Officials fear 'complete doomsday scenario' for drought-stricken Colorado River

[triplets_93]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/officials-fear-complete-doomsday-scenario-202316932.html

If that happens, the massive turbines that generate electricity for 4.5 million people would have to shut down — after nearly 60 years of use — or risk destruction from air bubbles. The only outlet for Colorado River water from the dam would then be a set of smaller, deeper and rarely used bypass tubes with a far more limited ability to pass water downstream to the Grand Canyon and the cities and farms in Arizona, Nevada and California.

Such an outcome — known as a “minimum power pool” — was once unfathomable here. Now, the federal government projects that day could come as soon as July.

 

[T-RO]

Yes the western states have been in a long-term dry period. Emphatically so. Yes better conservation efforts are needed. (And I believe a new water pipeline)

I'll also add this:
-Arizona, Utah and western Colorado just concluded one of the wettest Monsoon seasons of the past fifty years
-Even after the monsoon it's been above average rainfall here in Arizona and upriver of Lake Powell
-Snowpack in the Rockies is 112% of average as of today, 12/12/22 (https://snowpack.water-data.com/uppercolorado/index.php)

Also this:
Recently California was bumped up massively in its proportion of water rights to the Colorado. There are a lot of things going on, not all with water supply.

 

[Pass2Run]

Time to do some cloudseeding . . . I'm sure they're already doing it.

 

[dsturgeon]

Time to do some cloudseeding . . . I'm sure they're already doing it.

people not having electricity 24 hours a day > poisoning the soil, water, air, and us

 

[terra]

too much development and not enough water

and california refuses to build desalinization plants

Until that is done nothing will change at all

 

[Hardline]

Lake Mead is extremely low.

 

[triplets_93]

Lake Mead is extremely low.

A showdown over Colorado River water is setting the stage for a high-stakes legal battle

The federal government wanted seven western states that rely on the river to decide how to cut up to 30% of its water allocation. But there's one holdout: California.

https://www.accuweather.com/en/weat...ter-usage-sets-stage-for-legal-battle/1476445

 

[Creeper]

A couple of years ago I read an article about the movement of the north pole to the south east. The article predicted that as the pole continues to move in that direction the climate would shift turning the West and Central US into a Sahara-like desert.

 

[VaqueroTD]

It‘s a shame, because it’s some of the most beautiful scenery in our country from Colorado to Monument Valley to Yosemite Park to the Red Woods to Mount Rainier to Wyoming. Would love to settle down out there but it’s obvious that side of the country will be the first one to suffer from our bleak overpopulated and over-industrialized future.

 

[SlammedZero]

Also of note, the Great Salt Lake is drying up at a very rapid rate. They're saying, without intervention, that it could dry up within 5 years.

I live in Idaho, I can tell you we rely heavily on aquifers, mountain runoff (rivers), and reservoirs. They've been low. There is a reservoir 1-2 hours outside of Boise called Anderson Ranch. Took a cabin trip up there 2 summers ago, and when I came over the hill, I couldn't believe my eyes on how low it was. It's quite sad. In 2016 Boise got hit with a "big" snowstorm and everybody freaked out and it has been colloquially known as the "Snowmaggeden" year. When I was a kid in Boise, that kind of snowfall happened every winter. Now you're lucky to see 2-4 inches total all winter. The weather is absolutely changing.

 

[triplets_93]

 

[gtb1943]

weather be unpredictable.

Mother Nature be a nasty B****

Too many people drinking too much water in areas that have been pretty dry for a very long time as in MILLENNIA at least.

Add to this typical government idiocy and there you are.

 

[nobody]

weather be unpredictable.

Mother Nature be a nasty B****

Too many people drinking too much water in areas that have been pretty dry for a very long time as in MILLENNIA at least.

Add to this typical government idiocy and there you are.

Not to mention having ultra-thirsty green lawns in a freaking desert.

 

[gtb1943]

Not to mention having ultra-thirsty green lawns in a freaking desert.

And of course all those swimming pools.

 

[triplets_93]

Two ideas were floated this week to reduce water usage from the dwindling Colorado River, which supplies 40 million people.

https://apnews.com/article/colorado...rnia-arizona-5fefe545767b805900f4b967a7c8da25

The 1,450-mile (2,334-kilometer) river is a lifeline for seven U.S. states, dozens of Native American tribes, and two states in Mexico. It irrigates nearly 5.5 million acres (about 2.2 million hectares) of farmland in the U.S. and Mexico and generates hydroelectric power used across the West. In recent decades, drought, climate change and an imbalance between the river’s flows and how much water users are promised

Tuesday’s analysis from the Interior Department considers two ways to force cuts in the water supply for Arizona, Nevada and California: use the existing water priority system or the same percentage across the board. California and some tribes with senior rights to water benefit more under the first option. Arizona and Nevada, largely with junior rights, don’t feel as much pain under the second. Officials haven’t taken a stance.

 

[speedkilz88]

Also of note, the Great Salt Lake is drying up at a very rapid rate. They're saying, without intervention, that it could dry up within 5 years.

I live in Idaho, I can tell you we rely heavily on aquifers, mountain runoff (rivers), and reservoirs. They've been low. There is a reservoir 1-2 hours outside of Boise called Anderson Ranch. Took a cabin trip up there 2 summers ago, and when I came over the hill, I couldn't believe my eyes on how low it was. It's quite sad. In 2016 Boise got hit with a "big" snowstorm and everybody freaked out and it has been colloquially known as the "Snowmaggeden" year. When I was a kid in Boise, that kind of snowfall happened every winter. Now you're lucky to see 2-4 inches total all winter. The weather is absolutely changing.

Weather is cyclical.

 

[SlammedZero]

I was actually just in Las Vegas 2 weeks ago. This is how full Lake Mead was:

 

[Reverend Conehead]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/officials-fear-complete-doomsday-scenario-202316932.html

If that happens, the massive turbines that generate electricity for 4.5 million people would have to shut down — after nearly 60 years of use — or risk destruction from air bubbles. The only outlet for Colorado River water from the dam would then be a set of smaller, deeper and rarely used bypass tubes with a far more limited ability to pass water downstream to the Grand Canyon and the cities and farms in Arizona, Nevada and California.

Such an outcome — known as a “minimum power pool” — was once unfathomable here. Now, the federal government projects that day could come as soon as July.

I know that California has been investing in water desalination plants, which can help them to get clean drinking water, but I hadn't thought of how they depend on those rivers for hydro power, not just for water.

 

[T-RO]

Not to mention having ultra-thirsty green lawns in a freaking desert.

Speaking for those in Arizona I can tell you: the vast majority of yards here aren't grass, but rock and arid-friendly plants.

 

[Rockport]

Weather is cyclical.

Yes but those cycles are currently heavily influenced by humans.