Historical, environmental, climate, engineering/tech, and socioeconomic issues are extensively similar among communities sharing the water (and hydroelectricity) of the Colorado River Basin --principally Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, California, Nevada, and Baja California --- and nearby regions, e.g., west Texas, Pacific Northwest, Oklahoma, even Kansas (pro-actively) and the rest of Mexico. Effective approaches generated in one may be utilizable by others; bad strategies have already proliferated, to our common detriment. This group is for reblogging and originating diaries/articles/stories with content applicable to these topic-areas in one, some, or all these locales, because of the common issues,
Kosaks interested in joining Drought States Kosaks, in order to reblog pertinent diaries here, or/and to originate them via the group queue (the group name will display following author name on the by-line), please contact mettle fatigue to request an invitation. We plan to promote virtually all new members (i.e., ‘contributors’) to editor rank promptly so they’ll be able to reblog right from the start), and experienced editors and admins would be extremely welcome, for mentoring/teaching newcomers and running the group! :)
Readers interested in automatic delivery to your activity stream of everything originated and reblogged here, please click the FOLLOW buttonat our group homepage.
Meanwhile, a few links and blockquotes to start — most of them are expert explorations of some Colorado River-related issues. As the dk expression goes, our “mileage may vary”, of course. Argument and additional links are welcome in the comment thread!
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TheConversation — Nov 2021<big><big> As climate change parches the Southwest, here’s a better way to share water from the shrinking Colorado River</big></big> by Daniel Craig McCool, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of Utah
The Colorado River is a vital lifeline for the arid U.S. Southwest. It supplies water to seven states, Mexico, 29 Indian reservations and millions of acres of irrigated farmland. The river and its tributaries support 16 million jobs and provide drinking water to Denver, Salt Lake City, Albuquerque, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix and Tucson – in all, 40 million people.
These rivers also course through several of the world’s most iconic national parks, including the Grand Canyon in Arizona and Canyonlands in Utah. Today millions of people visit the Colorado River Basin to fish, boat and explore.
Southwestern states, tribes and Mexico share the Colorado’s water under the century-old 1922 Colorado Compact and updates to it. But today, because of climate change and rapid development, there is an enormous gap between the amount of water the compact allocates to parties and the amount that is actually in the river. With users facing unprecedented water shortages, the compact is hopelessly inadequate to deal with current and future realities.
I have studied water resource development for 35 years and written extensively about Native American waterrights and the future of America’s rivers. As I see it, the compact rests on three fundamental errors that now plague efforts to develop a new vision for the region. I believe the most productive way forward is for states and tribes to negotiate a new agreement that reflects 21st-century realities….
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TheConversation — May 2022<big><big>What is dead pool? A water expert explains</big></big> by Robert Glennon, Regents Professor Emeritus and Morris K. Udall Professor of Law & Public Policy Emeritus, University of Arizona. Video in addition to text.
Journalists reporting on the status and future of the Colorado River are increasingly using the phrase “dead pool.” It sounds ominous. And it is.
Dead pool occurs when water in a reservoir drops so low that it can’t flow downstream from the dam. The biggest concerns are Lake Powell, behind Glen Canyon Dam on the Utah-Arizona border, and Lake Mead, behind Boulder Canyon Dam on the Nevada-Arizona border. These two reservoirs, the largest in the U.S., provide water for drinking and irrigation and hydroelectricity to millions of people in Nevada, Arizona and California.
Some media reports incorrectly define dead pool as the point at which a dam no longer has enough water to generate hydroelectricity. The more accurate term for that situation is the minimum power pool elevation.
As a 22-year drought in the Colorado River basin lingers, reaching minimum power pool elevation is the first problem. Lakes Powell and Mead have turbines at the bases of their dams, well below the surface of the reservoirs. Water flows through valves in intake towers in the reservoirs and is channeled through the turbines, making them spin to generate electricity…..
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TheConversation — June 30, 2022 <big><big>A water strategy for the parched West: Have cities pay farmers to install more efficient irrigation systems</big></big> by Robert Glennon, Regents Professor Emeritus and Morris K. Udall Professor of Law & Public Policy Emeritus, University of Arizona.
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My Feb 23, 2022 post<big><big>California solar water-canal pilot Project Nexus — multi-benefit to the San Joaquin Valley</big></big> with links to a March 2021 NatureSustainability article on the project, a Feb 22, 2022 TheConversation article, a February 22, 2022 UnivOfCalifMerced article, and to MeteorBlades’ February 17, 2022 edition of his EarthMatters series (use the follow-button there for automatic delivery to your activity stream of all his posts with that tag).
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WhatMatters — January 30, 2023<big><big>Deal or no deal (Colorado River edition)</big></big> by Ben Christopher.
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