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The Big Yawn: Water Crisis Not Registering as a Priority with Californians, Preview Las Vegas Panelist Says

/in , , /by /Las Vegas Sunby Ray Brewer

Las Vegans are constantly reminded about the crisis facing Nevada and other Western states as water supplies from the drought-choked Colorado River system dwindle.

Ads prompting us to conserve water are front and center at sporting events, on commercials during our favorite television shows and when picking up the daily newspaper. We’ve been diligent in removing natural grass and replacing it with artificial turf, limiting the size of our pools and watering plants only on assigned days.

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Nevada Outlines Framework for Colorado River Cuts as States Show Their Cards

/in , , /by /The Nevada Independent by Daniel Rothberg

At the end of last year, the seven states in the Colorado River Basin committed to once again work together and negotiate a consensus framework for making significant cuts to water use, an attempt to stabilize the nation’s two largest reservoirs and avoid an even deeper shortage crisis.

The states recommitted to considering a consensus deal, by Jan. 31, after several deadlines passed in 2022 — with seemingly irreconcilable differences over how to make painful cuts in a watershed relied upon by 40 million people who use the river for drinking water and agriculture.

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Nevada Looks to Conservation as Colorado River Dwindles

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Daniel Rothberg

Only a few miles from the Las Vegas Strip, in the Mojave Desert, is an unlikely scene: A county park with walking trails and thick vegetation that circles a vibrant rush of flowing water.

Known as the Las Vegas Wash, the water running through this channel is a crucial part of how Nevada has managed to keep its net Colorado River use below its allocation, despite booming population growth and two decades of persistent drought, worsened by a changing climate.

 

(AP EDITOR’S NOTE: This is part of a collaborative series on the Colorado River as the 100th anniversary of the historic Colorado River Compact approaches. The Associated Press, The Colorado Sun, The Albuquerque Journal, The Salt Lake Tribune, The Arizona Daily Star and The Nevada Independent are working together to explore the pressures on the river in 2022.)

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Despite Third Dry Year, Water Managers Say Reno-Sparks Supply Is Prepared for Drought

/in , /by /The Nevada Independent by Daniel Rothberg

Three back-to-back dry years have crunched water supplies for many cities and farms across Nevada and throughout the West. The past two decades, according to a report released earlier this year, represent the most extreme drought in the last 1,200 years. As the West continues to warm, officials expect more uncertainty, driven largely by changes in precipitation and aridity.

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Phoenix Among Those Voluntarily Losing Colorado River Water

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Felicia Fonseca

The city of Phoenix this week outlined how it will voluntarily contribute water to a regional plan to shore up the country’s largest reservoir that delivers Colorado River water to three states and Mexico.

The river cannot provide seven Western states the water they were promised a century ago because of less snow, warmer temperatures and water lost to evaporation. Water managers repeatedly have had to pivot to develop plans to sustain it for the long-term.

Phoenix, the nation’s fifth-largest city, is among entities in the river’s lower basin that are part of the “500+ Plan” meant to delay further mandatory shortages. All pieces of the plan haven’t been finalized, but farmers and Native American tribes are expected to play a big role.

The Colorado River serves more than 40 million people in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, California, Wyoming, Utah and Mexico. Lake Mead and Lake Powell store the water and are used to gauge the river’s health.

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Climate Change Makes Projecting Lake Mead and Colorado River Levels Tricky

/in , , /by /Spectrum News 1by Sarah Pilla

There’s a white line known as the bathtub ring around Lake Mead. It’s a constant reminder for Boating Lake Mead’s Director of Operations, Bruce Nelson. The lake is at a historically low 1,067-feet above sea level, affecting boat launch ramps and customers.

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Major Storm Dumps Snow, Closes Mountain Routes in California

/in , , /by /AP News

A major Christmas weekend storm caused whiteout conditions and closed key highways amid blowing snow in mountains of Northern California and Nevada, with forecasters warning that travel in the Sierra Nevada could be difficult for several days.

Authorities near Reno said three people were injured in a 20-car pileup on Interstate 395, where drivers described limited visibility on Sunday. Further west, a 70-mile (112-kilometer) stretch of Interstate 80 was shut until at least Monday from Colfax, California, through the Lake Tahoe region to the Nevada state line.

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State, Federal Agencies Announce $200M Investment in Lake Mead

/in , , /by /The Hillby Sharon Udasin

State water agencies in Arizona, California and Nevada announced a $200 million investment in Colorado River conservation projects on Wednesday, in a last-ditch effort to keep the basin’s biggest reservoir from dwindling to dangerously low levels.

The cross-border collaboration, which also includes the Department of the Interior, will aim to add 500,000 acre-feet of additional water to Lake Mead — the Colorado River’s largest reservoir — in 2022 and 2023, by facilitating initiatives that promote water conservation in the Lower Colorado River Basin, according to the partners.

That additional water, which is enough to provide for 1.5 million households each year, would boost the reservoir’s level by 16 feet, a news release from the agencies said.

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Arizona, California, Nevada Agree to New Colorado River Agreement to Conserve More Water

/in , , /by /The Center Squareby Cole Lauterbach

Arizona’s water authorities are close to entering into a new pact with officials from Nevada and California they hope will restore water levels at Lake Mead and stave off future rationing requirements.

A Tier 1 Colorado River water shortage begins in 2022, triggering a mandatory 512,000 acre-foot reduction to Arizona. The emergency stems from the Lake Mead reservoir reaching water levels not seen since its construction. The designation doesn’t affect Arizona residents, rather the state’s agriculture industry that represents the majority of water usage.

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Opinion: It Could Take At Least 500,000 Acre-Feet of Water a Year to Keep Lake Mead from Tanking

/in , /by /The Arizona Republicby Joanna Allhands

Arizona, California and Nevada are moving forward with a plan to save another 500,000 acre-feet of water in Lake Mead annually until 2026.

We’re talking 500,000 acre-feet over and above the mandatory cuts that are spelled out in the 2019 Drought Contingency Plan (DCP). Each year. For five years. Just to keep the lake from tanking. That’s a significant amount of water. That required a significant bit of negotiation.

The so-called “500-plus plan” is the result of a provision within DCP that required the Lower Basin states to “consult and determine what additional measures will be taken” to keep the lake from falling to a dangerously low elevation of 1,020 feet.