U.S. declares first-ever water shortage for Colorado river, triggering cuts in Western states

Lake Mead is at the lowest water levels in its 85-year history. Federal officials who manage the lake expect to soon declare a water shortage.and Lake Powell, the river’s two largest reservoirs, have been falling for years and faster than experts predicted. Scorching temperatures and less melting snow in the spring have reduced the amount of water flowing from the Rocky Mountains, where the river originates before it snakes 1,450 miles southwest and into the Gulf of California.

“We’re at a moment where we’re reckoning with how we continue to flourish with less water, and it’s very painful,” said Sarah Porter, director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University.Water stored in Lake Mead and Lake Powell is divvied up through legal agreements among the seven Colorado River basin states, the federal government, Mexico and others.

Under a 2019 drought contingency plan, Arizona, Nevada, California and Mexico agreed to give up shares of their water to maintain water levels at Lake Mead. The voluntary measures weren’t enough to prevent the shortage declaration.Lake Mead supplies water to millions of people in Arizona, California, Nevada and Mexico.

Cuts for 2022 are triggered when predicted water levels fall below a certain threshold — 1,075 feet above sea level, or 40% capacity. Hydrologists predict that by January, the reservoir will drop to 1,066 feet.Eventually, some city and industrial water users could be affected.Lake Powell’s levels also are falling, threatening the roughly 5 billion kilowatt hours of electricity generated each year at the Glen Canyon Dam.

Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming get water from tributaries and other reservoirs that feed into Lake Powell. Water from three reservoirs in those states has been drained to maintain water levels at Lake Powell and protect the electric grid powered by the Glen Canyon Dam.In the U.S., Arizona will be hardest hit and lose 18% of its share from the river next year, or 512,000 acre-feet of water.

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

NPR Cookie Consent and Choicesthe California almond and avocado industries must be looked at Cuts to Arizona farmers. I bet those lawns in Scottsdale are still green, though. STOP FACTORY FARMING AND ANIMAL SLAUGHTER!!! STOP GREEDILY EATING ANIMALS!!!
Source: NPR - 🏆 96. / 63 Read more »

NPR Cookie Consent and ChoicesSupport our troops. Please. This was inevitable. Over development in naturally dry areas created this. Trump prudently ended the 20 year Afghanistan war and Biden disastrously botched the final exit.
Source: NPR - 🏆 96. / 63 Read more »

Drought Forces First-Ever Colorado River Water Cutback to Southwest StatesU.S. officials declared the first-ever water shortage on the Colorado River, triggering cutbacks that will hit farmers particularly hard during a drought that has punished the Southwest with little letup since the turn of the century This must be an historical experiment.
Source: WSJ - 🏆 98. / 63 Read more »

First-ever water cuts declared for Colorado River in historic droughtAdditional cuts — each tier with worsening impact on agriculture and municipal water — are expected if Lake Mead continues to fall. By 'The West' you mean the western continental seaboard, not the geopolitical concept of Western Civilization, there's a difference... Man, I was just talking to someone about how I sorta kept track of Lake Mead's dwindling... I hadn't in a while. Very sad to see this. I'm from Arkansas.. Nowhere near there.
Source: cnnbrk - 🏆 393. / 55 Read more »

Feds declare first Colorado River shortage, order water cuts for 2022JUST IN: Arizona, Nevada and parts of Mexico will see their water supplies from the Colorado River reduced starting in Jan. 2022 after the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation issued a formal shortage declaration for the river for the first time. This is real folks, and so is climate change. ABrat626 The Water Wars Begin.
Source: NBCNews - 🏆 10. / 86 Read more »

Drought forces first water cuts on the Colorado River. They're just the beginning.A two-decade-long megadrought along the Colorado River is pushing seven Western states and parts of Mexico into a formal shortage declaration, forcing water delivery cuts to the Southwest Here, more about the hypocrisy of ColoradoRiver water management…
Source: politico - 🏆 381. / 59 Read more »