New data from NASA’s GRACE satellite, which scientists use to track changes in groundwater storage, shows some remarkable declines in the Colorado River Basin, according to a recent presentation by Jay Famiglietti of UC Irvine to a California legislative committee (huge thanks to Chris Austin for catching this and bringing it to my attention): “Unfortunately, …
Continue reading ‘declining Colorado River Basin groundwater reserves’ »
Variability is at the core of water management. When it’s on the dry side of the range, some folks are willing to pay a lot for water. But if that involves big capital expenditures, are you willing to sit on the cost when things get wet? Brett Walton explains how this is playing out in …
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The Havasu News-Herald, which serves Lake Havasu City along the Colorado River, assured its readers today that the environmental pulse flow, which is passing through on its way from Hoover Dam to the Colorado River delta, shouldn’t have an impact on Lake Havasu recreational boating: Lake Havasu will remain at normal water levels during the …
Continue reading ‘A river means different things to different people’ »
In the 1980s, a film crew came to Iowa to film “Field of Dreams”, carving a baseball diamond out of a corn field: The look of the new ball field itself didn’t inspire confidence: because of a nasty regional drought, the landscape, typically lush, had turned brown and fallow. To make the farmland presentable, the …
Continue reading ‘Here’s a solution to drought – green paint!’ »
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation sent around this updated map this afternoon on the progress of the Colorado River delta pulse flow (apologies for large file size, trying to offer up the highest resolution I can):
While many of us have had to return to more mundane lives, Jennifer Pitt remains in the Colorado River delta, documenting the environmental “pulse flow” as it makes its way toward the ocean. The water’s been slowing as it crosses dry stretches where depth to groundwater is great and dry sand soaks up a big …
In High Country News, Matt Jenkins on the Colorado River delta environmental “pulse flow”, which grew out of “Minute 319”, an addendum to the U.S.-Mexico water treaty: Over the past two decades, the Delta’s advocates have argued their case with perseverance, and a lot of good numbers. By monitoring the effect of the pulse flow, …
Folks working on the current Colorado River “pulse flow” must fight against the deeply held perception that the river in Mexico’s Colorado River delta is “dead.” Blame Phillip Fradkin, whose 1981 book “River No More” is one of those touchstones in the regional literature that dominates public understanding, even if it isn’t quite right. Writing …
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Ricardo Castillo celebrates the Colorado River “pulse flow” and reminds of us the transboundary tensions that preceded it. He sounds pissed: U.S. Americans proudly boast about the beauty of the Grand Canyon and the might of the Colorado River as “great American treasures.” Over the past 50 years, however, both the U.S. federal government and …
Continue reading ‘“water hoarding” on the U.S. side of the border’ »