The question of what is included in the “Colorado River Basin” is in part a legal one. The seven-state Colorado River Compact of 1922 defined a weird legal geography: [T]he term “Colorado River Basin” means all of the drainage area of the Colorado River System and all other territory within the United States of America …
Continue reading ‘Grand Junction: A view from higher up in the watershed’ »
The pass between Silverton and Ouray was closed yesterday for roadwork, so Lissa and I (headed for Grand Junction) ended up on a long but gorgeous detour. The canyon country of the West is so beautiful:
Mike Cohen, writing for National Geographic’s “Water Currents”, explains what’s at stake in the current discussions over what to do to mitigate reduced flows to the Salton Sea as ag water conservation efforts in Imperial Valley grow: The shrinking Salton Sea will expose tens of thousands of acres of lakebed. The dry lakebed could emit …
Continue reading ‘Cohen sees signs for Salton Sea optimism’ »
I don’t remember exactly where this is. It was a short walk down an arroyo from US95, the two-lane that runs north from Blythe along the Colorado River to Parker. The farming here is all on the Arizona side of the river. This was all underwater during the river’s pre-dam spring high flows, big desert …
Continue reading ‘Couldn’t’ve had boat docks here before they built Hoover Dam’ »
That long, painful drip-drip-drip of “when will we have Lower Colorado River shortage?” has been pushed out again, with a new set of modeling runs from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation putting the odds at one in five in 2017 and 50-50 by 2018. Hidden in that “one in five” next year is some good …
Continue reading ‘One in five chance of Colorado River shortage in 2017, 50-50 by 2018’ »
The Imperial Irrigation District’s board tomorrow will consider an expanded agreement with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California that would provide additional flexibility for water conservation in the big desert agricultural district and move water to meet near term drought response needs in the region’s coastal cities. The deal uses the “Intentionally Created Surplus” …
Continue reading ‘Another Southern California ag to municipal water sharing deal takes shape’ »
The book’s going well, thanks for asking. See below. What motivates me In my new gig as a university lecturer, my colleague and co-teacher Bob Berrens has the gray old faculty members (there are three of us) talk to the students on the opening day of class about what motivates us. It is the first …
Sammy Roth, a reporter for the Desert Sun in Palm Springs, took a trip this month to Las Vegas to share with his California readers how they do the water conservation thing in urban Nevada: When it comes to saving water, Sin City has the Coachella Valley beat. Las Vegas can credit its water frugality …
No Lower Colorado River shortage for now, but don’t break out the party hats. Lake Mead is forecast to end calendar year 2015 with a surface elevation of 1,082.33 feet above sea level, according to new numbers released yesterday by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The current forecast for the end of 2016 is 1,079.57. …
Lissa spotted this California desert treat this morning at Trader Joe’s in Albuquerque: It’s a cantaloupe from Fisher Ranch in Blythe, Calif., owned by Bart Fisher, vice president of the Palo Verde Irrigation District board and chairman of the Colorado River Board of California. I pronounce this a fine use of senior Colorado River water …
Continue reading ‘Colorado River produce in Albuquerque (courtesy Fisher Ranch)’ »