But the largest water user, California, did not join them an impasse that suggests the wrangling over how to conserve the dwindling water supply that serves 40 million people will continue in coming months. Albuquerques municipal supply is entitled to as much as 15 billion gallons of San Juan-Chama water every year. (Photos: U.S. Geological Survey/Willie Taylor) Lake Mead is now projected to rise 33 feet higher than expected this year . Beef cattle are the top agricultural product of Imperial County. Living with less water in the U.S. Southwest is the focus this week for a conference in Las Vegas about the drought-stricken and overpromised Colorado River, Colorado River Water Users Convening Amid Crisis Concerns, FILE - A buoy sits high and dry on cracked earth previously under the waters of Lake Mead at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area near Boulder City, Nev., on June 28, 2022. "Something will have to give," said Sharon Megdal, director of the University of Arizona's Water Resources Research Center. A prolonged 21-year warming and drying trend is pushing the . By design, the five-year process is ponderous and built to be consensus-driven, with an eye toward shared sacrifice. "It's very early planting," he says. But they will also be looking at rebalancing water levels in Lake Powell and Lake Mead, two federally owned reservoirs that hold water to use in case of extreme drought. New York investors snapping up Colorado River water rights - Reddit 'The brink of disaster': 2023 is a critical year for the Colorado River Associated Press journalists Brittany Peterson in Denver, Sam Metz in Salt Lake City and Felicia Fonseca in Flagstaff, Arizona, contributed to this report. But on top of that, theres a problem with the rules, Cohen said. Demand for Colorado River water picked up in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Thats not what water is meant to be.. 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Key Colorado River reservoirs unlikely to refill in our lifetimes - Los U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton this year tasked Colorado River states with creating an ambitious conservation plan. As WAMs Mr. Diserio likes to say, When you need water, water is the only thing that will do.. A field of alfalfa, freshly cut, dries in the sun. What is new is for private investors in this case an investment fund in Phoenix, with owners on the East Coast to exert that power. Andrew Leimgruber grows alfalfa and vegetables on his family's farm in the Imperial Valley. The proposal by the six states Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming aims to protect the major reservoirs in Lake Powell and Lake Mead from falling below critical levels, such as when the dams would no longer be able to generate electricity or at dead pool, when water would effectively be blocked from flowing out of these lakes. The proposal begins with a 400,000 acre-foot cut, as previously offered, and continues with additional reductions as the reservoir declines toward levels where power generation would be threatened. Some fear that less water, and less farming, means fewer jobs and economic decline. In October 2022, Lake Powell was a quarter full due to a historic drought, which threatened power supplied to millions by the Glen Canyon Dam in Page, Ariz. (Video: John Farrell/The Washington Post), Views from The Posts Editorial Board on current events, As the Colorado River dries up, states cant agree on saving water. But the entire region must work together, Lpez said, to avoid more mandatory cuts. Going by established law, Leimgruber says, those latecomers would be cut off from Colorado River water completely before the Imperial Irrigation District gives up any of the water to which it's entitled. Dan Charles for NPR In theory, water saved by demand management could flow to the account, often called a pool within the pool, and be drawn upon if the current drought continues to realize worst-case scenarios. Lake Mead, seen here on April 3, has plummeted in recent years amid an epic drought. "Six of the seven basin states are playing catch-up to reduce water use from the Colorado River, which is absolutely critically needed after 20 years of drought and the impacts of climate change," Moran told Reuters. Light shines off the water flowing in a section of the Central Arizona Project on Oct . "And there's not enough time to litigate these issues," added Hayes, a former top climate aide to President Joe Biden. What top five states have rivers? The markets have become a paradise for arbitrage. He compared the dynamic to California in the 1990s, where fires and outages were beneficial for traders because of price spikes and you saw Enron traders cheering on fires.. Its the rural counties going up against big money., Grady Gammage Jr., a spokesman for Greenstone, said, In my view there is enough water both to sustain a significant agricultural economy on the river and to support urban growth in central Arizona.. Among conference topic titles are Messaging in a More Water-Challenged world and The Next 100 Years Begins Now.. Everybody got a little, he added. Researchers at the New Mexico State University Agricultural Science Center in Farmington, N.M., works with . As of Wednesday morning, the surge of water released from the Glen Canyon Dam has reached Lake Mead, KTLA's sister station KLAS reports. They believe that the West has an outdated and overregulated system governing access to water, which has encouraged the cultivation of crops in the desert. Mr. Catlin, the state representative, said: We need to think about the true value of water. Drafted in 1922, it allocates the rivers annual flow, dividing the water among seven states desperate for their share. Arizona, California, and Nevada combined to consume just over 6.5 million acre-feet last year, according to an annual audit from the Bureau of Reclamation, the federal agency that oversees the lower basin. Many see the compact as a safeguard isolating the river from the market. But Colorado River and reservoir management was designed during a much wetter period. In Australia, however, water markets have had unintended consequences. Beginning Monday . Florida Municipal Power Agency. Victoria must navigate love and loss while her home town drowns under the rising waters of the Gunnison River. Today, tribes are at the table and a Mexico delegation is due to attend the conference. The Colorado River basin has experienced three D4 droughts in the past 20 years, including the current one. Why do we need to take additional actions now when there was so much water through all these recent storms?. Last year, Australias devastating wildfires and drought spiked water prices. Best States is an interactive platform developed by U.S. News for ranking the 50 U.S. states, alongside news analysis and daily reporting. Colorado River tributaries in New Mexico bring water to the alfalfa fields in the Four Corners and the forested hills of the Gila wilderness in the southwestern part of the state. Increasing Pressures on Colorado River Water in New Mexico - US News The Colorado River empties into the Gulf of California. Lurking in those details, though, is a bigger and more worrisome question. Biden should not let Venezuelas regime run out the clock on democracy, Floridas surgeon general played loose with facts about vaccine risk, in negotiations with the seven states affected. There is a myth about water in the Western United States, which is that there is not enough of it. You know, we in the water business have done a great job of saying, Waters the next oil, youve got to watch out, its going to be so valuable, he added. Adel Hagekhalil, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California general manager, warned this month in a statement that another dry winter could force officials to make voluntary measures mandatory. In 2003, under pressure from the federal government, IID agreed to transfer about 10 percent of its total allotment of water each year to San Diego and another neighboring water district. T. Boone Pickens, the Texas oilman who died in 2019, was an early evangelist of water buys. Feds Will Cut States' Access to Colorado River Water The whole history of the American West is about moving water, Mr. Gammage of Greenstone said. Subsequently, the governments antitrust department started an inquiry. If power production ceases at Glen Canyon Dam, rural electric cooperatives, cities and tribal utilities would be forced to seek more expensive options. Chaffee County is considered one of the hidden gems of the Rockies, a relatively unspoiled valley with a diverse economy in tourism as well as agriculture. Its important for us to invest in things like outdoor water conservation and reuse, Morris said. Felt said. Otherwise, the state has to invest in the whole thing and pay the opportunity cost of just having that water sitting there.. Near its headwaters, in the farming community of Nathrop, Colo., I met up with Greg Felt, a county commissioner. The situation has been compared to the energy markets of the late 1990s, in which firms like Enron made money from shortages (some of which, it turned out, traders engineered themselves). John Hernandez, a Mexican-American activist, says that there's also a question of fairness if most of the money that the irrigation district gets for using less water potentially hundreds of millions of dollars each year gets passed out to just a few hundred farms. Anyone can read what you share. For the second time in six months, states that depend on the Colorado River to sustain their farms and cities have failed to reach an agreement on restricting water usage, setting up the prospect of the federal government making unilateral cuts this year. They inherited the legal right to use that water, but they're now under pressure to give up some of it. We let anyone come play.. Because the Colorado River is so large, envisioning the local impacts of water transfers can be a challenge for decision makers, especially when the communities are as remote as Cibola. The negotiating states will be focused on restoring the flow of the Colorado River, which has been so diminished by use that from 1998 to 2014 it did not even reach its natural terminus in the Gulf of California. Home to about 300 people, depending on what time of year youre counting, the town sits on the California border, in a stretch of the Sonoran Desert encircled by fanglike mountains and seemingly dead rocky terrain. Surge of Colorado River water reaches Lake Mead - ktla.com In the winter, 90% of vegetables consumed in both the US and Canada are grown with Colorado River water. "We have a situation where some of the water rights holders in California are saying, 'We're not willing to give up more water, and we think we have legal rights and we're willing to go to court if we have to'," said David Hayes, a lecturer at Stanford University Law School. The Grand Valley Ditch, running through Grand Junction, Colo., diverts water from the Colorado River to irrigate farms. These fields owe their existence to fortune-seeking land speculators and engineers who, starting in 1901, dug a canal to bring water to this valley from the Colorado River. In the Colorado River Basin as a whole, which services about 40 million people in seven states and is overtaxed to the point that it rarely ever reaches the ocean anymore, that number is 55%. Construction of the original canal was marked by epic engineering failure. Beginning Monday . Many experts see its decision to sit out the agreement as fuelling the chances that the water fight will end up in the nation's highest courts. "They have the most water, and in some senses the most power," she says. As investor interest mounts, leaders of Southwestern states are gathering this month to decide the future of the Colorado River. Hernandez says that the crisis on the Colorado River provides a time for the predominantly white people who've claimed that water and the wealth and power that came with it to share more of it. In exchange, San Diego pays the irrigation district more than $100 million each year. Kightlinger, along with many other water experts and officials, says cuts of this magnitude and severity have to be shared, rather than doled out according to seniority. Almonds and Walnuts According to a UNESCO Institute for Water Education study, shelled almonds and walnuts were among the top three most water-intensive foods. The idea is to kind of mitigate that sand loss, and keep things close to the way they were before the dam, said Bob Tusso, a U.S. Geological Survey hydrologist. The Colorado River Water Users Association conference, normally a largely academic three-day affair, comes at a time of growing concern about the river's future after more than two decades of record drought attributed to climate change. The deadline for public submissions is Dec. 20 for a process expected to yield a final report by summer. And it had to be a pretty good process, because it lasted 100 years.. The cuts could be drastic, she warned, reducing Colorado River water access by between 2 and 4 million acre-feet across seven states that rely on itclose to the 4.4 million acre-feet of Colorado River water California is entitled to annually. Though it stopped short of calling for a shutdown, an interim report last summer recommended comprehensive changes in water markets, citing inadequate regulation and market exploitation by professional traders. Close to 40 million people use water from the Colorado River. The farmers say they understand that people need water for health and safety although maybe not for swimming pools and lawns. The system of tunnels and dams at the New Mexico state line diverts water into the Rio Grande Basin. Editing by Nick Macfie, Trump accuser defends rape claim after judge rejects Trump's mistrial request, Biden calls for meeting as US to run short of cash June 1, Biden urges Republicans take debt default off table, warns interest rates would jump, American Airlines pilots authorize a strike mandate, Donald Trump arrives in Scotland for short golfing trip, UK inflation expectations ease as BoE considers next rate hike, ACLU sues Montana House Speaker for silencing transgender legislator, Kuwait again dissolves reinstated parliament by decree, Bolsonaro steals show at Brazil's biggest farm fair. But if you know one tribe, you only know one tribe. A few years ago a firm called Greenstone, a subsidiary of a subsidiary of the financial-services conglomerate MassMutual, quietly bought the rights to most of Cibolas water. New Mexico still uses only about half of its allotment under the compact each year. Surge of Colorado River water reaches Lake Mead - ktla.com An earlier version of this story stated that the Imperial Irrigation District's allotment of Colorado River water is enough to cover all of its irrigated land with 5 inches of water. "You have a lot of leverage if you have a lot of water.". Roughly 180,000 people, most of them Mexican-American, live here in towns that include El Centro, Calexico, and Brawley. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) Colorado River tributaries in New Mexico bring water to the alfalfa fields in the Four Corners and the forested hills of the Gila wilderness in the southwestern part of the state. Which States Consume the Most Water? | ERC This allowed water to flow through the canal powered solely by gravity. They're trying to jump on the market early and have the first lettuce to be harvested.". Dan Charles for NPR It is just in the wrong places. Much of the West, including Los Angeles and Las Vegas, was made by moving water. Escambia River Electric Cooperative. Lake Mead to rise one foot by Sunday after federal high flow water release, Las Vegas police: Man shot in street in west valley, 1 dead, 2 hurt in southwest Las Vegas Valley crash, Heavy, black smoke, flames seen near Cheyenne, Lamb, 2 suspects face arson charges after setting fires at Las Vegas Strip hotels, Clark County in dire need of foster parents for teens; Heres how to help, I lost everything: Recovering addict shares story of hope, helping others in Las Vegas, City turns on water at splash pads at parks across Las Vegas. Most would like to see the price of water, long set in quiet by utilities and governments, rise precipitously. (Anthony Jackson/The Albuquerque Journal via AP) The Associated Press. In 2015, California got just 5 percent of its average annual snowpack, the lowest in 500 years. To proponents of open markets, water is underpriced and consequently overused. Steve Benson, managing partner of Benson Farms, points out a neighbor's field where a crew is planting lettuce. Arizona, by contrast, is entitled to 2.8 million acre-feet of Colorado River water every year. A resilient future on the Colorado must have tribal sovereignty at the forefront, said Daryl Vigil, Jicarilla Apache Nation water administrator and a staunch advocate for tribal inclusion in water management issues. The last time the feds utilized the high-flow experiment was back in 2018. Despite predictions for more such atmospheric rivers, of growing size and frequency, California cannot solve its long-term crisis without major investments to capture more storm water, restore flood plains and recycle wastewater. The same issues could resurface next year if officials look to the New Mexico reservoir as an emergency supply for downstream users. The proposal would result in about 2 million acre-feet of cuts the low end of what the federal government has asked for and would be largest for the biggest consumers of water: California and Arizona. Today, the river provides water to 40 million people and 5.5 million acres of farmland not just in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona and California but also to 29 Native American tribes and the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja California. Before above-average snows in recent weeks, the Bureau of Reclamation was projecting that Lake Powell could start to reach such thresholds by this summer. Such an account would effectively leave Colorado buying back its own water or other states potentially buying it on an open market and possibly undermine the states authority to control the river, an erosion of the century-long sway of the compact. In April, water administrators in Southern California imposed a one-day-a-week outdoor watering limit on more than 6 million people. Thanks to the Colorado River, which meanders through town, Cibola is a verdant oasis that chatters at dusk with swooping birds. But that flow of water is now in question, because the Colorado River doesn't have enough water for everyone. This novel introduces readers to Victoria Nash who is just a teenager in the 1940s, but she runs the household on her familys peach farm in the ranch town of Iola, Colorado. Matthew Diserio, the president and co-founder of the hedge fund Water Asset Management, has called the U.S. water business the biggest emerging market on earth and a trillion-dollar market opportunity.. Ron DeSantis, finding no legal basis for allegations that the governor violated campaign finance laws with a shadow run for the White House, North Carolina's attorney general is urging lawmakers to adopt several crime prevention proposals to tackle gun violence, the opioid crisis and the state's backlog of sexual assault cases, The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation says the bodies of seven people have been discovered during the search for two missing teenagers. The Colorado River system is in a very dire condition, Dan Bunk, a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation water manager, declared during internet presentations streamed Nov. 29 and Dec. 2 that invited public comment about possible actions. Although California was deluged for weeks from late in December by seven atmospheric rivers that dumped up to 30 inches (76 cm) of rain over some areas, little of that reached the Colorado River basin. As of Wednesday morning, the surge of water released from the Glen Canyon Dam has reached Lake Mead, KTLA's sister station KLAS reports. A report in the journal Nature last year found 2000-2021 to be the driest 22-year period for southwestern North America in at least 1,200 years. Sarah Porter, who's director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University, says the Imperial Irrigation District is now at the center of these negotiations. Today it is 28% full. According to water-policy professionals I spoke to, investors are already lobbying for it.
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