unlimited it's the water, stupid

[Woolly Bugger]

The Colorado River is drying up and scientists finally know what the mystery is
Concerns that reservoirs could reach deadpool levels in the next few years are very real, with water levels down 20 percent over the past century.

The Colorado River is one of the few perennial water supplies for some of the hottest and driest zones of the United States. It provides water for over 40 million people in its catchment area and five million acres of farmland in Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming. Some areas, such Las Vegas, are almost entirely dependent on the river.

However, there is concern that the river is drying up. Water levels have been steadily declining and are currently 20 percent lower than they were 100 years ago.

"Climate change is reducing the flows of the Colorado significantly," says climate scientist Brad Udall. 40 million people in the booming Southwest rely on the river. But the demands and stress of a 22-year drought have the river in crisis. https://t.co/GWZz4jk1Gn pic.twitter.com/SlMMoGUoa2

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 24, 2021

The Colorado River Basin has been in an extended drought for the past two decades - a situation that has impacted vegetation, increased wildfire activity and caused water levels in major reservoirs such as Lake Powell and Lake Mead to drop down to levels never seen before, and the The long-term outlook isn't looking good.

The rivers feeding Lake Powell are running at under 50 percent of the April average, according to the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center. Projections for Lake Mead are even more alarming - it could reach its lowest point ever later this year.

So what has caused this? Temperatures in both the upper and lower basins of the river have climbed over the past quarter of a century. The last 25 years have been about 2°F warmer than the average for the 100 years and probably warmer than at any time in the past 2,000 years.

https://en.as.com/latest_news/the-colorado-river-is-drying-up-and-scientists-finally-know-what-the-mystery-is-n/

[Woolly Bugger]

[Woolly Bugger]

A dry winter on the Colorado River has big reservoirs on track for trouble

If you took a look at a map of Rocky Mountain snow right now you would see a lot of red.

The mountains that feed the Colorado River with snowmelt are strikingly dry, with many ranges holding less than 50% of their average snow for this time of year. The low totals could spell trouble for the nation's largest reservoirs, but those dry conditions don't seem to be ringing alarm bells for Colorado River policymakers.

Inflows to Lake Powell, the nation's second largest reservoir, are expected to be 55% of average this year, according to federal data released this week. If forecasts hold true, 2025 would see the third-lowest amount of water added to Lake Powell in the past decade.



https://www.kjzz.org/politics/2025-05-08/a-dry-winter-on-the-colorado-river-has-big-reservoirs-on-track-for-trouble