Latest news with #ColoradoRiver
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
40m Americans at risk of having no water as vital source is VANISHING... see if your hometown is in danger
Water in the Colorado River Basin, a vital source for over 40 million people, has vanished at an alarming pace over the past 20 years, a new study has found. The Colorado River Basin spans over 246,000 square miles and supplies water to seven US states, including Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Arizona, Nevada, and California. Researchers used more than two decades of satellite data to track water loss in the region. Between April 2002 and October 2024, the basin lost more than 13 trillion gallons of freshwater that is nearly two-thirds of it from underground reserves. Since 2003, nearly 28 million acre-feet of groundwater roughly the full capacity of Lake Mead has depleted, driven by unregulated pumping and drought. They used data from NASA to monitor underground water loss. It shows that since 2015, the groundwater has been depleting 2.4 times faster than surface water, marking a sharp acceleration in water loss. The groundwater loss is driven largely by over-pumping in the Lower Colorado River Basin, particularly in Arizona, Nevada, and California where regulation is minimal or nonexistent. Professor Jay Famiglietti, the study's senior from Arizona State University, said: 'Everyone in the US should be worried about it, because we grow a lot of food in the Colorado River Basin and that's food that's used all over the entire country.' The Colorado River and its underground supply support everything from drinking water for cities like Los Angeles and Phoenix to massive agricultural operations growing water-heavy crops like alfalfa, much of which is exported. 'Over-pumping is the main cause of groundwater losses over the past 20 years,' Professor Famiglietti said. 'There's nothing illegal about it, it's just unprotected.' The Colorado River Basin has long depended on snowmelt from the Rocky Mountains to refill its rivers, reservoirs, and aquifers. But rising temperatures and droughts, driven by climate change, are shrinking snowpack and reducing surface water flow. The decreasing supply of surface water is visually apparent throughout the region. Lake Powell and Lake Mead have seen sharply falling levels, and the Colorado River's overall flow has diminished, a trend researchers say will likely continue if warming intensifies. As surface water becomes less reliable, cities and farms are leaning more heavily on groundwater but that safety net is also collapsing. 'We used to say the Colorado River is the lifeblood of the western US,' Professor Famiglietti told The Guardian. 'Now it's becoming clear that groundwater is the lifeblood and it's vanishing.' The study highlights that the Lower Basin including Arizona, Nevada, and parts of California has been hit hardest. Groundwater accounts for more than 71 percent of total water loss in that region. Arizona in particular faces critical risk. Outside of designated management areas, groundwater pumping remains largely unregulated. As a result, wells are drying up, pumping costs are rising, and food security is under growing threat. As groundwater vanishes, wells run dry, pumping costs rise, and food security is threatened. About 80 percent of the Colorado River Basin's water goes to agriculture, supporting a $1.4 billion industry in Arizona alone, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The new study conducted by Arizona State University offers one of the most detailed looks yet at water loss in the Colorado River Basin. Since 2015, most of the Colorado River Basin's freshwater loss has been driven by aggressive groundwater pumping in Arizona, where the absence of statewide regulations outside designated Active Management Areas has allowed unchecked extraction for agriculture and growing urban demand. The research used satellite-based gravity data to measure changes in total water storage including snow, surface water, soil moisture, and groundwater. The Lower Basin, which includes Arizona, Nevada, and parts of California, was hit hardest, with groundwater making up more than 71 percent of its total water loss. This isn't the first warning. Previous studies using NASA's data have documented steady groundwater declines in the region between 2003 and 2014. But the latest research confirms that the pace of depletion has accelerated, especially since 2015. The Colorado River's flow has dropped 13 percent below its 20th-century average in recent years, and if current warming trends continue, experts warn it could shrink by as much as 30 percent by mid-century. States in the region were forced to reach a federal agreement in 2023 to limit water usage and try to protect the river's supply. The more water that is lost from the river, Professor Famigletti told the Washington Post, 'the more pressure there's going to be on the groundwater' in the basin. 'And then,' he said, 'it becomes a ticking time bomb.'
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Arizona's Water Is Vanishing Before AI Gets a Crack at It
While we worry about the growing threat of robots guzzling up America's groundwater, we can't ignore the risk that cows will consume it all first. A new study this week by researchers at Arizona State University put the depth of our water problem in perspective. It found that groundwater in the lower Colorado River basin — a region filling up with both data centers for artificial intelligence and alfalfa farms to feed cows — is being depleted far more quickly than surface water from reservoirs such as Lake Mead and Lake Powell, which are also vanishing rapidly.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Officials unveil sweeping new plan to protect vital US river system: 'The [river] is essential to the American West'
The Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Reclamation have announced the extension of 18 important short-term agreements to conserve water levels in the Colorado River. The news comes amid great uncertainty over the river's long-term future. In the press release, Reclamation Acting Commissioner David Palumbo said that the bureau was "committed to securing the future viability of Colorado River water supplies in the near-term and we work with all of our basin partners on long-term actions." The Colorado River runs through seven states, organized into the Upper Basin of Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, and Utah and the Lower Basin of California, Arizona, and Nevada. It's also an important water source for 30 tribal nations and Mexico. The latter was the subject of a 1944 bilateral agreement to share water sources between the two nations. In 2023, the Lower Basin states agreed on cuts aided by federal grants due to expire in 2026, per The New York Times. Forty million people rely on the Colorado River, which feeds Lake Mead and Lake Powell, and both are running critically low. As The Washington Post reported, the reservoirs were at 92% capacity in 1999, but persistent droughts and limited seasonal snowfall have dwindled levels to less than 25%. The low levels have been compounded by warming temperatures caused by pollution from dirty fuel sources. Extreme weather events are becoming more severe, and heat waves are causing the river to dry up. These developments have caused the Colorado River basin to lose 10 trillion gallons of water between 2001 and 2021, per the American Geophysical Union. The problem is compounded by the many stakeholders. Each state has its own priorities, and reaching a consensus is difficult. So extending the short-term measures is a welcome, albeit temporary, solution to a complicated problem. It goes to show that some of the most important actions in conservation occur locally and further underlines the importance of staying informed about the issues. The stakes could scarcely be higher, but the commitment of all involved is not in doubt. As Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the Interior Scott Cameron said, "The Colorado River is essential to the American West, and Interior and Reclamation is dedicated to delivering life-sustaining water and harnessing the significant hydropower the river offers." How often do you worry about the quality of your drinking water? Never Sometimes Often Always Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The Colorado River Basin's groundwater is disappearing faster than the river itself
The Colorado River Basin lost an alarming amount of groundwater over the past 20 years, a new study found. Nearly 28 million acre-feet of water has been depleted from the region, nearly the volume of a full Lake Mead, the country's largest reservoir. It's twice the amount that was lost from the river's reserves in the same period and the loss is accelerating, the report said. There was a three-fold increase in the rate of depletion over the past decade when compared to the rate of the previous 14 studied. While significant attention and legislation has been directed to the Colorado River, the water below the surface has not been as heavily scrutinized. To do so, the research team used NASA satellite technology — involving lasers and assessments of gravitational pull on targeted locations — to assess these less visible groundwater supplies. What they found gave them cause for concern. 'We have to be worried,' Karem Abdelmohsen, the lead author of the study and a research scholar at Arizona State University, said. 'This is really scary.' That's because the Colorado River basin is already struggling with water scarcity. Covering seven states, as well as parts of Mexico, it supplies water to about 40 million people and supports billions of dollars in agriculture. That scale of demand exists despite what the study, published this week in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, refers to as 'unprecedented water management challenges due to the impacts of climate change, including severe aridification and increasing variability in the water cycle.' In other words, there is an increasing volume and ferocity of droughts across the Southwest, where populations are growing faster than many other parts of the country. The severity of the region's water woes are well-documented — Arizona, for example, has been in a drought since 1994. Then there is the declining flow of the Colorado River itself, which has seen a 20% decrease over the past 100 years, with the expectation that by mid-century it might go down another 30%. As access to this 'surface water' diminishes, it places a significant pressure on the region's groundwater — well water that is pumped from underground aquifers — that is the only backstop against running out of water entirely. In an interview, Abdelmohsen described the situation in personal economics terms. He said surface water supplies like the Colorado River are like a checking account while groundwater is similar to a savings account. Things are good when you are drawing on your checking account per your needs, while also making consistent deposits into your savings. 'Imagine if you start using both accounts at the same time and your savings account is running out of money and whatever is left is not enough for five years, 10 years,' Abdelmohsen said. 'If you don't save water for the future or for the next generation, it will be the same situation. 'The water table will get lower, and as this gets lower, most of the wells will dry up,' he said. 'Especially in some areas that don't have access to surface water, they will not have any water for their farms.' Should the groundwater continue to deplete at this rate, Abdelmohsen said the region would become fully reliant on the ebb and flow of precipitation and surface water, which would create a situation where the supply would not be able to meet the demand. The states in the Colorado River Basin are split between the upper basin — Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah — and the lower basin of Nevada, California and Arizona. It's the lower basin states that are at the greatest risk should the depletions continue at the current rate. 'Groundwater is a crucial buffer as water supply in arid environments like the (lower Colorado River Basin), but it is rapidly disappearing due to excessive extraction on one hand and insufficient recharge and management on the other,' the report says. The groundwater in the lower basin makes up 40% of its total water supply and, of all the water depleted in that region during the period of the study, 71% came from those reserves. In the upper basin states, 53% of its regions depletions came from groundwater. In the discussion section of the report, what the lower basin is facing was summarized: 'This scenario places the region's overall economy and agricultural productivity at significant risk, as an increase in reliance on groundwater is inevitable.' While the report did not offer a specific plan of action, the authors believe their findings should make Colorado River Basin groundwater issues 'a national imperative,' as there are ways to address the problem. Abdelmohsen pointed out that while surface water is regulated, groundwater is much less so. California has strong regulations in place, as does Utah, but only 18% of Arizona, a state particularly exposed to diminishing water reserves, has any groundwater regulations at all. First and foremost, Abdelmohsen believes, states and municipalities should find ways to reduce drawing on groundwater so they can begin to replenish these underground aquifers. As agriculture represents 80% of water use, changing from high-water drawing crops, such as alfalfa fed to cattle, is one idea he mentioned. The report also mentions fewer perennial tree crops, and moving from flood-irrigation systems to more efficient systems. For now, there is no telling how long the groundwater will last as its total supply remains unknown. Abdelmohsen was reluctant to guess since nobody can accurately estimate how much water is held underground. 'This highlights how urgent it is to protect groundwater before the situation gets worse,' Abdelmohsen said. 'I see these research findings like an early alarm actually for this water scarcity.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The Colorado River Basin has lost as much groundwater as the entire volume of Lake Mead
Deep below the surface of the ground in one of the driest parts of the country, there is a looming problem: The water is running out — but not the kind that fills lakes, streams and reservoirs. The amount of groundwater that has been pumped out of the Colorado River Basin since 2003 is enough to fill Lake Mead, researchers report in a study published earlier this week. Most of that water was used to irrigate fields of alfalfa and vegetables grown in the desert Southwest. No one knows exactly how much is left, but the study, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, shows an alarming rate of withdrawal of a vital water source for a region that could also see its supply of Colorado River water shrink. 'We're using it faster and faster,' said Jay Famiglietti, an Arizona State University professor and the study's senior author. In the past two decades, groundwater basins – or large, underground aquifers – lost more than twice the amount of water that was taken out of major surface reservoirs, Famiglietti's team found, like Mead and Lake Powell, which themselves have seen water levels crash. The Arizona State University research team measured more than two decades of NASA satellite observations and used land modeling to trace how groundwater tables in the Colorado River basin were dwindling. The team focused mostly on Arizona, a state that is particularly vulnerable to future cutbacks on the Colorado River. Groundwater makes up about 35% of the total water supply for Arizona, said Sarah Porter, director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University, who was not directly involved in the study. The study found groundwater tables in the Lower Colorado River basin, and Arizona in particular, have declined significantly in the last decade. The problem is especially pronounced in Arizona's rural areas, many of which don't have groundwater regulations, and little backup supply from rivers. With wells in rural Arizona increasingly running dry, farmers and homeowners now drill thousands of feet into the ground to access water. Scientists don't know exactly how much groundwater is left in Arizona, Famiglietti added, but the signs are troubling. 'We have seen dry stream beds for decades,' he said. 'That's an indication that the connection between groundwater and rivers has been lost.' Some land has also begun to cave in, with deep fissures forming in parts of the state as ground water has been pumped out. This is not unique to Arizona, Famiglietti said, with similar signs of disappearing groundwater happening in the agriculture-heavy Central Valley in California. Porter said the results illuminate the magnitude of the groundwater crisis in the Southwest, which is particularly helpful for state officials and lawmakers. 'There are a lot of people who aren't sure if we have a serious situation with respect to groundwater, because groundwater is hidden,' Porter said. 'The value of the study is that it really adds a lot of information to the picture.' Groundwater may be hidden, but scientists know with relative certainty that once it is pumped out, it won't be able to recharge within our lifetimes. Much of it was deposited tens or hundreds of thousands of years ago. 'It takes geologic time' to refill these deep aquifers — meaning thousands of years — 'and we as humans have more or less been burning through it in the last over the last century,' Famiglietti said. Famiglietti warned the groundwater situation could worsen if the state's allocation of Colorado River water is further decreased, a decision that could be made in the next two years. If Arizona's Colorado River water allocation was cut to zero, 'we could burn through the available groundwater in 50 years,' Famiglietti said. 'We're talking about decades. That's scary. No one wants that to happen.' But Porter pushed back on that characterization, pointing out that Arizona cities have another stable water supply—the Salt River. Porter added cities like Phoenix and Tucson are storing groundwater and have regulations designed to keep it from running out. Arizona has had a groundwater management law in place since 1980. 'We're not expecting that the whole state would turn to groundwater,' Porter said. Famiglietti said he hopes the study will prompt discussions over how to more effectively manage groundwater use in the region, especially from agriculture, which uses the lion's share of water. Much of Arizona's crops are exported, either to other states or, as is the case with alfalfa, internationally. Famiglietti called it the 'absolutely biggest' choice that policymakers will have to decide. 'Agriculture just uses so much water,' Famiglietti said. 'Are we going to plan to continue to grow as much food? Are we losing food that's important for the state, that's important for the country, or is it alfalfa that's being shipped to Saudi Arabia?'
