Archive of posts filed under the Colorado River category.

A grim forecast for Colorado River Basin ag under climate change

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Surface-water supply reductions (relative to current agricultural surface-water use) range from 20 percent to more than 75 percent across areas of the Mountain, Pacific, and Plains regions in 2080. The most severe declines occur in the middle and lower Colorado River Basin under virtually all scenarios, while other river systems with headwaters in the central …

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Five pieces of good news for water in the western United States

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Amid the litany of the apocalypse, with the pictures of fallowed farm fields and dead fish and trees and cracked mud, here are five pieces of good news on western water, both on the supply side and on the demand side.   1. Colorado River Basin storage is up Total storage in the Colorado River …

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A plea for more attention to water use demand-side projections

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An excellent Laura Paskus story this weekend on a new climate water risk study by Justin Mankin at Lamont-Doherty and colleagues, includes some really important comments from Mankin on the implications of the work for water policy. The study helps clarify risks to water supply in the Rio Grande (and elsewhere, notably the Colorado River …

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Another indicator of the resilience of California agriculture

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Despite drought, the value of California cropland land has risen 5.4 percent this year, according to the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture survey data. No doubt my economist friends can help me here with an explanation of what this says about how the market is pricing questions about uncertainty, water supply and risk. Looks like …

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The Cold War was so much easier – water project development as a matter of national security

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In 1960, the Cold War was a thing – the moral imperative of our global stand against the commies. At the time, Albuquerque, New Mexico, was one of the nation’s centers for nuclear weapons research, development, and management. What better reason for supporting water development? From a May 20, 1960 hearing before the House Subcommittee on Irrigation …

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The last time Lake Mead was full, as seen from outer space

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My new hobby, hunting for pictures of Lake Mead when it was full, led me this evening to the helpful USGS EarthExplorer archives of old U.S. government satellite images, where I found this little beauty. Apologies if it’s a slow load, they’re relatively large image file so interested water nerds can click on it and zoom …

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