The Colorado River, a lifeline for seven states, is drying up at its source

essentialsaltes said:

• In the Rocky Mountains, where the Colorado River starts, the landscape is drier than anyone can remember.

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durangodawood said:

I did a long mt bike ride up to 12,000 ft last Sun and it was absurdly dry for this time of year. I should have had to cross a bunch of snow fields. Instead it was perfect for cycling and terrible for irrigating downstream.

I will use this topic as an excuse to post a highly relevant pic.

View attachment 380713

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iluvatar5150 said:

A bike ride up to 12,000 ft? The last time I drove up to and parked above 10k, I got winded walking across the parking lot to the bathroom.

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essentialsaltes said:

• In the Rocky Mountains, where the Colorado River starts, the landscape is drier than anyone can remember.
• The lack of water is hitting Colorado ranchers and farmers hard, and reservoir levels are dropping. Scientists say the entire Southwest needs to permanently adapt to having less water as the warming climate dries out the region.

The desiccation of the river’s headwaters is shrinking a critical water lifeline for about 35 million people and 5 million acres of farmland across the Southwest, from the Rockies to Southern California and northern Mexico.

With less snowmelt feeding the Colorado River, its giant reservoirs are dropping to dangerously low levels. Lake Mead, the country’s largest reservoir near Las Vegas, is now 28% full.

Lake Powell, the second-largest reservoir, is at just 24%, approaching a point where there won’t be enough water behind Glen Canyon Dam to continue generating electricity. To keep hydropower going as long as possible, the Trump administration is taking emergency measures, releasing extra water from another reservoir upstream to raise the lake level.

About three-fourths of the water that’s taken out of the Colorado River is used for agriculture, producing alfalfa, corn, lettuce, broccoli and other crops.

In Colorado, farmers and ranchers are struggling with the immediate consequences. They’re leaving many fields and pastures dry, selling off cows, and bracing for tough economic times.

Some who raise cattle here say they doubt global warming is fueling the crisis, but scientific research shows rising temperatures have intensified the severe dryness over the last quarter-century. And this year, the river flow is collapsing to one of its lowest points on record.

Since 2000, as temperatures have climbed, the flow of the Colorado has averaged 21% less than during the last century. But recent years are even worse: Since 2020, the river has shrunk about 32%, according to federal data.

Winters don’t get as cold anymore. A record heat wave in March rapidly melted what little snow had fallen, some of it evaporating straight into the air.

Bill Fales, a lifelong rancher, said he expects the water from the Crystal River, a tributary of the Colorado, will run short this year.

He motioned to Mt. Sopris, a nearly 13,000-foot peak that towers above the pastures and should be snowcapped in June. Now, it’s bare, gray rock.

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The Trump administration is responding by preparing its own plan to impose water cuts [on the states that rely on the Colorado].

In the last three years, farmers in California and Arizona have agreed to leave fields dry part of the year in exchange for federal payments.

Wen water is scarce in Colorado, state regulators order some landowners to stop taking from streams, starting with those who have the newest, lowest-priority water rights.

This year, the shortages are so severe that many landowners are being told they will get less. Even some who have rights dating to the 1880s that grant them high priority are seeing cuts.

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RileyG said:

I don't know what to say, other than how incredibly sad. It's scary how much climate change has affected our planet.

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essentialsaltes said:

• In the Rocky Mountains, where the Colorado River starts, the landscape is drier than anyone can remember.
• The lack of water is hitting Colorado ranchers and farmers hard, and reservoir levels are dropping. Scientists say the entire Southwest needs to permanently adapt to having less water as the warming climate dries out the region.

The desiccation of the river’s headwaters is shrinking a critical water lifeline for about 35 million people and 5 million acres of farmland across the Southwest, from the Rockies to Southern California and northern Mexico.

With less snowmelt feeding the Colorado River, its giant reservoirs are dropping to dangerously low levels. Lake Mead, the country’s largest reservoir near Las Vegas, is now 28% full.

Lake Powell, the second-largest reservoir, is at just 24%, approaching a point where there won’t be enough water behind Glen Canyon Dam to continue generating electricity. To keep hydropower going as long as possible, the Trump administration is taking emergency measures, releasing extra water from another reservoir upstream to raise the lake level.

About three-fourths of the water that’s taken out of the Colorado River is used for agriculture, producing alfalfa, corn, lettuce, broccoli and other crops.

In Colorado, farmers and ranchers are struggling with the immediate consequences. They’re leaving many fields and pastures dry, selling off cows, and bracing for tough economic times.

Some who raise cattle here say they doubt global warming is fueling the crisis, but scientific research shows rising temperatures have intensified the severe dryness over the last quarter-century. And this year, the river flow is collapsing to one of its lowest points on record.

Since 2000, as temperatures have climbed, the flow of the Colorado has averaged 21% less than during the last century. But recent years are even worse: Since 2020, the river has shrunk about 32%, according to federal data.

Winters don’t get as cold anymore. A record heat wave in March rapidly melted what little snow had fallen, some of it evaporating straight into the air.

Bill Fales, a lifelong rancher, said he expects the water from the Crystal River, a tributary of the Colorado, will run short this year.

He motioned to Mt. Sopris, a nearly 13,000-foot peak that towers above the pastures and should be snowcapped in June. Now, it’s bare, gray rock.

--

The Trump administration is responding by preparing its own plan to impose water cuts [on the states that rely on the Colorado].

In the last three years, farmers in California and Arizona have agreed to leave fields dry part of the year in exchange for federal payments.

Wen water is scarce in Colorado, state regulators order some landowners to stop taking from streams, starting with those who have the newest, lowest-priority water rights.

This year, the shortages are so severe that many landowners are being told they will get less. Even some who have rights dating to the 1880s that grant them high priority are seeing cuts.

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Servus said:

Which means I don't need to feel concerned.

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Servus said:

Democrats will save the planet.

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essentialsaltes said:

Naturally, that's left to your conscience.

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