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The Water Desk
A Colorado River veteran moves upstream and plunges into the drought-stressed river’s mounting woes
With 25 years of experience working on the Colorado River, Chuck Cullom is used to responding to myriad challenges that arise on the vital lifeline that seven states, more than two dozen tribes and the country of Mexico depend on for water. But this summer problems on the drought-stressed river are piling up at a dizzying pace: Reservoirs plummeting to record low levels, whether Hoover Dam and Glen Canyon Dam can continue to release water and produce hydropower, unprecedented water cuts and predatory smallmouth bass threatening native fish species in the Grand Canyon.
Does the Western Megadrought Mean the End of Cheap Cheese and Ice Cream?
Water Desk grantees Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley of the Gastropod podcast recently explored the importance of alfalfa to Western water issues and dairy products. Graber and Twilley “talked to farmers, economists, plant experts, journalists, and exporters about where this surprisingly important plant fits in to a warming world—and how we can prevent a future lacking in lactose without also drying up the West.” Below you can listen to the episode, which was originally published on September 27, 2022.
Drought threatens coal plant operations — and electricity — across the West
This story was originally published by NPR on August 26, 2022. Driving through the Wyoming sagebrush west of Cheyenne, the clouds of dust rising from the road give way to giant plumes of steam shooting into the warming sky. This is the Jim Bridger power plant, one of the largest...
Harvesting water in arid lands – Water Buffs Podcast ep. 11 – Brad Lancaster
Brad Lancaster, author and expert on water harvesting, talks to Mitch Tobin about how individuals and communities can make the most of rainfall and greywater to stretch local supplies. Learn more about Brad’s work in Water Harvester: An Invitation to Abundance, a documentary by Water Desk grantee David Fenster and...
A quiet revolution: Southwest cities learn to thrive amid drought
In the rolling hills around San Diego and its suburbs, the rumble of bulldozers and the whine of power saws fill the air as a slew of new homes and apartments rise up. The region is booming, its population growing at a rate of about 1 percent a year. This,...
Once a rich desert river, the Gila struggles to keep flowing
The confluence of the tiny San Pedro River and the much larger Gila was once one of the richest locales in one of the most productive river ecosystems in the American Southwest, an incomparable oasis of biodiversity. The rivers frequently flooded their banks, a life-giving pulse that created sprawling riverside...
Looking back on America’s summer of heat, floods and climate change: Welcome to the new abnormal
The summer of 2022 started with a historic flood in Montana, brought on by heavy rain and melting snow, that tore up roads and caused large areas of Yellowstone National Park to be evacuated. It ended with a record-breaking heat wave in California and much of the West that pushed...
Tribal breakthrough? Four states, six tribes announce first formal talks on Colorado River negotiating authority
Colorado and three other Upper Colorado River Basin states have, for the first time in history, embarked on a series of formal meetings to find a way to negotiate jointly with some of the largest owners of Colorado River water rights: tribal communities. The states, which include New Mexico, Utah,...
Carbondale Ranch, water trust launch 2nd effort to boost Crystal River flows
In July, Cold Mountain Ranch and the Colorado Water Trust penned an agreement they hope will improve the Crystal River’s streamflow in dry years. The contract compensates the Ranch owners, Bill Fales and Marj Perry, for adjusting the timing of their water diversions when late summer flows dip. The...
Feds: Colorado River’s Flaming Gorge Reservoir able only to deliver two more emergency water releases
Utah’s Flaming Gorge Reservoir, which Colorado River officials have used twice during the past two years to add water to the rapidly deteriorating river system, likely only has enough water left for two more emergency releases, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Last summer, Reclamation ordered the release...
Desalinating seawater sounds easy, but there are cheaper and more sustainable ways to meet people’s water needs
Coastal urban centers around the world are urgently looking for new, sustainable water sources as their local supplies become less reliable. In the U.S., the issue is especially pressing in California, which is coping with a record-setting, multidecadal drought. California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently released a US$8 billion plan for...
How to destroy a ‘forever chemical’ – scientists are discovering ways to eliminate PFAS, but this growing global health problem isn’t going away soon
PFAS chemicals seemed like a good idea at first. As Teflon, they made pots easier to clean starting in the 1940s. They made jackets waterproof and carpets stain-resistant. Food wrappers, firefighting foam, even makeup seemed better with perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Then tests started detecting PFAS in people’s blood.
As more sanitation districts test wastewater for COVID-19, questions remain on interpreting the data
Consistent, widespread testing of the community’s wastewater for COVID-19 has been long-awaited as traditional public health metrics have struggled to fully capture the spread of the virus in the community’s transient population. Now, sanitation districts throughout the valley are participating in a state-sponsored tracking program, but local public health officials are grappling with interpreting the relative highs and lows, and how they compare to the picture captured by other metrics.
Vague and voluntary proposals may do little to help Colorado River
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — Water managers in recent weeks have put forth plans for conservation aimed at addressing the water-scarcity crisis on the Colorado River. But the proposals, which are vague and voluntary and lack goals with numbers, will probably do little to get additional water into the nation’s two largest reservoirs with the urgency officials say is needed.
Gunnison River water agencies win $340,000 in federal drought grants, launch contingency planning
Two Gunnison River water districts in the headwaters of the Colorado River system are embarking on a $700,000 drought planning effort, aided by hundreds of thousands of dollars in new funding from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The Montrose-based Uncompahgre Valley Water Users Association, one of the largest suppliers of...
Water confab: Colorado politicos call for more water storage, smart growth
Colorado needs more reservoir storage and ways to manage urban growth in order protect its water supplies, prominent politicians said at a major gathering of water officials in Steamboat Springs. “Water is central to our livelihoods and its increasing scarcity is a challenge of the first order for everyone who...
America’s summer of floods: What cities can learn from today’s climate crises to prepare for tomorrow’s
Powerful storms across the South, following flash floods in Dallas, Death Valley, St. Louis, Yellowstone and Appalachia, have left cities across the U.S. questioning their own security in a warming climate. Dallas was hit with nearly 15 inches of rain that turned roads into rivers and poured into homes starting...
Special Report: Colorado, New Mexico struggle to save the blistered Rio Grande, with lessons for other drought-strapped rivers
Albuquerque, New Mexico — In late June, the mornings start out at 80 degrees but temperatures quickly soar past 100. Everywhere fields are brown and the high desert bakes in glaring sunlight. But there is one long, narrow corridor of green here: the Rio Grande. Jason Casuga, CEO of...
What is a flash flood? A civil engineer explains
Flash flooding is a specific type of flooding that occurs in a short time frame after a precipitation event – generally less than six hours. It often is caused by heavy or excessive rainfall and happens in areas near rivers or lakes, but it also can happen in places with no water bodies nearby.
A mud-caked “terra incognita” emerges in Glen Canyon as Lake Powell declines to historic low
On a scorching July afternoon, Mike DeHoff steered his small metal motorboat down what one could argue is the weirdest stretch of the Colorado River in all of its 1,450 miles: the delta of Lake Powell. DeHoff’s boat floated on roiling water supercharged with sediment, the same color as an...
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