Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile. Colorado River water crisis: 8 possible solutions to prevent drying up In the last few years, a new force has emerged: From the Western Slope of the Rockies to Southern California, a proliferation of private investors like Greenstone have descended upon isolated communities, scouring the driest terrain in the United States to buy coveted water rights. More about the Colorado River - Colorado Public Radio Restoring the Colorado: Bringing New Life to a Stressed River The water fight over the shrinking Colorado River - BBC News Drafted in 1922, it allocates the rivers annual flow, dividing the water among seven states desperate for their share. But they will also be looking at rebalancing water levels in Lake Powell and Lake Mead, two federally owned reservoirs that hold water to use in case of extreme drought. Transferring water from agricultural communities to cities, though often contentious, is not a new practice. PHOENIX (CN) On the heels of one of the wettest Arizona winters in history, federal, state, local and tribal leaders united Thursday to announce a total of $233 million in funding for water conservation agreements to aid the Gila River Indian Community and other Colorado River users. The Interior Department had asked states to contribute plans by Tuesday for how to voluntarily reduce water usage by 2 million to 4 million acre-feet or up to one-third of the rivers annual average flow. In addition, those states are getting a hand from scientists at the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. It wasnt just the drought: Californias crops had shifted from low-value seasonal vegetables like lettuce and bell peppers to permanent non-staples, like almonds, that were so valuable that it was no longer economical for farmers to sell water to cities, even as prices spiked. What top five states have rivers? . That could change as more tribes reach water rights settlements and build out infrastructure to use those rights. Often, the best land in the West is not along rivers, so you needed to move water.. In 1922, a landmark agreement called the Colorado River Compact divided the river among two groups of states: the upper basin and the lower basin. Beginning Monday . Beef cattle are the top agricultural product of Imperial County. Theyd have to have a storage account of their own in a federal reservoir, and from my perspective thats a nonstarter, Mr. Mueller said. The four states at the headwaters of the river Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming also recently announced they plan to ask Congress to let them use federal money through 2026 for a program dubbed strategic conservation. It would resurrect a 2015 to 2018 pilot program that paid farmers to fallow land to cut water use. This area gets less attention than California's Central Valley, the nation's leading producer of produce and nuts, which draws its water from rain and snow in the Sierra Mountains, or pumps it from shrinking underground aquifers. Because the Colorado River is so large, envisioning the local impacts of water transfers can be a challenge for decision makers, especially when the communities are as remote as Cibola. And it had to be a pretty good process, because it lasted 100 years.. It certainly seems that we have to reset our expectations for what we might be trying to get out of the river, said Lpez, a former Reclamation commissioner. Although California was deluged for weeks from late in December by seven atmospheric rivers that dumped up to 30 inches (76 cm) of rain over some areas, little of that reached the Colorado River basin. Negotiators have had a bit of help from nature to start the year. But over the last two decades, the actual flow has dwindled to 12.5 million acre-feet on average, leaving state water managers with more rights on paper than existing supply. There is a myth about water in the Western United States, which is that there is not enough of it. As of Wednesday morning, the surge of water released from the Glen Canyon Dam has reached Lake Mead, KTLA's sister station KLAS reports. US rivers and lakes are shrinking for a surprising reason: cows To proponents of open markets, water is underpriced and consequently overused. 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. Andy Mueller, general manager of the Colorado River District, at the river in Glenwood Springs, Colo. Marc Catlin, a Colorado state representative, noted the financial incentives for farmers. In Australia, however, water markets have had unintended consequences. The High Flow Experiment and its gushing water will ultimately decrease Lake Powell levels by 4.5 feet from April 24 to April 27. Increasing Pressures on Colorado River Water in New Mexico, Researchers at the New Mexico State University Agricultural Science Center in Farmington, N.M., works with alfalfa on July 22, 2020. His great-grandfather came to the valley from Sweden in the 1920s. In October 2022, Lake Powell was a quarter full due to a historic drought, which threatened power supplied to millions by the Glen Canyon Dam in Page, Ariz. (Video: John Farrell/The Washington Post), Views from The Posts Editorial Board on current events, As the Colorado River dries up, states cant agree on saving water. But for more than a hundred years, millions of people have relied on the water that flows into the Colorado River from the Rocky Mountain snowpack. In an online presentation last spring outlining WAMs long-term strategy, Marc Robert, the chief operating officer, professed his belief that U.S. consumers would be compelled to use more wisely in coming years. But those who deal closely with water will tell you this is false. "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. As a result, water has turned into a financialized product like what happened to energy in the late 1990s, he said. Despite predictions for more such atmospheric rivers, of growing size and frequency, California cannot solve its long-term crisis without major investments to capture more storm water, restore flood plains and recycle wastewater. For the second time in six months, states that depend on the Colorado River to sustain their farms and cities have failed to reach an agreement on restricting water usage, setting up the prospect of the federal government making unilateral cuts this year. (Photos: U.S. Geological Survey/Willie Taylor) Lake Mead is now projected to rise 33 feet higher than expected this year . WAM and other investors could theoretically create their own reservoir accounts and let the water sit until its value was maximized. The Colorado River, which provides drinking water to 40 million people in seven U.S. states, is drying up, straining a water distribution pact amid the worst drought in 12 centuries, exacerbated . Thats the dilemma looking at how we can reduce demand with as soft a blow as possible, Hamman said. Why is the river drying up? Bunk said the two largest reservoirs on the river Lake Mead behind Hoover Dam on the Nevada-Arizona state line and Lake Powell formed by the Glen Canyon Dam on the Arizona-Utah line are at unprecedented low levels. Dan Charles for NPR Lurking in those details, though, is a bigger and more worrisome question. But from the perspective of other states even those cuts wouldnt be nearly enough. Valued at $2 billion after 14 years in existence, Australias markets primarily facilitate trades in agricultural areas. A wet winter is now prompting federal officials to release more water downstream into the reservoir. Five things you can do for the Colorado River: 1. The previous owner had owned rights to the Chalk River, a tributary of the Arkansas, which irrigated the hayfields using ditches that dated from the Civil War. 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. Stay informed daily on the latest news and advice on COVID-19 from the editors at U.S. News & World Report. Subsequently, the governments antitrust department started an inquiry. Charting a Future for the Colorado River - The Nature Conservancy Agencies are making progress on large projects to deliver water to Navajo communities in western New Mexico. This modeling proposal is a key step in the ongoing dialogue among the Seven Basin States as we continue to seek a collaborative solution to stabilize the Colorado River system, Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, said in a statement. In reality, nobody really expects cities to get cut off completely. But officials in these farming districts with long-standing water rights do not intend to give them up without a fight or without compensation that meets their needs. When started, they were hailed as a fast, flexible way of redistributing water on the driest inhabited continent, with little regulation attached. All rights reserved. Cibola, Ariz., is one of the wrong places. Arizona city cuts off a neighborhoods water supply amid drought. Everybody gave a little. California, despite using more water than any state, is the remaining holdout. Built in the 1980s, Pueblo West was growing too fast to keep up with its water needs, so it bought the ranch and its rights. Food and Consumer Systems That Rely On Colorado River Were Never 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. A Florida ethics board has dismissed a complaint that allies of former President Donald Trump filed against Republican rival Gov. Their legal rights won't do much good if there's no more water arriving from Lake Mead. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers. Alex Cardenas, the president of the board of directors of the Imperial Irrigation District, noted that the water rights among the farmers in his area of California near the border with Mexico predate the formation of the Bureau of Reclamation, which manages the river system. "On the one hand, you have the most disadvantaged community, but in the same community you have some of the richest farmers!" It's about the future of the whole valley. Cardenas said the prospect of a 10 percent cut to the regions $5 billion agricultural economy would mean serious economic pain for a community that already suffers from high unemployment. Lake Mead to rise one foot by Sunday after federal high flow water release, Las Vegas police: Man shot in street in west valley, 1 dead, 2 hurt in southwest Las Vegas Valley crash, Heavy, black smoke, flames seen near Cheyenne, Lamb, 2 suspects face arson charges after setting fires at Las Vegas Strip hotels, Clark County in dire need of foster parents for teens; Heres how to help, I lost everything: Recovering addict shares story of hope, helping others in Las Vegas, City turns on water at splash pads at parks across Las Vegas. Feds cut Colorado River water allocations. What does it mean for Nevada Whether its fallowing fields, upgrading irrigation canals, or modernizing farming methods, Flores said, decisions made now will have lasting consequences.. 'The brink of disaster': 2023 is a critical year for the Colorado River Throughout the river basin, warnings have increased and measures have tightened markedly in 2022. "Instead of eight cuttings of alfalfa, we might turn off the water in the summer and dry up the field, and let it come back in the fall," Benson says. Water markets have been called a paradise for arbitrage, an approach in which professionals use trading speed and access to information for profit. We went harder and faster than anyone and let the market rip, said Stuart Kells, a professor at La Trobe Business School in Melbourne. Investors and the environment may benefit, but water will almost certainly be more expensive. Published: Apr. Stay informed daily on the latest news and advice on COVID-19 from the editors at U.S. News & World Report. 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.
