aquafornia news January 24, 2023 Arizona Republic

Opinion: Colorado River cuts could get even tougher, thanks to a wet winter

Record snowfall has come to Arizona. It hasn’t even melted yet, and already there’s an extra 100,000 acre-feet of water in Salt River Project’s reservoirs since Jan. 1. Meanwhile, snowpack across the Colorado River basin is well above normal, and while it’s still too early to know how runoff will shape up, some researchers have begun to raise their expectations for a better year. So, we can ease up, right? Maybe we won’t need to stop using nearly as much water this year, as predicted, to keep Lake Mead and Lake Powell on life support? … The feds told the seven Colorado River basin states last summer that they needed to stop using at least 2 million acre-feet of water this year. … But state delegates are back at it again, hoping to reach some sort of voluntary deal by the end of this month.
-Written by Arizona Republic columnist Joanna Allhands.

Related article: 

  • Audubon: How to Save the Colorado River? Use Less Water
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Aquafornia news January 24, 2023 KTNV - Las Vegas

Water panel talked key issues in Colorado River basin states Monday

We’re getting a peek at the future of our economy. The Las Vegas Chamber hosted Preview Las Vegas Monday. Key Colorado River state leaders address Southern Nevada’s water issues. One of the main focuses of Preview Las Vegas this year was the water supply for Southern Nevada. The biggest take away? Colorado river states are working together as one to combat the water crisis. … At Monday’s panel discussion, talk turned to the importance of a partnership with California’s regional recycling system. The agency is evaluating a restoration process that one day could send water back to Colorado River using states. But for now, the project’s targeted start date isn’t until 2030.

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Aquafornia news January 20, 2023 Moab Sun News

Colorado River Authority of Utah opens conservation pilot program

At their Jan. 17 meeting, Grand County commissioners heard a presentation from Lily Bosworth, staff engineer for the Colorado River Authority of Utah, on a water conservation pilot program. The Colorado River Authority of Utah was established by the Utah State Legislature in 2021. Ongoing drought and growing evidence that the river cannot support the demand being placed on it by users have strained water infrastructure, policies and agreements across the Southwest; the stated mission of the Colorado River Authority is to “protect, preserve, conserve, and develop Utah’s Colorado River system interests.” The Authority is overseen by a six-member board as well as the governor.

Related article: 

  • Aspen Times: Need a strict new water plan
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Aquafornia news January 19, 2023 Bloomberg

Colorado River water negotiators optimistic ahead of deadline

Officials involved in the talks over how to cut Colorado River water use amid a historic drought say they’re optimistic a consensus will be reached by states before a Feb. 1 deadline even though the negotiations are in a delicate place. If the seven Western states don’t reach consensus, the Interior Department’s Bureau of Reclamation will consider mandating water cuts—a move the states are working feverishly to avoid. More than likely, “we’re going to end up with some kind of hybrid outcome in which we have agreement in part, and some mandatory imposed outcomes from the federal government,” said Tom Buschatzke …

Related articles: 

  • Axios: New CAP general manager optimistic about agreement on Colorado River water cuts
  • Agri-Pulse: Farm Hands West - Hamby tapped to lead Colorado River Board of California; New Duda Farm Fresh Foods President
  • NPR: Recent heavy snow is crucial to the Colorado River but it’s not a drought ender
  • Environmental Defense Fund: Drops of wisdom for Colorado legislators
  • Newsweek: How Lake Mead water levels look after weeks of heavy rainfall
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news January 18, 2023 CalMatters

Imperial Valley growers brace to give up Colorado River water

Across the sun-cooked flatlands of the Imperial Valley, water flows with uncanny abundance. The valley, which straddles the U.S.-Mexico border, is naturally a desert. Yet canals here are filled with water, lush alfalfa grows from sodden soil and rows of vegetables stretch for miles. … But now, as a record-breaking megadrought and endless withdrawals wring the Colorado River dry, Imperial Valley growers will have to cut back on the water they import. The federal government has told seven states to come up with a plan by Jan. 31 to reduce their water supply by 30%, or 4 million acre feet. The Imperial Valley is by far the largest user of water in the Colorado River’s lower basin — consuming more water than all of Arizona and Nevada combined in 2022 — so growers there will have to find ways to sacrifice the most.

Related articles: 

  • Los Angeles Times: Want to solve climate change? This California farm kingdom holds a key
  • Denver Post: “We are not going to be afraid to litigate” to protect Colorado’s water rights, AG says
  • 9 News – Colorado: Winter storms give Colorado a big boost in snowpack totals 
  • Newsweek: Is the Colorado River rising?
  • NPR: A course correction in managing drying rivers
  • Desert Review: IID talks of moving to biannual budget
  • Read more
  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news January 17, 2023 The Washington Post

Scottsdale cuts off Rio Verde Foothills water supply amid drought

The survival — or at least the basic sustenance — of hundreds in a desert community amid the horse ranches and golf courses outside Phoenix now rests on a 54-year-old man with a plastic bucket of quarters. John Hornewer picked up a quarter and put it in the slot. The lone water hose at a remote public filling station sputtered to life and splashed 73 gallons into the steel tank of  … Some living here amid the cactus and creosote bushes see themselves as the first domino to fall as the Colorado River tips further into crisis. On Jan. 1, the city of Scottsdale, which gets the majority of its water from the Colorado River, cut off Rio Verde Foothills from the municipal water supply that it has relied on for decades. … [T]he federal government is now pressing seven states to cut 2 to 4 million acre-feet more, up to 30 percent of the river’s annual average flow.

Related articles: 

  • Here and Now: ‘It’s coming for everybody’ - Central Arizona farmers’ access to Colorado River dries up completely
  • Inside Climate News: Arizona’s New Governor Takes on Water Conservation and Promises to Revise the State’s Groundwater Management Act
  • NPR: A course correction in managing drying rivers
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  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news January 13, 2023 The Nevada Independent

Nevada outlines framework for Colorado River cuts as states show their cards

At the end of last year, the seven states in the Colorado River Basin committed to once again work together and negotiate a consensus framework for making significant cuts to water use, an attempt to stabilize the nation’s two largest reservoirs and avoid an even deeper shortage crisis. The states recommitted to considering a consensus deal, by Jan. 31, after several deadlines passed in 2022 — with seemingly irreconcilable differences over how to make painful cuts in a watershed relied upon by 40 million people who use the river for drinking water and agriculture. …… Of note was the comment letter from Nevada, which outlined a possible framework to achieve consensus. It was the only state-led letter that suggested a comprehensive framework. In fact, two other letters specifically refer to the Nevada plan as a starting point for the state discussions….

Related articles: 

  • Desert Review: IID’s JB Hamby elected to lead California’s Colorado River Board
  • Newsweek: Recent Rain at Lake Mead Gives Respite to Dwindling Water Levels
  • Blog- JFleck at Inkstain: Dead Pool Diaries: Climate change, the doctrine of prior appropriation, and the Colorado River crisis
  • KAWC – Arizona Edition: Director of Arizona Department of Water Resources looking at state’s drought impacts
  • Los Angeles Times: The Times podcast - Colorado River in Crisis, Part 2 - The Source – Los Angeles Times 
  • Fox 10 – Phoenix: Are drought conditions improving in Arizona?
  • U.S. Bureau of Reclamation: News release – Bureau of Reclamation completes project at Glen Canyon Dam to protect local water supply during extremely low lake levels
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  • View Original Article
Aquafornia news January 12, 2023 The Nevada Independent

Opinion: Department of Interior needs to review agricultural use of water amid negotiations for Colorado River cuts

As Lake Mead continues to decline toward dead pool, federal officials are requesting the Colorado River states to offer major cuts in water usage. Nevada has responded with a detailed and innovative plan set forth in a December 20, 2022 letter to the Bureau of Reclamation, calling for basic reform of water management throughout the entire Colorado River system. … Arizona and California have not responded in public. They remain on the sidelines, unable to summon the political will to either agree or to propose an alternative. The reason Arizona and California are internally deadlocked can be summed up in one word: agriculture. Irrigated agriculture uses more than 70 percent of the water allocated to the two states from Lake Mead. 
-Written by Bruce Babbitt, an attorney and politician from the state of Arizona, and President Bill Clinton’s secretary of the Interior from 1993 to 2001. 

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Aquafornia news January 11, 2023 FOX31 News - Denver

Which Colorado ski area has seen the most snow this season?

The recent atmospheric river that brought record rainfall and snow to parts of the west coast also boosted Colorado’s mountain snowfall totals. Several rounds of heavy snowfall like the mountains have recently seen is the dream of every skier and snowboarder, and it’s also a big help to the state’s drought conditions. This boost helped Steamboat Springs become the first resort of the season to surpass the benchmark. It now has 225 inches so far this season. Ski areas like Silverton and Winter Park aren’t too far from hitting 200 with about 167 inches so far. Places like Wolf Cree, Breckenridge, and Keystone have also seen some impressive totals for this point in the season.

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Aquafornia news January 9, 2023 Los Angeles Times

Colorado River in crisis: A series examining the river’s future

The Colorado River can no longer withstand the thirst of the arid West. Water drawn from the river flows to more than 40 million people in cities from Denver to Los Angeles and irrigates more than 4 million acres of farmland. For decades, the river has been entirely used up, leaving dusty stretches of desert where it once flowed to the sea in Mexico. Now, chronic overuse and the effects of climate change are pushing the river system toward potential collapse as reservoirs drop to dangerously low levels. … Colorado River in Crisis is a series of stories, videos and podcasts in which Los Angeles Times journalists travel throughout the river’s watershed, from the headwaters in the Rocky Mountains to the river’s dry delta in Mexico.

Related articles: 

  • Associated Press: Despite shrinking Colorado River volume, Biden signs water bills benefiting 3 tribes in Arizona
  • Newsweek: Are Lake Mead’s Water Levels Rising?
  • Wyoming Public Radio: Mountain West states getting millions in federal funds for drought resilience
  • KOAA – Southern Colorado: 40% of Colorado is now drought free after big December snows
  • Read more
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Aquafornia news January 9, 2023 California WaterBlog

Blog: Drought and the Colorado River: Localizing water in Los Angeles

In October 2022, water agencies in Southern California with Colorado River water rights announced plans to reduce water diversions. The agencies offered voluntary conservation of 400,000 acre-feet per year through 2026. This annual total is nearly 10% of the state’s total annual usage rights for the Colorado River. The cutbacks help prepare for long-term implications of climate change for the river’s management, which are starting to be acknowledged. In urban Southern California, an important aspect of this need is reducing imported water reliance through investments in local water resources. … What would happen if Southern California lost access to Colorado River water for an extended period?

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Aquafornia news January 6, 2023 Las Vegas Review-Journal

Lake Mead may get a boost as Rockies snowpack off to strong start

The Rocky Mountains snow season is off to a well-above-average start thanks to a recent surge of stormy weather across the West. But whether it will be enough to buoy levels at Lake Mead and along the Colorado River remains to be seen. The Upper Colorado River Basin snowpack currently sits at 140 percent of the median over the last 30 years, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. That’s in large part due to a recent series of atmospheric river storm systems that swept across much of the West right after Christmas, dumping ample amounts of snow and rain.

Related articles: 

  • Denver Post: Recent snows pulled a third of Colorado out of drought. Will it be enough?
  • Los Angeles Times: The Times podcast: Colorado River in Crisis, Part 1: A Dying River 
  • Audubon: Blog: Well, the West is getting a lot of snow and rain, but conservation mindset still needed.
  • KUNR – Reno: Mountain West states getting millions in federal funds for drought resilience
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Aquafornia news January 4, 2023 Water Education Foundation

Announcement: Registration opens next week for Water 101, Lower Colorado River Tour

Registration for the Foundation’s early 2023 programming is right around the corner. Don’t miss the once-a-year opportunities for our Water 101 Workshop in February and our Lower Colorado River Tour in March. Mark your calendars now for the week of Jan. 9 when registration will open for both events. … One of our most popular annual events, our Water 101 Workshop + optional 1-day tour returns Feb. 23 & 24 to detail the history, geography, legal and political facets of water in California as well as hot topics of the moment…. Our annual Lower Colorado River Tour returns March 8-10 when we take you from Hoover Dam to the Mexican border and through the Imperial and Coachella valleys to learn about the challenges and opportunities facing the “Lifeline of the Southwest.”

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Aquafornia news January 4, 2023 8 News Now - Las Vegas

Snowpack at 142% after week of storms in Upper Colorado River Basin

Snowpack levels crucial to water supplies in the Colorado River basin have been rising over the past week as storms hit the Rocky Mountains. Dec. 27 measurements of 102% snowpack in the region — just above normal — had risen to 142% as of today (Jan. 3) in the Upper Colorado River Basin. That week-to-week change is good news but demonstrates the volatility of snowpack levels. Just as rainfall makes little to no impact on the level of Lake Mead, snowpack levels in early January shouldn’t be seen as a sign that a few snowstorms will erase years of drought, experts say. Kyle Roerink, executive director of the conservation group Great Basin Water Network, said long-term forecasts showed river flows expected to be about 87% between now and April.

Related articles: 

  • Cronkite News: Water reductions for the new year may be just the beginning, experts say
  • Denver Post: Colorado River water crisis - 8 possible solutions to prevent drying up
  • Denver Post: Colorado River water mostly used for agriculture, but that may change 
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Aquafornia news January 3, 2023 Salt Lake Tribune

Nevada calls on Utah and Upper Colorado Basin states to slash water use by 500,000 acre-feet

Nevada water managers have submitted a plan for cutting diversions by 500,000 acre-feet in a last-ditch effort to shore up flows on the Colorado River before low water levels cause critical problems at Glen Canyon and Hoover dams. But the Silver State’s plan targets cuts in Utah and the river’s other Upper Basin states, not in Nevada, whose leaders contend it already is doing what it can to reduce reliance on the depleted river system that provides water to 40 million in the West.

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Western Water December 9, 2022 Nick Cahill Colorado River Basin Map WESTERN WATER-As Colorado River Flows Drop and Tensions Rise, Water Interests Struggle to Find Solutions That All Can Accept By Nick Cahill

As Colorado River Flows Drop and Tensions Rise, Water Interests Struggle to Find Solutions That All Can Accept
Chorus of experts warn climate change has rendered old assumptions outdated about what the Colorado River can provide, leaving painful water cuts as the only way forward

Photo shows Hoover Dam’s intake towers protruding from the surface of Lake Mead near Las Vegas, where water levels have dropped to record lows amid a 22-year drought. When the Colorado River Compact was signed 100 years ago, the negotiators for seven Western states bet that the river they were dividing would have ample water to meet everyone’s needs – even those not seated around the table.

A century later, it’s clear the water they bet on is not there. More than two decades of drought, lake evaporation and overuse of water have nearly drained the river’s two anchor reservoirs, Lake Powell on the Arizona-Utah border and Lake Mead near Las Vegas. Climate change is rendering the basin drier, shrinking spring runoff that’s vital for river flows, farms, tribes and cities across the basin – and essential for refilling reservoirs.

The states that endorsed the Colorado River Compact in 1922 – and the tribes and nation of Mexico that were excluded from the table – are now straining to find, and perhaps more importantly accept, solutions on a river that may offer just half of the water that the Compact assumed would be available. And not only are solutions not coming easily, the relationships essential for compromise are getting more frayed.

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Western Water September 16, 2022 Nick Cahill Colorado River Bundle WESTERN WATER-A Colorado River Veteran Moves Upstream and Plunges into the Drought-Stressed River's Mounting Woes By Nick Cahill

A Colorado River Veteran Moves Upstream and Plunges into The Drought-Stressed River’s Mounting Woes
WESTERN WATER Q&A: Chuck Cullom, a longtime Arizona water manager, brings a dual-basin perspective as top staffer at the Upper Colorado River Commission

Chuck Cullom, executive director of the Upper Colorado River Commission. With 25 years of experience working on the Colorado River, Chuck Cullom is used to responding to myriad challenges that arise on the vital lifeline that seven states, more than two dozen tribes and the country of Mexico depend on for water. But this summer problems on the drought-stressed river are piling up at a dizzying pace: Reservoirs plummeting to record low levels, whether Hoover Dam and Glen Canyon Dam can continue to release water and produce hydropower, unprecedented water cuts and predatory smallmouth bass threatening native fish species in the Grand Canyon. 

“Holy buckets, Batman!,” said Cullom, executive director of the Upper Colorado River Commission. “I mean, it’s just on and on and on.”

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Western Water April 29, 2022 Nick Cahill Colorado River Basin Map Layperson's Guide to Water Recycling WESTERN WATER-As Drought Shrinks the Colorado River, A SoCal Giant Seeks Help from River Partners to Fortify its Local Supply By Nick Cahill

As Drought Shrinks the Colorado River, A SoCal Giant Seeks Help from River Partners to Fortify its Local Supply
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Metropolitan Water District's wastewater recycling project draws support from Arizona and Nevada, which hope to gain a share of Metropolitan's river supply

Metropolitan Water District's advanced water treatment demonstration plant in Carson. Momentum is building for a unique interstate deal that aims to transform wastewater from Southern California homes and business into relief for the stressed Colorado River. The collaborative effort to add resiliency to a river suffering from overuse, drought and climate change is being shaped across state lines by some of the West’s largest water agencies.  

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Western Water January 14, 2022 Douglas E. Beeman Colorado River Basin Map By Douglas E. Beeman

As the Colorado River Shrinks, Can the Basin Find an Equitable Solution in Sharing the River’s Waters?
WESTERN WATER IN-DEPTH: Drought and climate change are raising concerns that a century-old Compact that divided the river’s waters could force unwelcome cuts in use for the upper watershed

Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell, a key Colorado River reservoir that has seen its water level plummet after two decades of drought. Climate scientist Brad Udall calls himself the skunk in the room when it comes to the Colorado River. Armed with a deck of PowerPoint slides and charts that highlight the Colorado River’s worsening math, the Colorado State University scientist offers a grim assessment of the river’s future: Runoff from the river’s headwaters is declining, less water is flowing into Lake Powell – the key reservoir near the Arizona-Utah border – and at the same time, more water is being released from the reservoir than it can sustainably provide.

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Western Water November 20, 2020 Colorado River Bundle By Gary Pitzer

Milestone Colorado River Management Plan Mostly Worked Amid Epic Drought, Review Finds
WESTERN WATER SPOTLIGHT: Draft assessment of 2007 Interim Guidelines expected to provide a guide as talks begin on new river operating rules for the iconic Southwestern river

At full pool, Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the United States by volume. but two decades of drought have dramatically dropped the water level behind Hoover Dam.Twenty years ago, the Colorado River Basin’s hydrology began tumbling into a historically bad stretch. The weather turned persistently dry. Water levels in the system’s anchor reservoirs of Lake Powell and Lake Mead plummeted. A river system relied upon by nearly 40 million people, farms and ecosystems across the West was in trouble. And there was no guide on how to respond.

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Western Water November 6, 2020 Colorado River Basin Map By Gary Pitzer

A Colorado River Leader Who Brokered Key Pacts to Aid West’s Vital Water Artery Assesses His Legacy and the River’s Future
WESTERN WATER Q&A: Terry Fulp, regional Reclamation director, urges continued collaboration and cooperation to meet the river's tough water management challenges ahead

Terry FulpManaging water resources in the Colorado River Basin is not for the timid or those unaccustomed to big challenges. Careers are devoted to responding to all the demands put upon the river: water supply, hydropower, recreation and environmental protection.

All of this while the Basin endures a seemingly endless drought and forecasts of increasing dryness in the future.

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Western Water May 15, 2020 Colorado River Basin Map Gary Pitzer

Questions Simmer About Lake Powell’s Future As Drought, Climate Change Point To A Drier Colorado River Basin
WESTERN WATER IN-DEPTH: A key reservoir for Colorado River storage program, Powell faces demands from stakeholders in Upper and Lower Basins with different water needs as runoff is forecast to decline

Persistent drought in the Colorado River Basin combined with the coordinated operations with Lake Mead has left Lake Powell consistently about half-full. Sprawled across a desert expanse along the Utah-Arizona border, Lake Powell’s nearly 100-foot high bathtub ring etched on its sandstone walls belie the challenges of a major Colorado River reservoir at less than half-full. How those challenges play out as demand grows for the river’s water amid a changing climate is fueling simmering questions about Powell’s future.

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Western Water January 16, 2020 Douglas E. Beeman Layperson's Guide to Groundwater Douglas E. Beeman

Water Resource Innovation, Hard-Earned Lessons and Colorado River Challenges — Western Water Year in Review
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK-Our 2019 articles spanned the gamut from groundwater sustainability and drought resiliency to collaboration and innovation

Smoke from the 2018 Camp Fire as viewed from Lake Oroville in Northern California. Innovative efforts to accelerate restoration of headwater forests and to improve a river for the benefit of both farmers and fish. Hard-earned lessons for water agencies from a string of devastating California wildfires. Efforts to drought-proof a chronically water-short region of California. And a broad debate surrounding how best to address persistent challenges facing the Colorado River. 

These were among the issues Western Water explored in 2019, and are still worth taking a look at in case you missed them.

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Western Water December 13, 2019 Colorado River Basin Map Gary Pitzer

Can a Grand Vision Solve the Colorado River’s Challenges? Or Will Incremental Change Offer Best Hope for Success?
WESTERN WATER IN-DEPTH: With talks looming on a new operating agreement for the river, a debate has emerged over the best approach to address its challenges

Photo of Lake Mead and Hoover DamThe Colorado River is arguably one of the hardest working rivers on the planet, supplying water to 40 million people and a large agricultural economy in the West. But it’s under duress from two decades of drought and decisions made about its management will have exceptional ramifications for the future, especially as impacts from climate change are felt.

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Western Water September 12, 2019 Layperson's Guide to the Colorado River Colorado River Basin Map Gary Pitzer

Could “Black Swan” Events Spawned by Climate Change Wreak Havoc in the Colorado River Basin?
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Scientists say a warming planet increases odds of extreme drought and flood; officials say they’re trying to include those possibilities in their plans

Runoff from what some describe as an "epic flood" in 1983 strained the capacity of Glen Canyon Dam to convey water fast enough.  The Colorado River Basin’s 20 years of drought and the dramatic decline in water levels at the river’s key reservoirs have pressed water managers to adapt to challenging conditions. But even more extreme — albeit rare — droughts or floods that could overwhelm water managers may lie ahead in the Basin as the effects of climate change take hold, say a group of scientists. They argue that stakeholders who are preparing to rewrite the operating rules of the river should plan now for how to handle these so-called “black swan” events so they’re not blindsided.

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Western Water July 11, 2019 California Water Map

Your Don’t-Miss Roundup of Summer Reading From Western Water

Dear Western Water reader, 

Clockwise, from top: Lake Powell, on a drought-stressed Colorado River; Subsidence-affected bridge over the Friant-Kern Canal in the San Joaquin Valley;  A homeless camp along the Sacramento River near Old Town Sacramento; Water from a desalination plant in Southern California.Summer is a good time to take a break, relax and enjoy some of the great beaches, waterways and watersheds around California and the West. We hope you’re getting a chance to do plenty of that this July.

But in the weekly sprint through work, it’s easy to miss some interesting nuggets you might want to read. So while we’re taking a publishing break to work on other water articles planned for later this year, we want to help you catch up on Western Water stories from the first half of this year that you might have missed. 

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Western Water May 9, 2019 Layperson's Guide to the Colorado River Colorado River Basin Map Gary Pitzer

With Drought Plan in Place, Colorado River Stakeholders Face Even Tougher Talks Ahead On The River’s Future
WESTERN WATER IN-DEPTH: Talks are about to begin on a potentially sweeping agreement that could reimagine how the Colorado River is managed

Lake Mead, behind Hoover Dam, shows the effects of nearly two decades of drought. Even as stakeholders in the Colorado River Basin celebrate the recent completion of an unprecedented drought plan intended to stave off a crashing Lake Mead, there is little time to rest. An even larger hurdle lies ahead as they prepare to hammer out the next set of rules that could vastly reshape the river’s future.

Set to expire in 2026, the current guidelines for water deliveries and shortage sharing, launched in 2007 amid a multiyear drought, were designed to prevent disputes that could provoke conflict.

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Western Water December 20, 2018 Colorado River Basin Map Gary Pitzer

As Colorado River Stakeholders Draft a Drought Plan, the Margin for Error in Managing Water Supplies Narrows
WESTERN WATER IN-DEPTH: Climate report and science studies point toward a drier Basin with less runoff and a need to re-evaluate water management

This aerial view of Hoover Dam shows how far the level of Lake Mead has fallen due to ongoing drought conditions.As stakeholders labor to nail down effective and durable drought contingency plans for the Colorado River Basin, they face a stark reality: Scientific research is increasingly pointing to even drier, more challenging times ahead.

The latest sobering assessment landed the day after Thanksgiving, when U.S. Global Change Research Program’s Fourth National Climate Assessment concluded that Earth’s climate is changing rapidly compared to the pace of natural variations that have occurred throughout its history, with greenhouse gas emissions largely the cause.

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Western Water November 2, 2018 Colorado River Basin Map Gary Pitzer

As Shortages Loom in the Colorado River Basin, Indian Tribes Seek to Secure Their Water Rights
WESTERN WATER IN-DEPTH: A study of tribal water rights could shed light on future Indian water use

Aerial view of the lower Colorado RiverAs the Colorado River Basin becomes drier and shortage conditions loom, one great variable remains: How much of the river’s water belongs to Native American tribes?

Native Americans already use water from the Colorado River and its tributaries for a variety of purposes, including leasing it to non-Indian users. But some tribes aren’t using their full federal Indian reserved water right and others have water rights claims that have yet to be resolved. Combined, tribes have rights to more water than some states in the Colorado River Basin.

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Western Water September 21, 2018 Colorado River Basin Map California Water Map Gary Pitzer

Despite Risk of Unprecedented Shortage on the Colorado River, Reclamation Commissioner Sees Room for Optimism
WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Commissioner Brenda Burman, in address at Foundation’s Water Summit, also highlights Shasta Dam plan

Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda BurmanThe Colorado River Basin is more than likely headed to unprecedented shortage in 2020 that could force supply cuts to some states, but work is “furiously” underway to reduce the risk and avert a crisis, Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman told an audience of California water industry people.

During a keynote address at the Water Education Foundation’s Sept. 20 Water Summit in Sacramento, Burman said there is opportunity for Colorado River Basin states to control their destiny, but acknowledged that in water, there are no guarantees that agreement can be reached.

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Western Water September 7, 2018 Colorado River Basin Map Layperson's Guide to the Colorado River Gary Pitzer

Can Steadier Releases from Glen Canyon Dam Make Colorado River ‘Buggy’ Enough for Fish and Wildlife?
WESTERN WATER Q&A: Ted Kennedy, U.S. Geological Survey aquatic scientist

U.S. Geological Survey research ecologist Ted Kennedy collects aquatic invertebrates in the Colorado River below Glen Canyon Dam.Water means life for all the Grand Canyon’s inhabitants, including the many varieties of insects that are a foundation of the ecosystem’s food web. But hydropower operations upstream on the Colorado River at Glen Canyon Dam, in Northern Arizona near the Utah border, disrupt the natural pace of insect reproduction as the river rises and falls, sometimes dramatically. Eggs deposited at the river’s edge are often left high and dry and their loss directly affects available food for endangered fish such as the humpback chub.

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Western Water August 10, 2018 Colorado River Basin Map Layperson's Guide to the Colorado River Gary Pitzer

New Leader Takes Over as the Upper Colorado River Commission Grapples With Less Water and a Drier Climate
WESTERN WATER Q&A: Amy Haas, executive director, Upper Colorado River Commission

Amy Haas, executive director, Upper Colorado River CommissionAmy Haas recently became the first non-engineer and the first woman to serve as executive director of the Upper Colorado River Commission in its 70-year history, putting her smack in the center of a host of daunting challenges facing the Upper Colorado River Basin.

Yet those challenges will be quite familiar to Haas, an attorney who for the past year has served as deputy director and general counsel of the commission. (She replaced longtime Executive Director Don Ostler). She has a long history of working within interstate Colorado River governance, including representing New Mexico as its Upper Colorado River commissioner and playing a central role in the negotiation of the recently signed U.S.-Mexico agreement known as Minute 323.

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Western Water June 15, 2018 Jenn Bowles Colorado River Basin Map Layperson's Guide to the Colorado River Jennifer Bowles

Domino Effect: As Arizona Searches For a Unifying Voice, a Drought Plan for the Lower Colorado River Is Stalled
EDITOR'S NOTE: Finding solutions to the Colorado River — or any disputed river —may be the most important role anyone can play

Nowhere is the domino effect in Western water policy played out more than on the Colorado River, and specifically when it involves the Lower Basin states of California, Nevada and Arizona. We are seeing that play out now as the three states strive to forge a Drought Contingency Plan. Yet that plan can’t be finalized until Arizona finds a unifying voice between its major water players, an effort you can read more about in the latest in-depth article of Western Water.

Even then, there are some issues to resolve just within California.

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Western Water June 15, 2018 Layperson's Guide to the Colorado River Colorado River Basin Map Gary Pitzer

As Colorado River Levels Drop, Pressure Grows On Arizona To Complete A Plan For Water Shortages
WESTERN WATER IN-DEPTH: A dispute over who speaks for Arizona has stalled work with California, Nevada on Drought Contingency Plan

Hoover Dam and Lake Mead

It’s high-stakes time in Arizona. The state that depends on the Colorado River to help supply its cities and farms — and is first in line to absorb a shortage — is seeking a unified plan for water supply management to join its Lower Basin neighbors, California and Nevada, in a coordinated plan to preserve water levels in Lake Mead before they run too low.

If the lake’s elevation falls below 1,075 feet above sea level, the secretary of the Interior would declare a shortage and Arizona’s deliveries of Colorado River water would be reduced by 320,000 acre-feet. Arizona says that’s enough to serve about 1 million households in one year.

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Announcement January 31, 2018

Tour the Lower Colorado River in April and See the ‘Lifeblood of the Southwest’ Up Close
Join us as we visit Hoover Dam and other infrastructure, wildlife refuges, farming regions and the Salton Sea

Tickets are now on sale for the Water Education Foundation’s April 11-13 tour of the Lower Colorado River. 

Don’t miss this opportunity to visit key sites along one of the nation’s most famous rivers, including a private tour of Hoover Dam, Central Arizona Project’s Mark Wilmer pumping plant and the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge. The tour also visits the Salton Sea, Slab City, the All-American Canal and farming regions in the Imperial and Coachella valleys.

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River Reports December 19, 2017

Winter 2017-18 River Report
A Warmer Future and Increased Risk

Rising temperatures from climate change are having a noticeable effect on how much water is flowing down the Colorado River. Read the latest River Report to learn more about what’s happening, and how water managers are responding.

  • Read River Report Winter 2017-18 here
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Western Water Magazine December 11, 2017

The Colorado River: Living with Risk, Avoiding Curtailment
Fall 2017

This issue of Western Water discusses the challenges facing the Colorado River Basin resulting from persistent drought, climate change and an overallocated river, and how water managers and others are trying to face the future. 

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Aquapedia background December 29, 2016

Quagga mussel

Quagga musselsA troublesome invasive species is the quagga mussel, a tiny freshwater mollusk that attaches itself to water utility infrastructure and reproduces at a rapid rate, causing damage to pipes and pumps.

First found in the Great Lakes in 1988 (dumped with ballast water from overseas ships), the quagga mussel along with the zebra mussel are native to the rivers and lakes of eastern Europe and western Asia, including the Black, Caspian and Azov Seas and the Dneiper River drainage of Ukraine and Ponto-Caspian Sea.  

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Maps & Posters May 20, 2014

Nevada Water Map
Published 2004

This 24×36 inch poster, suitable for framing, illustrates the water resources available for Nevada cities, agriculture and the environment. It features natural and manmade water resources throughout the state, including the Truckee and Carson rivers, Lake Tahoe, Pyramid Lake and the course of the Colorado River that forms the state’s eastern boundary.

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Maps & Posters May 20, 2014

Water Cycle Poster

Water as a renewable resource is depicted in this 18×24 inch poster. Water is renewed again and again by the natural hydrologic cycle where water evaporates, transpires from plants, rises to form clouds, and returns to the earth as precipitation. Excellent for elementary school classroom use.

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Maps & Posters May 20, 2014 Colorado River Bundle

Colorado River Basin Map
Redesigned in 2017

Redesigned in 2017, this beautiful map depicts the seven Western states that share the Colorado River with Mexico. The Colorado River supplies water to nearly 40 million people in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming and the country of Mexico. Text on this beautiful, 24×36-inch map, which is suitable for framing, explains the river’s apportionment, history and the need to adapt its management for urban growth and expected climate change impacts.

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Publication May 20, 2014

Layperson’s Guide to the Colorado River
Updated 2018

Cover page for the Layperson's Guide to the Colorado River .

The Colorado River provides water to 40 million people and 4 million acres of farmland in a region encompassing some 246,000 square miles in the southwestern United States. The 32-page Layperson’s Guide to the Colorado River covers the history of the river’s development; negotiations over division of its water; the items that comprise the Law of the River; and a chronology of significant Colorado River events.

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Maps & Posters April 17, 2014 California Water Bundle

California Water Map
Updated December 2016

A new look for our most popular product! And it’s the perfect gift for the water wonk in your life.

Our 24×36 inch California Water Map is widely known for being the definitive poster that shows the integral role water plays in the state. On this updated version, it is easier to see California’s natural waterways and man-made reservoirs and aqueducts – including federally, state and locally funded projects – the wild and scenic rivers system, and natural lakes. The map features beautiful photos of California’s natural environment, rivers, water projects, wildlife, and urban and agricultural uses and the text focuses on key issues: water supply, water use, water projects, the Delta, wild and scenic rivers and the Colorado River.

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Aquapedia background February 11, 2014

Lake Powell and Glen Canyon Dam

The construction of Glen Canyon Dam in 1964 created Lake Powell. Both are located in north-central Arizona near the Utah border. Lake Powell acts as a holding tank for outflow from the Colorado River Upper Basin States: Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

The water stored in Lake Powell is used for recreation, power generation and delivering water to the Lower Basin states of California, Arizona, and Nevada. 

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Aquapedia background January 30, 2014

Colorado River 2007 Interim Guidelines And Drought Contingency Plans

In 2005, after six years of severe drought in the Colorado River Basin, federal officials and representatives of the seven basin states — California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Wyoming — began building a framework to better respond to drought conditions and coordinate the operations of the basin’s two key reservoirs, Lake Powell and Lake Mead.

The resulting Interim Guidelines for Lower Basin Shortages and the Coordinated Operations for Lake Powell and Lake Mead (Interim Guidelines) identified the conditions for shortage determinations and details of coordinated reservoir operations. The 2007 Interim Guidelines remain in effect through Dec. 31, 2025.

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Western Water Magazine November 1, 2013

An Era of New Partnerships on the Colorado River
November/December 2013

This printed issue of Western Water examines how the various stakeholders have begun working together to meet the planning challenges for the Colorado River Basin, including agreements with Mexico, increased use of conservation and water marketing, and the goal of accomplishing binational environmental restoration and water-sharing programs.

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Western Water Magazine November 1, 2012

A Call to Action? The Colorado River Basin Supply and Demand Study
November/December 2012

This printed issue of Western Water examines the Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study and what its finding might mean for the future of the lifeblood of the Southwest.

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Western Water Magazine November 1, 2011

Solving the Colorado River Basin’s Math Problem: Adapting to Change
November/December 2011

This printed issue of Western Water explores the historic nature of some of the key agreements in recent years, future challenges, and what leading state representatives identify as potential “worst-case scenarios.” Much of the content for this issue of Western Water came from the in-depth panel discussions at the Colorado River Symposium. The Foundation will publish the full proceedings of the Symposium in 2012.

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Western Water Magazine November 1, 2010

The Colorado River Drought: A Sobering Glimpse into the Future
November/December 2010

This printed issue of Western Water examines the Colorado River drought, and the ongoing institutional and operational changes underway to maintain the system and meet the future challenges in the Colorado River Basin.

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Western Water Magazine November 1, 2009

The Colorado River: Building a Sustainable Future
November/December 2009

This printed issue of Western Water explores some of the major challenges facing Colorado River stakeholders: preparing for climate change, forging U.S.-Mexico water supply solutions and dealing with continued growth in the basins states. Much of the content for this issue of Western Water came from the in-depth panel discussions at the September 2009 Colorado River Symposium.

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Western Water Magazine July 1, 2005

On the Edge: Defusing Tensions on the Colorado River
July/August 2005

With interstate discussions of critical Colorado River issues seemingly headed for stalemate, Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton stepped in May 2 to defuse, or at least defer, a potentially divisive debate over water releases from Lake Powell.

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