But those who deal closely with water will tell you this is false. The Evergreen State takes the top spot again in the U.S. News Best States ranking on the strength of its tech sector and other industries. Everybody gave a little. It lies below sea level, allowing water from the Colorado River to flow there by gravity alone. "What happened today was a step forward," said Kevin Moran, a water policy specialist at the Environmental Defense Fund. FILE - A buoy sits high and dry on cracked earth previously under the waters of Lake Mead at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area near Boulder City, Nev., on June 28, 2022. And all the positives that water has provided for 100 years in the state of Colorado are gone., Of course, not everyone has been displeased by the arrival of hedge funds reportedly paying millions in cash for old farms. Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. Agricultural interests got the biggest share. These farmers, in Imperial County, currently draw more water from the Colorado River than all of Arizona and Nevada combined. It's now more salty than the ocean, heavily contaminated with agricultural runoff, and shrinking. Chaffee County is considered one of the hidden gems of the Rockies, a relatively unspoiled valley with a diverse economy in tourism as well as agriculture. The Imperial Valley, by contrast, has only one source of water: the Colorado River, 80 miles to the east. The two lakes, combined, were at 92% capacity in 1999, Bunk noted. "We have the laws in place, you know, when water comes anywhere west of the Mississippi, it's first-come, first-served, and that's how it's always been," he says. (Anthony Jackson/The Albuquerque Journal via AP), Trump PAC Complaint Against DeSantis Rejected in Florida, North Carolina AG Urges Public Safety, Law Enforcement Bills, 7 Bodies Found During Search for Missing Oklahoma Teens. The Colorado River provides water to more than 40 million people across seven southwestern states, 29 tribal nations and Mexico - and a lot of major cities in those states are heavily dependent on . The effect has been dramatic on a vast river basin where the math never added up: The amount of water it receives doesn't meet the amount that is promised. Much of the West, including Los Angeles and Las Vegas, was made by moving water. Meanwhile, bodies have surfaced as Lake Mead's shoreline recedes, including the corpse of a man who authorities say was shot, maybe in the 1970s, and stuffed in a barrel. And with the worst drought in 1,500 years parching the region, water anxiety is at an all-time high. Colorado River tributaries in New Mexico bring water to the alfalfa fields in the Four Corners and the forested hills of the Gila wilderness in the southwestern part of the state. Similar deals have been struck in the past, although none involved so much money. David Morris, the water utility spokesman for the city and county, said the Colorado River water has allowed the region to wean itself off of unsustainable groundwater pumping. Instruct the economists to record (Joshua Lott/The Washington Post) For the second time in six months, states that depend on the Colorado River to sustain their farms and cities have failed to reach . But Mr. Eklund would like it to be. The state representatives said they would continue to work together and with the federal government and others to reach consensus on how best to share the burden of protecting the system from which we all derive so many benefits.. In Colorado, when we look up at the rocky mountains, its difficult to imagine how much those snowy white peaks mean to the rest of the world. Negotiators have had a bit of help from nature to start the year. Agricultural water use makes up nearly 80% of total water consumption in the Colorado River basin, with roughly half of that going toward the production of alfalfa hay, according to a 2020. And now, water officials are grappling with how to make do with less. Most would like to see the price of water, long set in quiet by utilities and governments, rise precipitously. In a general, larger picture, its a national park, and the way the river was before the dam came in has changed a lot, Tusso said. Sprinklers deliver vital Colorado River water to a field of celery in California's Imperial Valley. They inherited the legal right to use that water, but they're now under pressure to give up some of it. A resilient future on the Colorado must have tribal sovereignty at the forefront, said Daryl Vigil, Jicarilla Apache Nation water administrator and a staunch advocate for tribal inclusion in water management issues. Use less waterevery drop counts! "If you get to a point where you're at dead pool, you have nothing at all. When you have pistachio and almond farmers willing to pay 10 times the average price, people sit up and say, How can I own some of this? he said. But those plans, say members of Colorado's outdoor recreation, real estate, and tourism industries, jeopardize a $9 billion dollar economy that hinges on healthy rivers - and supports more . Bureau officials use the image of pouring tea from one cup to another to describe how water from Rocky Mountain snowmelt is captured in Lake Powell, then released downriver through the Grand Canyon to Lake Mead. Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology. The best states in the U.S. come from coast to coast. Mr. Catlin, the state representative, said: We need to think about the true value of water. FILE - A buoy sits high and dry on cracked earth previously under the waters of Lake Mead at the Lake Mead . Touton said the states need to conserve an additional 2 to 4 million acre-feet of water next year to protect levels at Lake Powell in Arizona and Utah and Lake Mead in Nevada and Arizona. Going by established law, Leimgruber says, those latecomers would be cut off from Colorado River water completely before the Imperial Irrigation District gives up any of the water to which it's entitled. (Photos: U.S. Geological Survey/Willie Taylor) Lake Mead is now projected to rise 33 feet higher than expected this year . A field of alfalfa, freshly cut, dries in the sun. 2002, 2018 and 2021 are the most intense dry periods on record for the basin. Throughout the river basin, warnings have increased and measures have tightened markedly in 2022. Colorado River expert John Fleck, a professor at the University of New Mexico, wrote that Californias plan gets to roughly the same place as the six-state plan at the most extreme reservoir levels, but the difference is timing waiting until water levels drop further at Lake Meads Hoover Dam. Those Upper Basin reservoir releases will likely continue next year, Interior officials said. Agencies are making progress on large projects to deliver water to Navajo communities in western New Mexico. California receives the largest allotment, 80% of which is consumed by its $50-billion agricultural industry. of your water comes from the Colorado River. Biden should not let Venezuelas regime run out the clock on democracy, Floridas surgeon general played loose with facts about vaccine risk, in negotiations with the seven states affected. John Hernandez, a Mexican-American activist, says that there's also a question of fairness if most of the money that the irrigation district gets for using less water potentially hundreds of millions of dollars each year gets passed out to just a few hundred farms. The Western model is a sort of comprehensive, consensus-based public discussion, and its worked very well, said Bruce Babbitt, a former governor of Arizona and secretary of the interior during the Clinton administration. As a result, the talks starting in January will be a vehicle for urgent attempts to manage the water, including replenishing downstream reservoirs. "The droughts that we are seeing are becoming that much more severe because of the temperature component, they're warmer," Bolinger said. Californias agricultural water markets a mosaic of online exchanges connecting farmers and water brokers are considered a potential model for the West: fast, flexible and responsive to extreme weather. Updated: Apr 26, 2023 / 01:55 PM PDT. Subsequently, the governments antitrust department started an inquiry. Steve Benson says a further cut of 20 percent is feasible, but it does involve costs. Gary Libecap, a professor of economics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who specializes in water issues, believes that movement of water necessarily generates a public good, whatever form it takes. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. But we will not serve as an emergency reservoir for uncontrollable, unsustainable urban sprawl, Cardenas said. The gruesome discoveries renewed interest in the lore of organized crime and the early days of the Las Vegas Strip, just a 30-minute drive from the lake. What top five states have rivers? The Colorado River system is in a very dire condition, Dan Bunk, a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation water manager, declared during internet presentations streamed Nov. 29 and Dec. 2 that invited public comment about possible actions. One of the central tensions of these complicated negotiations is how to balance cuts between farming regions against those in cities, including major population centers. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs. Were in a very fortunate situation here in Albuquerque to have two different and distinct sources of supply.. Californias snowpack, aided by atmospheric rivers, could help drought. In 2001, Pueblo West, a planned community 100 miles away, came calling. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) Colorado River tributaries in New Mexico bring water to the alfalfa fields in the Four Corners and the forested hills of the Gila wilderness in the southwestern part of the state. Construction of the original canal was marked by epic engineering failure. Seven arid states comprise the Colorado River BasinColorado, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and Californiaand all exceed the national average for farm water use, with the exception of Wyoming, which uses 1.5 acre-feet of water per acre, in line with the national average. hide caption. At the edges of Lake Mead, the Nation's largest reservoir, a "bathtub ring" of mineral deposits approximately 100 ft. high shows the drop in water level after years of drought along the Colorado River. Along both banks, a few hundred acres produce lush alfalfa and cotton, amid one of the more arid and menacing environments in North America. Mr. The proposal begins with a 400,000 acre-foot cut, as previously offered, and continues with additional reductions as the reservoir declines toward levels where power generation would be threatened. Why do we need to take additional actions now when there was so much water through all these recent storms?. But here there was nothing to see: just an empty field of ankle-high weeds and crimson splotches of peat. Much of the money goes to pay for projects that conserve water. The platform is designed to engage citizens and government leaders in a discussion about what needs improvement across the country. But Lpez said the additional release could have jeopardized regional water supplies. We let anyone come play.. So youre going to see a very important negotiation.. Sandbars are important, according to the feds: they are places for people to camp, fish, and also protect important archaeological sites throughout the Grand Canyon and across the Colorado River. The Evergreen State takes the top spot again in the U.S. News Best States ranking on the strength of its tech sector and other industries. Often, the best land in the West is not along rivers, so you needed to move water.. What are the top crops grown in Colorado? The system worked as long as there was enough to go around, said Mr. Libecap, who recently advised the State of Colorado on its growing water problems. On a map, this is the very top of the Gulf of California. The Imperial Irrigation District draws enough water from the river each year to cover 470,000 acres with 5 feet of water. The high-tech market there services Denver and other cities, fueling development in some of the fastest-growing housing markets in the country. But Colorado River and reservoir management was designed during a much wetter period. Arizona faces steeper cuts at 592,000 acre-feet (21 percent) of its . That is about 1 million acre-feet less than the three states are entitled to use under a legal compact that divides the Colorado River's waters. Right now, we have legal and political mechanisms in place to prevent that from happening., He added, though, that the pressure of the drought could shift the terrain. Kightlinger, along with many other water experts and officials, says cuts of this magnitude and severity have to be shared, rather than doled out according to seniority. Scientists attribute extended drought to warmer and drier weather in the West to long-term, human-caused climate change. You know, we in the water business have done a great job of saying, Waters the next oil, youve got to watch out, its going to be so valuable, he added. Its quite possible that there just wont be as much San Juan-Chama water available in the future because of drought and climate change.. The negotiations have the potential to redefine rules that for the last century have governed one of the most valuable economic resources in the United States. Could A Boulder Company Solve The Takeout Food Container Trash Conundrum? The Salton Sea still exists, although it's in deep trouble. LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - Lake Mead will be one foot higher by the end of the week after the release of water from Glen Canyon into the Colorado River.
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