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Interior Offers Extremes on Colorado River Cuts to Spur Compromise

The Interior Department on Tuesday shared its proposal for expected cuts to Colorado River water allocations but acknowledged that the most extreme options — including a plan that would slash water deliveries to Arizona and Nevada — are unlikely to be included in a final decision this summer.

Instead, agency officials presented their emergency plan — which includes contrasting proposals that would either force California to forfeit a significant portion of its flows or concentrate the pain of cuts on Arizona and Nevada — as a set of “bookends” to motivate state officials to collaborate.

“I would not think about either of these three alternatives as something we’re asking people to choose, but rather, they’re models and alternatives and ways of defining the problem,” said Deputy Interior Secretary Tommy Beaudreau, referring to an update of the 2007 Colorado River Interim Guidelines.

U.S. Presents Proposals for Major Water Cuts on Colorado River

The federal government on Tuesday laid out two options for preventing the Colorado River’s depleted reservoirs from falling to critically low levels, saying it could either impose cuts across the Southwest by following the water-rights priority system or by using an across-the-board percentage.

Colorado River Proposal-April 2023-USBR-San Diego County Water Authority-IID

Water Authority Supports Talks on Fed Draft Colorado River Proposal

The San Diego County Water Authority supports a consensus-based approach for long-term solutions to water supply issues in the Colorado River Basin. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on April 11 released a draft environmental document that considers changes to near-term operations on the Colorado River, including potential reductions in water supplies for California and across the Lower Colorado River Basin.

Colorado River Proposal

Reclamation’s draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) analyzes two alternatives, plus a no-action alternative, to protect critical elevations at Lakes Mead and Powell, the two reservoirs California depends on for its river supplies. Both reservoirs have declined due to unprecedented low levels from more than two decades of drought.

The release of the draft SEIS, which would modify the set of operating guidelines that manage river operations through 2026, comes even as heavy snows this winter signal some relief on the river.

Collaboration and consensus-based approach

“While this winter’s storms delivered an incredible snowpack, the release of the draft SEIS highlights that we need to continue to work with all Basin states, the tribes and Mexico toward a consensus-based approach that provides real and lasting solutions for all water users,” said Dan Denham, deputy general manager for the San Diego County Water Authority.

The first of the two action alternatives in the draft SEIS acknowledges the priority system for water rights under existing agreements and laws. The San Diego region’s river supplies are largely protected from reductions because they are tied to California’s senior rights within the Lower Colorado River Basin as well as the Imperial Irrigation District’s (IID) high priority rights through the Water Authority’s conserved water transfer agreement with IID.

The second alternative calls for Reclamation to analyze the effects of reductions “distributed in the same percentage” for all water users in the Lower Basin states – California, Arizona and Nevada – despite there being no precedent or foundation for this approach under existing laws. It would mean across-the-board reductions for all water users in the region, including those with senior water rights.

Reclamation has stated it is expecting input from states, tribes and water agencies to fine-tune and adjust these alternatives. Discussions are ongoing between stakeholders.

Colorado River Board of California

“The Water Authority will continue to work in collaboration with our partners on the Colorado River Board of California to ensure California’s high priority water rights on the river are upheld through this SEIS process while we also work with all river stakeholders to develop long-term, durable solutions for the river,” Denham said.

The draft SEIS will be available for public comment for 45 calendar days and the final SEIS is anticipated to be available with a Record of Decision in Summer 2023, according to the Bureau of Reclamation. Comments on the draft SEIS are due May 30. This document will inform the August 2023 decisions that will affect 2024 operations for Glen Canyon and Hoover Dams.

The proposal to address immediate water supply challenges complements Reclamation’s ongoing process to develop new guidelines for Colorado River Operations when the current interim guidelines expire at the end of 2026.

Opinion-Colorado River Basin-San Diego County Water Authority-Smolens

Is the San Diego-Imperial Model Part of the Solution for Colorado River Woes?

In a sense, the record string of storms that hit California created two lakes — one real and one hypothetical.

The deluges re-established Tulare Lake, once the largest lake west of the Mississippi River that was drained long ago for agriculture and municipal water demands.

Record snowpack-April 2023-drought-California

Record Snowpack Conditions in California, Parts of Southwest

After a three-year drought in California and throughout the Southwest, many states throughout the West are measuring record snowpack conditions at NRCS SNOTEL stations and snow courses. Utah especially has seen a benchmark year for snowfall levels throughout the state.

Record snowpack

In California, the statewide snowpack (April 5) was 243% of normal, with the Northern Sierra at 198%, Central Sierra at 242%, and Southern Sierra at 302%. The California Department of Water Resources reported that the 2022-23 season will go down as one of the largest snowpacks on record in California.

In Nevada and Utah, current SWE percentages of median for select basins are as follows: Central Lahontan 273%, Central Nevada Desert Basins 267%, Great Salt Lake 224%, Lower Green 202%, Upper Colorado-Dolores 207%, and Upper Colorado-Dirty Devil 219%, according to the NRCS SNOTEL network.

In Arizona and New Mexico, snowpack levels are above normal, especially in the ranges of northern and central Arizona. In Arizona, the total reservoir system (Salt and Verde River system) is currently 100% full as compared to 72% full at the same time last year, according to the Salt River Project. For the Colorado River system, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is reporting (April 4) Lake Mead at 28% full and Lake Powell at 23% full.”

Agricultural weather highlights

“A significant Western warming trend during the weekend and early next week will increase streamflow due to melting snow. On April 10-11, temperatures should briefly top 95°F in lower elevations of the Desert Southwest. Periods of Northwestern precipitation will add to the runoff potential in that region. Meanwhile, little or no precipitation will fall during the next 5 days across a vast swath of the country, including southern California and the Plains, Southwest, Midwest, and Northeast.

Farther south, however, 5-day rainfall could total 1 to 3 inches or more from eastern Texas to the Carolinas, with the bulk of the rain falling by Saturday. The NWS 6- to 10-day outlook for April 11 – 15 calls for the likelihood of below-normal temperatures in California, the Great Basin, and the Northwest, while warmerthan-normal weather will dominate the central and eastern U.S. Meanwhile, above-normal precipitation from the Rockies into the Plains and upper Midwest should contrast with drier-than-normal conditions in the East (excluding Florida’s peninsula) and much of California.”

(Editor’s Note: The Natural Resources Conservation Service produces the weekly Water and Climate Update using data and products from the National Water and Climate Center and other agencies. The report focuses on seasonal snowpack, precipitation, temperature, and drought conditions in the U.S.)

Snowpack Peaks at 160% of Normal as Colorado River Water Flows Toward Lake Mead

It’s snowing today in the central Colorado Rockies, likely the last hurrah for a year to remember for everyone who depends on water from the Colorado River — including Las Vegas.

It’s just past the early April peak when scientists calculate the final snowpack levels for the year. Today, that measurement hit 160% of normal, just above where it was a week ago.

Lake Mead Water Levels Due to Hit Record Low Within Weeks

Despite recent water levels exceeding expectations, Lake Mead is forecast to drop back down to a record low level by the end of the month.

As of Monday, Lake Mead’s water level was at 1,045.91 feet above sea level, almost 3 feet above the level of 1,043.06 feet predicted in the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s “Most Probable 24-Month Study,” released at the start of March.

Age, Drought, Rodents and Neglect Weaken California Levees, Heightening Flood Danger

The levee breach that left an entire California town underwater this weekend is putting a spotlight on how the state’s vital flood control infrastructure is being weakened by age, drought, climate change, rodents and neglect — leaving scores of communities at risk.

On Friday night, the swollen Pajaro River burst through the worn-down levee, flooding the entire town of Pajaro and sending its roughly 3,000 residents into what officials are now estimating to be a multi-month-long exile. A second breach was reported on Monday.

Persistent Drought and Overdevelopment Cause Record Low Water Levels for Tens of Millions

Despite a rainy and snowy winter out west, Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the reservoirs that provide water for 40 million Americans, are at record low levels due to the ongoing megadrought. Arizona is set to lose over 20% of its Colorado River water allotment this year alone. As Stephanie Sy reports, that’s leaving communities across the state scrambling to find alternatives.

Opinion: Solving the Worsening Drought in the Western States Will Require All of Us Working Together

For Californians, drought has been a constant and inescapable fact of life for decades. Worsening drought in the Western United States is just one of the many life-threatening impacts of the climate crisis. And as drying conditions bring water reservoirs along the Colorado River to dangerously low levels, the impact of extended drought conditions is now threatening 40 million Americans’ access to water — unless we can come up with a plan to protect it.