Western States Megadrought intensifies - predictions for bad Fire Season and severe water shortages for Colorado (Aurora: ski resort, houses)

[Arktikos]

Originally Posted by Pahn

I would hardly call the death of cultivated crops an ecological disaster. It would be an economic disaster.

It could be both, if there's no water flowing downstream from Lake Powell. The loss of a river beyond that would clearly be bad for the ecology of the area. He could have elaborated or otherwise chosen his words better, for sure.

[OutdoorLover]

It's a lot easier to save more water than to make more water. There seems to be some conservation going on, but at least in agriculture, which accounts for much of the water use, there are actually legal disincentives to conservation: " [Ranch manager] Ketterhagen feels he has little choice. A vestige of 139-year-old water law pushes ranchers to use as much water as they possibly can, even during a drought. 'Use it or lose it' clauses, as they are known, are common in state laws throughout the Colorado River basin and give the farmers, ranchers and governments holding water rights a powerful incentive to use more water than they need. Under the provisions of these measures, people who use less water than they are legally entitled to, risk seeing their allotment slashed.".

https://projects.propublica.org/kill...it-or-lose-it/

Of course, there is also ill-considered residential development in arid places, golf courses, green lawns and swimming pools - none of which line up with making the most of limited water...

Then the water rights system has been in place for over 100 years, and is not only outdated for the present situation, it was apparently set up to favor powerful interests at the time and is not equitable... but those who are "winners" because of these inequities resist any changes...
https://www.propublica.org/article/c...fornia-arizona

You've got state pitted against state, and in some cases city against city... what a mess. I recall articles about a coming water crisis in the southwest that were being written in National Geographic maybe 40 years ago. It doesn't seem like there's been much progress in all this time.

Of course, I've seen massive problems like overfishing in New England, and the hypoxia and eutrophication in the massive Chesapeake Bay estuary - that have also been well understood and perfectly preventable, but, the people who are benefitting from the wrong behavior, just refuse to be reasonable, and refuse to change anything, and the problems only get worse, year after year after year. I get pretty cynical about human nature as I get older, I am afraid.

[Vision67]

As the Colorado River Shrinks, Washington Prepares to Spread the Pain

The seven states that rely on the river for water are not expected to reach a deal on cuts. It appears the Biden administration will have to impose reductions.

free link: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/27/c...smid=share-url


"WASHINGTON — 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. The demand for those cuts, on a scale without parallel in American history, was prompted by precipitous declines in Lake Mead and Lake Powell, which provide water and electricity for Arizona, Nevada and Southern California. Drought, climate change and population growth have caused water levels in the lakes to plummet.

“Think of the Colorado River Basin as a slow-motion disaster,” said Kevin Moran, who directs state and federal water policy advocacy at the Environmental Defense Fund. “We’re really at a moment of reckoning.”"

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Vision67

As the Colorado River Shrinks, Washington Prepares to Spread the Pain

The seven states that rely on the river for water are not expected to reach a deal on cuts. It appears the Biden administration will have to impose reductions.

free link: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/27/c...smid=share-url


"WASHINGTON — 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. The demand for those cuts, on a scale without parallel in American history, was prompted by precipitous declines in Lake Mead and Lake Powell, which provide water and electricity for Arizona, Nevada and Southern California. Drought, climate change and population growth have caused water levels in the lakes to plummet.

“Think of the Colorado River Basin as a slow-motion disaster,” said Kevin Moran, who directs state and federal water policy advocacy at the Environmental Defense Fund. “We’re really at a moment of reckoning.”"

What?! Come up with a collaborative, multi-state plan by next Tuesday?! Who picked that date out of thin air?

[msgsing]

And the prehistoric Indian tribes in the the West forced out centuries ago by droughts. Cycles of good and bad weather. With present day climate change perhaps we have the technology to avoid catastrophe or maybe not. Climate migration a distinct possibility.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

What?! Come up with a collaborative, multi-state plan by next Tuesday?! Who picked that date out of thin air?

Not the case, they've had since November.

Excerpt from the article posted by Vision67: "In November, the Biden administration ... asked states to submit a proposal by Jan. 31 that it could include in the study. If states fail to agree by then, the administration will be left to analyze and ultimately impose its own plan for rationing water. The government hasn’t said publicly what its plan would be...."

IMO the states will never come up with a plan on their own and the Feds will have to force a plan which may or may not be any better than what the states might have come up with if they tried. One thing I know for sure, if the Feds force a plan it will be tied up in court for years. At 75 I may not live long enough to see a plan put into play. Fingers crossed that the adults in our nation will come through with a plan. (Do we still have adults in government? <quack>)

[hikernut]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

Not the case, they've had since November.

Excerpt from the article posted by Vision67: "In November, the Biden administration ... asked states to submit a proposal by Jan. 31 that it could include in the study. If states fail to agree by then, the administration will be left to analyze and ultimately impose its own plan for rationing water. The government hasn’t said publicly what its plan would be...."

And even before that (quoted from the article)...

In June, the commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, Camille C. Touton, gave the states 60 days to come up with a plan to reduce their use of Colorado River water by two to four million acre-feet — about 20 to 40 percent of the river’s entire flow.

Ms. Touton stressed that she preferred that the states develop a solution. But if they did not, she said, the bureau would act.

[Vision67]

I'll bet they force the case into litigation as a delaying tactic. It also enriches their friendly water lawyers.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

Not the case, they've had since November.

Excerpt from the article posted by Vision67: "In November, the Biden administration ... asked states to submit a proposal by Jan. 31 that it could include in the study. If states fail to agree by then, the administration will be left to analyze and ultimately impose its own plan for rationing water. The government hasn’t said publicly what its plan would be...."

IMO the states will never come up with a plan on their own and the Feds will have to force a plan which may or may not be any better than what the states might have come up with if they tried. One thing I know for sure, if the Feds force a plan it will be tied up in court for years. At 75 I may not live long enough to see a plan put into play. Fingers crossed that the adults in our nation will come through with a plan. (Do we still have adults in government? <quack>)

The water will run out before the plan comes into play, if gets hung up in court. As soon as it's implemented, it will be obsolete.

[Phil P]

Nobodies house tap is getting shut off, ever. Water problems will stop new developments, but existing ones are safe. The farmers are the only ones who have the risk of their taps shut off - they'll have to bicker it out between states and see what falls out.