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Arizona’s Cities May See ‘Huge’ Water Cutbacks Soon. Here’s What That Means for Valley Residents

/in , , /by /12 Newsby Joe Dana

This month will be a moment of truth for Arizona cities.

The Federal Bureau of Reclamation is scheduled to release its “24-month study” that announces how much water Lake Powell and Lake Mead will release in 2023.

Meanwhile, seven western states must also present a plan to dramatically cut 2-4 million acre-feet of water. According to federal records, that amounts to as much as 25% of water allocated to the states.

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Opinion: A Water Crisis is Here, the West Must Act Aggressively, Collectively

/in , , /by /The Denver Post

A billboard in St. George urges residents to use less water — “Utah is in a drought.”

Other nearby billboards in Washington County advertise one of the largest outdoor swimming pools in the world and a soon-to-arrive luxury surfing community with three artificial lakes.

It certainly doesn’t feel like this arid city – hosting the nearby headwaters for two important tributaries to the Colorado River — is in a drought.

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Drought Driving Tough Talks on Water Cuts

/in , , /by /Las Vegas Review-Journal by Colton Lochhead

Nevada and two of its neighboring southwestern states are still working on ways to drastically cut water use from the Colorado River as a deadline set by the federal government to address the worsening conditions along the river quickly approaches.

John Entsminger, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, said his organization is still at the table with the other so-called lower basin states of California and Arizona as they work to respond to a call from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to propose unprecedented cuts in water use along the river in order to protect critical power and water delivery infrastructure at lakes Mead and Powell.

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Opinion: Saving the Colorado River Requires Cooperation From All Parties in West

/in , , /by /Las Vegas Sun

These days, when we talk about water, we aren’t talking about “drought” — we’re talking about a new and enduring climate scenario. Despite fluke flooding like the Las Vegas Valley experienced Thursday night, we must act accordingly.

There is simply not enough water in the West to sustain the level of water consumption we currently demand. And there likely won’t be. Ever.

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Rain Helps Lake Mead Rise — 3 Inches

/in , , /by /Las Vegas Review-Journalby Marvin Clemons

With monsoon rains four out of the last five days in the Las Vegas area, there is at least one plus — Lake Mead has risen 3 inches.

At 7 p.m. Sunday the top of the lake was 1,040.99 feet above sea level at Hoover Dam. Five days ago, July 26, the lake measured at 1,040.75 feet.

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Lake Mead Water Level Falls to 1,040ft, Dead-Pool Level Inches Closer

/in , , /by /Newsweekby Robyn White

Lake Mead’s water levels have fallen to 1,040 feet, inching ever closer to dead-pool level.

Lake Mead, a reservoir formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, has been drying up because of the ongoing drought in the western United States. It stretches across Nevada and Arizona.

According to new data from Lakes Online, as of July 28 at 4 a.m local time, Lake Mead had fallen to 1,040 feet. At the beginning of 2022, the Lake was at 1,066 feet.

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WATER 101: A Recap of Where We Are Amidst a Historic Drought

/in , , /by /Holtville Tribuneby Luis Gomez Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Local farmers may soon be forced to bite the bullet and find ways to use significantly less water in 2023 — potentially for a lot longer.

This drastic measure may come as a result of an emergency water conservation effort to prevent further depletion of the Valley’s main source of water, the Colorado River. If less water flows down the Colorado River, the consequences could be catastrophic for the two reservoirs — lakes Mead and Powell — that feed into the so-called basin states.

For example, if water levels in Lake Mead continue dropping, it could bring water and hydropower to a grinding halt, all due to a relentless drought over two decades.

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What the Startling Low Water Levels in Lake Mead Mean for LA

/in , , /by /LA istby Julia Paskin

NASA recently released startling satellite images of Lake Mead, which the agency notes is now at its lowest since April 1937, when the reservoir was still being filled for the first time.

A measurement taken on July 18 put Lake Mead at just 27% of capacity. That effect you see in the image above — with the lighter color on the cliffs where the water level once was — is known as the “bathtub ring.”

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Here’s How Low California’s Reservoirs Are and What to Expect in the Future

/in , , /by /The Orange County Registerby Kurt Snibbe

Here’s a look at the status of California’s reservoirs during another drought:

There has not been much good news about California’s water supply lately, but there could be some relief on the way. The North-of-Delta Offstream Storage project, often referred to as the planned Sites Reservoir, was authorized by Congress in 2003. The long delayed project got a financial boost in March when the federal government signaled its intent to loan the project nearly $2.2 billion — about half of the cost to design, plan and build it.

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On the Colorado River the Feds Carry a Big Stick. Will the States Get Hit?

/in , , /by /KUNCby Luke Runyon

The seven Colorado River basin states have until mid-August to come up with a plan to drastically cut their water use. Federal officials say the cuts are necessary to keep the river’s giant reservoirs from declining to levels where water cannot be released through their dams and hydropower production ceases. If state leaders fail to devise a plan, they could face a federal crackdown.

But while federal intervention is a key feature of Colorado River governance and management, to cajole stubborn water users into negotiating — it’s rarely tested.

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