W. Powell @ 50% Capacity, Mead Below 40%, Large Scale Upstream Releases Highlight Drought Intensity

[hatrack]

In 2011, Lake Powell contained plenty of water.


By 2014, Lake Powell was full of plant life and silt.

EDIT

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, 11 of the past 14 years have been drought years in the Southwest, with the drought ranging from "severe" to "extreme" to "exceptional," depending on the year and the area. At "full pool," Lake Powell spans 254 square miles (660 square kilometers)—a quarter the size of Rhode Island. The lightning bolt-shaped canyon shore stretches 1,960 miles (3,150 kilometers), 667 miles (1,073 kilometers) longer than the West Coast of the continental United States.

The reservoir serves multiple purposes. It stores water from the Upper Basin states of Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado so that the Lower Basin states of California, Nevada, and Arizona can receive their allotted half of the Colorado River; it creates electricity through hydro-generators at Glen Canyon Dam; and it helps prevent flooding below Hoover Dam (240 miles or 390 kilometers downstream), the site of North America's largest reservoir, Lake Mead.

The irony, as most students of this river's history now know, is that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation created these enormous reservoirs during the wettest period of the past millennium. According to modern tree-ring data (unavailable during the dam-building epoch), the previous millennium experienced droughts much more severe than those in the first 14 years of the 21st century. Many climate scientists think the Southwest is again due for a megadrought. The Bureau of Reclamation's analysis of over a hundred climate projections suggests the Colorado River Basin will be much drier by the end of this century than it was in the past one, with the median projection showing 45 percent less runoff into the river.

Last winter was snowy in the Rockies, and runoff was at 96 percent of the historical average. Because of the previous years of drought, however, Lake Powell had risen to only half full by fall. But Lake Mead was in even worse shape. This year it plunged to 39 percent of capacity, a low that has not been matched since Hoover Dam began backing up the Colorado River in 1935. In August, the Bureau of Reclamation announced that Lake Powell would release an additional 10 percent of its waters, or 2.5 trillion gallons, to Lake Mead. That release will lower the water in Lake Powell by about three feet (one meter).

EDIT

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/11/141123-lake-powell-colorado-river-drought-water/

[Warpy]

1. It looks like the Dust Bowl of the 1920s-30s was just the warmup act

Most of the west is arid and programmed to remain so. Much of the water loss on the Colorado River is evaporation loss. Air out here is so dry that an open bag of chips won't get soggy. Even salted popcorn lasts a while and salt doesn't cake. My house had a small water feature when I moved in and it would lose 2 inches of water per day in dry weather, just due to evaporation. It doesn't have a water feature any more and won't until the drought is over, if it ever is.

People need to get used to the idea that the west is dry and stop demanding things like lawns and golf courses that belong in the east and I don't just mean in California. We've been getting used to the idea here in NM for 20 years because that's when the drought here got to severe levels.

[Wellstone ruled]

2. Irragation for cattle feed that is shipped to China is about as

stupid as it gets. Yes,millions of gallons of Colorado River water goes to Alfalfa growers along the Arizona and Nevada borders. And,this hay is loaded in Cargo Containers to China. Yes guys,China. Seems there is a huge loophole in this so called shared water agreement between the Colorado River Compact that allows unlimited usage to these operations. Something North of 8 times the usage of Las Vegas and Phoenix combined,just to water these hay fields. Now their is a new operation that has sunk high volume wells that are pumping our Aquifer dry to irradiate his newly developed Hay operation near Golden Valley Az. Same deal,hay for the Dairy Herds in China.