Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search
 

GliderGuider

(21,088 posts)
Sun Jul 27, 2014, 04:55 PM Jul 2014

In Colorado River Basin, Groundwater Is Disappearing Much Faster than Lake Mead

In Colorado River Basin, Groundwater Is Disappearing Much Faster than Lake Mead

The mineral-stained canyon walls and the plunging water levels at Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir, are the most visible signs of the driest 14-year period in the Colorado River Basin’s historical record.

But the receding shorelines at the Basin’s major reservoirs — including Lake Mead, which fell to a record-low level this month, and Lake Powell, the second largest reservoir on the Colorado, 290 kilometers (180 miles) upstream from Mead — are an insignificant hydrological change compared to the monumental disruption taking place underground.

Satellite data show that in the last nine years, as a powerful drought held fast and river flows plummeted, the majority of the freshwater losses in the Basin — nearly 80 percent — came from water pumped out of aquifers.

The decrease in groundwater reserves is a volume of water equivalent to one and a half times the amount held in a full Lake Mead, according to a study published today in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

“We didn’t think it would be this bad,” said Stephanie Castle, a researcher at the University of California, Irvine, and the study’s lead author. “Basin-wide groundwater losses are not well documented. The number was shocking.”
3 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
In Colorado River Basin, Groundwater Is Disappearing Much Faster than Lake Mead (Original Post) GliderGuider Jul 2014 OP
I don't think the southwest and California will react until... 4139 Jul 2014 #1
Add this to that... Adsos Letter Jul 2014 #2
"We didn’t think it would be this bad" Nihil Jul 2014 #3

4139

(1,893 posts)
1. I don't think the southwest and California will react until...
Sun Jul 27, 2014, 05:12 PM
Jul 2014

...there is not enough water to flush the commodes and then it will be too late

 

Nihil

(13,508 posts)
3. "We didn’t think it would be this bad"
Mon Jul 28, 2014, 05:41 AM
Jul 2014

That's the last couple of centuries of Homo Sapiens in a nutshell.

The Executive Summary is simply: "We didn't think."

Latest Discussions»Issue Forums»Environment & Energy»In Colorado River Basin, ...