In Rod Smith’s post on April 2nd, he predicts that the final 2014 allocation from the State Water Project will be 23%, with “a reasonable chance that the final SWP allocation will be zero.” Although the rains in February were kind to California’s most-parched areas, the major storm did not help much towards reversing the severe drought conditions that the Central Valley farming areas face. However, in the Southeastern portion of the state along the Colorado River, the water crisis seems much less dire. For now, the Colorado River has given Arizona and the portions of California that have access to it water supplies without interruption – a marked contrast to the areas of California that rely on the State Water Project. But why is this the case, and for how long can the Colorado supply water reliably? In this piece, I will address both of these issues. Continue reading
Category Archives: Colorado River Basin
Colorado River Supply Issues: A Glimpse of Things to Come in the Long-Term?
Last week, Rod Smith wrote about the changing elevations of both Lake Powell and Lake Mead. You can view his piece here. In his post, he delved into the mystery of why the elevation of both lakes is not as tightly correlated in the last ten or so years as they were in the past. It is an interesting issue-, and I am looking forward to an answer as to why. What is not nearly as much of a mystery, however, is the fact that the Colorado River Basin is providing less and less water to more and more end users. In this piece, I would like to explore the implications of the decrease in water supplies across the entire Colorado River Basin, and the potential long-term implications this change has on the cities, agriculture and citizens in the Western United States that closely rely on the river’s water. Continue reading
A Tale of Two Colorado River Basins
There is an interesting trend in the Bureau of Reclamation’s 24-Month studies projecting future elevations of Lake Powell and Lake Mead: The Bureau projects recovering elevations in Lake Powell and continued deteriorating elevations in Lake Mead. Continue reading
What can we Learn from the Aftermath of the Tragic Floods in Colorado last Month?
In September, 2013, as you probably know, Colorado faced some of the worst floods to the state in recent history. Lives were tragically lost, many thousands of survivors were displaced, and the overflowing of rivers caused widespread damage. The flooding in terms of intensity in some areas is unrivaled to any event since the tragic flooding of 1976. In this year’s floods, some areas along the Big Thompson River received an average year’s worth of rainfall in just a few short hours. In the aftermath of this devastating flood, what can we learn from the event to plan better in the future? I would like to offer my thoughts on a few areas related to this. Continue reading