Colorado River

Going, going,............?

The photo depicts the Colorado River in Grand Junction taken from the 24 Road bridge on July 24, 2021. Notice the contrast in colors? Less than one mile upstream, the Gunnison River converges on the right south bank side flowing into the Colorado River. Water from the Gunnison appears to be more muddy possibly due to significant irrigation by farms causing increased erosion that causes sediments to runoff into streams.

The Colorado River basin ecosystem with about 40 million people who depend on stable water supplies, hydroelectric power that lights Las Vegas, and food crops distributed around the world, as well as numerous wildlife, are in a significant crisis - an existential threat. Even without the devastating impacts of climate change, there are too many people taking water out of the River than is being created by nature. Water managers call this “over allocation.” People are blaming the current extreme drought conditions but for longer term reasons and solutions we need to revisit our ancestor’s decisions to understand the truth that:

The River is Dying from Dehydration!

How did we get into this situation and what can we do about it? That has been a primary subject of this blog for the past six years and major motivation for advocating people Conserve in order to Prosper. Some of the factors occurred at the start of America’s expansion westward. Politicians did not listen to the first director of the U.S. Geological Survey, John Wesley Powell, who famously rafted through the Grand Canyon. He advocated that western states could not support building huge cities moving in from the eastern U.S. Few people really listened to Nature’s distress call when numerous dams were built by Herbert Hoover’s Bureau of Reclamation and subsequent generations - as if nature needed humans to reclaim the barren land. These bathtub evaporation ponds were built 50 years before the government required environmental impact statements which fortunately stopped major dam construction projects more recently.

The information used to determine how much available water the Colorado contained was overly optimistic - only about 10 years of data during a wet decade was used to determine how much water could be taken out. The 1922 compact among seven western states and a treaty with Mexico was based on flawed decisions using insufficient information to literally drain the life blood out of the River basin. A very slow painful death during the past century.

The Colorado River hit a new low this week. For the first time in almost 100 years of the seven state agreement to share water, the Federal Government issued mandatory water restrictions! That means that we all will need to use less and pay more for water, including farmers in Arizona who are growing water intensive crops like alfalfa or in California growing almonds. Homeowners can convert grass to beautiful desert landscaping using drip irrigation for a fraction of the cost and water demand.

For more reports, there is much information in the news including these resources:

National Geographic - The Water Crisis

Vice News - 40 Million People Rely on the Colorado River, Now it’s Drying Up

Washington Post Opinions - What to do about the Colorado River’s megadrought ‘code red’

BBC News - Colorado River: First-ever shortage declared amid record US drought

The Colorado Mesa University newsletter (email subscription to Hutchins Water Center) stated on August 20, 2021 that:

“SHORTAGE DECLARATION
The Bureau of Reclamation has declared the first-ever official shortage for the lower Colorado River basin, which requires delivery cuts to Arizona, Nevada and Mexico under the 2007 Interim Guidelines for operating Lakes Mead and Powell. The determination was made in response to the Mead elevation projected in the August 24-month Study. This Fact Sheet by the Bureau explains how the declaration was made, how much deliveries will be reduced and details about drought response operations. Under the shortage, Arizona will lose about 18% of its Colorado River supplies, the largest cut. This Central Arizona Project page has details on how the cuts will be allocated and how the state is responding.

CO DEMAND MANAGEMENT DISCUSSIONS
The Colorado Water Conservation Board's August 18 Demand Management Workshop included a hydrology presentation by Brad Udall, a summary of the Colorado River District's stakeholder report on Demand Management by General Manager Andy Mueller, and an update from Upper Colorado River Commission Interim Executive Director Sara Larsen on their Demand Management work, as well as discussion of the CWCB's Demand Management Framework and related information. You can watch a recording of the meeting here. “

So let’s all do more to learn how we can try to regain our balance with nature by taking positive individual and collective measures. That seems like something we could all agree on!

Update from the 7th Annual Upper Colorado River Basin Forum at Colorado Mesa University

Is there enough water available in the Colorado River Basin (CRB) to meet all our current and future needs and obligations? According to my synthesis of information from the 7th Annual Upper Colorado River Basin Forum on November 1-2, 2017, consider this:

·         Currently about 40 million people depend on CRB water for agriculture, domestic, and recreational supplies

·         The 1922 compact with 7 states overestimated supplies so now the CRB is overallocated

·         The federal government (Bureau of Reclamation) requires adequate reservoir levels for hydroelectric generation and could override the 1922 compact

·         States are developing Drought Contingency Plans with improved efficiencies increasing supply

·         Efficient applications of drip irrigation and native plants are encouraged but not yet required

·         A US treaty with Mexico attempts to deliver some water that historically flowed to the ocean

·         Farmers consume about 90% of CRB water and have some of the oldest priority water rights

·         Some farmers are reluctant to conserve in fear of losing water rights and money

·         Colorado water law of beneficial use makes the “use-it or lose-it” mentality illegal

·         In Colorado, about 70% of water originates in the Western Slope with only 30% of the population while 30% of the water originates in the Eastern Slope (including Denver) with 70% of the population

·         Denver’s population is expected to double in roughly 30 years so demand is increasing

·         Trans-mountain diversions and priority water rights can allow the Eastern Slope to take much more than current amounts

·         Wyoming is building new reservoirs (“water banking”) on the Green River

·         In New Mexico, the Elephant Butte reservoir near Albuquerque almost went dry during recent droughts which had to be channelized and loses 250,000 acre-feet to evaporation when at capacity

·         Most vegetables in US are grown in the Imperial Valley of California using CRB water

·         The recent 5-year drought resulted in many farms going dry (crops were fallowed)

·         Beyond CRB for human consumption, recreationists (boating, fishing, etc.) demand more supply

·         The climate is changing and resulting in more variability making long term predictions difficult

 

So is there enough water available in the Colorado River Basin (CRB) to meet all our current and future needs and obligations? I would say currently no and optimistically with significant changes in the amounts of water that we consume there is the potential for saying yes.  

The forum provided great examples of techniques to measure and forecast water supplies. I suggested to the organizers for next year that additional consideration be given to water quality that is degrading or improving depending on many factors.

In summary, the Upper CRB Forum organized by Colorado Mesa University provides an incredibly valuable exchange of information in a non-confrontational environment that seeks to improve our understanding of the world we live in and how we can become better stewards of our environment.

Test Your Knowledge of Chasing Water

Brian Richter (President at Sustainable Waters, adjunct professor at the University of Virginia, and Director of Global Freshwater Strategies for The Nature Conservancy) authored a wonderfully interesting book called Chasing Water: A Guide for Moving from Scarcity to Sustainability - Island Press, 2014.

Test your water knowledge by taking this fun quiz with five questions:

1. What is the last state in the U.S. to take up arms against another state over water rights?

2. How much money did Texas lose in revenues from the 2011 drought?

3. How much money is needed to upgrade drinking water systems in the U.S. over the next twenty years?

4. About how much Colorado River water is consumed by agriculture?

5. What is the easiest, most cost efficient way we can increase water supplies or reduce consumptive use?

Before I provide the answers that will hopefully 'wet your appetite' to read this book, many important reflections and impacts come from this book that are really helpful to me. These include Brian Richter's optimism that we all can and must do our part to make a difference, that we cannot leave our future up to dysfunctional organizations including governments, and we can learn from many individuals who've successfully dealt with issues including extreme droughts in Australia, environmental change in China, and improved irrigation technology in Israel.

Ok, now for the answers to the quiz:

1. In 1934, the Arizona governor sent 100-man state militia to stop California from completing Parker Dam on the Colorado River. The Interior Secretary intervened to enable federal funding for irrigation that created the Central Arizona Project in exchange for Arizona signing the Colorado River Compact in 1944. 

2. Texas lost an estimated $9 billion due to the 2011 drought mostly from losses on irrigated farms.

3. An estimated $384 billion is needed to repair the drinking water infrastructure in the US according to the EPA in 2013. Of course, in my opinion the amount could be much higher after revelations about issues like the lead pipe problems in Flint, Michigan which is an issue in many locations.

4. About 50% of the water taken from the Colorado River is consumed by agriculture.

5. Given the inefficiencies in using water by agriculture, such as with flood irrigation or growing unsustainable crops like cotton, we can make the biggest impact by helping to change farm practices such as by using drip irrigation and respecting the capacity of our natural environment to support us.

 

Colorado River District Annual Meeting on September 16th in Grand Junction, CO

2016 Annual Water Seminar

The Colorado River District’s popular one-day Annual Water Seminar is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 16, 2016 from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm at Two Rivers Convention Center, 159 Main Street, Grand Junction, CO
Theme: “Colorado River Waves of the Future: Fitting the West to the River’s New Normal”

Cost, which includes lunch buffet, is $30 if pre-registered by Friday, Sept. 9; $40 at the door. For information, contact Meredith Spyker. at 970-945-8522
Registration Form

Speakers will address the Lower Basin living within its water means and dealing with its “structural deficit,” how the Upper Basin is planning to deal with low levels at Lake Powell, sorting through the confusing programs addressing ag fallowing, a discussion of Use It or Lose It myths and a panel addressing what comes next after the Colorado Water Plan, especially with declining financial resources – plus more.

Draft agenda:

  • Temperatures Matter: Jeff Lukas, Western Water Assessment
  • How the Lower Basin is Attacking the Structural Deficit: Suzanne Ticknor, Central Arizona Project
  • How the Upper Basin is Attacking Low Water Levels at Lake Powell: Eric Kuhn, Colorado River District
  • Sorting through the Demand Management Weapons: Water Banking/System Conservation – who’s doing what: Dave Kanzer, Colorado River District
  • Lunch Program – “Killing the Colorado” author Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica
  • Use It or Lose It – Separating Truth, Myth and Reality: Justice Greg Hobbs
  • Colorado’s Water Plan – What Now? Panel Discussion with Colorado Water Conservation Board’s James Eklund; Colorado State Representative Don Coram and Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment’s Anne Castle

Announcing Upper Colorado River Basin Water Forum

The Colorado Mesa University's Water Center will host the 5th annual Colorado River Basin Water Forum on October 28-29, 2015. Topics will include recent weather anomalies, managing flows for multiple purposes, and demand management. The 2015 forum is organized to be an interdisciplinary dialogue between academic, practitioner, and artistic perspectives on water issues affecting the Upper Colorado River Basin. Here is the website link for more information and to register for the forum.

News from the 2015 Colorado River District Water Seminar

At the annual Colorado River District water seminar held on September 10th, we heard numerous speakers discuss the essential need to conserve. The western U.S. is close to a crisis as the demand for water is greater than the supply! As Lake Powell and Mead reservoirs decline, we are approaching the minimum levels needed to generate hydroelectric power. Water availability affects rural and urban areas, agriculture, and the environment. These issues are interconnected and we must work together to resolve our conflicts.

Here is the Grand Junction's Daily Sentinel article on the conference.

 

Open comment period on Colorado Water Plan until September 17th

The Colorado Water Plan is open for public comment for about six (6) more weeks. Here a brief description provided by the Colorado Water Conservation Board:

People love Colorado: our population ballooned from 1 million in 1930, to over 5 million today, and is projected to grow even faster in the future. So how do we ensure that we are able to preserve what we know and love about our state alongside population growth? When it comes to our water, Colorado’s Water Plan has answers. This plan offers a strategic vision: a productive economy that supports vibrant and sustainable cities, productive agriculture, a strong environment, and a robust recreation industry. How can we achieve this vision for Colorado water? This plan provides the strategies, policies, and actions by which Colorado can address its projected future needs in a manner consistent with this vision. This plan will be accomplished through collaboration with basin roundtables, local governments, water providers, and other stakeholders. It represents a set of collaboratively developed policies and actions that all Coloradans and their elected officials can support and to which they can adhere.

Not only is Colorado River water in great demand in the western U.S., there are statewide conflicts between the East Slope (including the Denver area) and the West Slope (including Grand Junction). Currently, over a half a million acre-feet of water is diverted each year from the West Slope to go to the East Slope according to news reports. Future diversions will need to increase as the population is booming in the Denver area which will continue to put more pressure on West Slope to conserve. 

In my opinion, rather than West Slope supporters demanding that no more water be provided to East Slope users, which will be a losing battle due to voter populations, the entire state needs to adopt strict conservation measures taken by many other cities. For example, the tremendous waste of water in the West Slope is astounding to me after having lived in Las Vegas.  Here is an updated video taken at the same location as shown on the July 17th blog where the mortuary business watered grass during a rain storm! I've also noticed they routinely water at 9:30 am and 5:00 pm. By contrast, the City of Grand Junction Parks and Recreation sets irrigation to occur between 10 pm and 6 am to limit loss by evapotranspiration and growth of disease. Rain moisture sensors are used to obtain the proper amount of irrigation water. So far, the business has not responded to my email offering them free advice on proper irrigation techniques.

Fed Climate Actions

Today there were two historic actions by the U.S. Federal Government responding to the climate crisis: President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Department of Interior imposed new water restrictions on the Colorado River.

The IRA law according to the White House makes the largest investment in clean energy by:

Lowering Energy Costs

  • Families that take advantage of clean energy and electric vehicle tax credits will save more than $1,000 per year.

  • $14,000 in direct consumer rebates for families to buy heat pumps or other energy efficient home appliances, saving families at least $350 per year.

  • 7.5 million more families will be able install solar on their roofs with a 30% tax credit, saving families $9,000 over the life of the system or at least $300 per year.

  • Up to $7,500 in tax credits for new electric vehicles and $4,000 for used electric vehicles, helping families save $950 per year.

  • Putting America on track to meet President Biden’s climate goals, which will save every family an average of $500 per year on their energy costs.

Building a Clean Energy Economy

  • Power homes, businesses, and communities with much more clean energy by 2030, including:

    • 950 million solar panels

    • 120,000 wind turbines

    • 2,300 grid-scale battery plants

  • Advance cost-saving clean energy projects at rural electric cooperatives serving 42 million people.

  • Strengthen climate resilience and protect nearly 2 million acres of national forests.

  • Creating millions of good-paying jobs making clean energy in America.

Reducing Harmful Pollution

  • Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 1 gigaton in 2030, or a billion metric tons – 10 times more climate impact than any other single piece of legislation ever enacted.

  • Deploy clean energy and reduce particle pollution from fossil fuels to avoid up to 3,900 premature deaths and up to 100,000 asthma attacks annually by 2030.

Federal water restrictions on the Colorado River are being imposed on seven Western states and Mexico. The crisis did not begin with current droughts and result largely from the original 1920’s compact that overestimated available water supplies.

Washington Post reports Grand Junction Area is in Climate Change Hot Spot!

Today, the Washington Post reported that the Western Slope area of Colorado and Utah is warming at twice the world’s average due to climate change!

“This cluster of counties on Colorado's Western Slope — along with three counties just across the border in eastern Utah — has warmed more than 2 degrees Celsius, double the global average. Spanning more than 30,000 square miles, it is the largest 2C hot spot in the Lower 48, a Washington Post analysis found.”

“Dry areas warm faster for lack of moisture to cool things down, said Chris Milly, a senior resource scientist at the U.S. Geological Survey. Land use, irrigation and natural variability could also help explain part of the disparity. Milly and another colleague recently found that much of the Colorado River’s climate-induced decline — amounting to 1.5 billion tons of missing water — comes from the fact that the region’s snowpack is shrinking and melting earlier. That’s as much water as 14 million Americans use in a year.”

“The city of Grand Junction recently analyzed whether it has enough water to supply its 30,000 customers even if the drought persists. In the near term, according to its utilities director Randi Kim, the city is fine. But it also looked over the next 50 years — and came up as much as 3,300 acre feet short, which would force it to tap water directly from the Colorado and Gunnison rivers. And that was without calculating the full impacts of climate change.”

To read more about this work from Chris Milly at USGS and predictions for the future of the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB), see this website and quote: “Continued warming in the UCRB will drive further loss of river flow. Another factor, which might add or subtract available water, will be changes in precipitation, which could either increase or decrease. Considering the effect of warming alone, and using estimates of the rate of warming from global climate models, it is estimated that by 2050 the flow will have decreased by 14 to 31%, relative to the historical average. When the possible changes in precipitation are included, the range of this estimate widens, with losses as great as 40% and, at the other extreme, a flow gain of 3%.”

When we moved to Grand Junction 8 years ago from Las Vegas, Nevada we were shocked at how people wasted precious water resources. In Las Vegas, water conservation is enforced with water recycling systems and expensive utility bills. In Grand Junction, many people plant grass landscapes using irrigation from the Colorado River that is not metered, low cost, and over watered running down the curbs. We’ve discussed water conservation for many years and many people just think if they don’t use it they will lose their water rights which is not true.

Due to the oil and gas industry dominating the area’s economy for many years, climate change has not been a subject many people wanted to discuss. In fact, the local university invited climate deniers to speak on campus a few years ago.

We purposely moved to a subdivision of Grand Junction that is not on the City water supply and obtain water from Grand Mesa lakes providing drinking water and drip irrigation. We planted native plants may of which do not need much water including lavender and trumpet vines. Water conservation is critical more then ever and it is time for public officials to mandate water restrictions as is being done in many other locations.