Colorado River Water Shortage Could be Declared in 2020
By Melissa Sevigny • May 17, 2018
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation projects a 52 percent chance of a water shortage on the Colorado River in 2020. Arizona would bear the brunt of mandatory cutbacks. KNAU's Melissa Sevigny reports.
Credit U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
A shortage is declared if Lake Mead drops below one thousand seventy five feet in elevation. If that happens, Arizona would lose 11 percent of its Colorado River allotment. Nevada would lose 4 percent and Mexico 3 percent. Further drops in the water's level would trigger bigger cuts.
A shortage declaration is unprecedented. Marlon Duke of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation says reservoirs are depleted from 19 years of drought. He says, "This is the worst drought in at least the last 100 years of our recorded history, and as we look back further than that, we can see signs that this one of the worst droughts probably the last 1,200 years of the paleo-record."
The U.S. and Mexico have agreed to a strategy to conserve the Colorado River, but it won't go into effect unless Arizona, Nevada and California finish their "drought contingency plan."
Malcolm Wilson leads the Water Resources Group for the Upper Colorado Region. He says, "I think it's very important for the basin as a whole to work together collaboratively, as they've have done for decades, and work toward avoiding this crisis."
That call for cooperation comes at a time when Upper Basin states have accused Arizona of delaying the drought plan and managing its water supply to maximize releases from Lake Powell.
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
Arizona Could See Colorado River Cutback in 2020
By Associated Press & Dan Elliott • May 9, 2018
AP Photo/John Locher, File
Mexico and the U.S. states of Arizona and Nevada face a better-than-even possibility of getting less water from the Colorado River in 2020 because of a persistent drought, water managers said Wednesday.
Colorado River Managers Begin First Experimental 'Bug Flows'
By Melissa Sevigny • May 4, 2018
This weekend, managers at Glen Canyon Dam will begin a first-of-its-kind experiment to release water that benefits bugs, which play a vital role in the Colorado River ecosystem. KNAU's Melissa Sevigny reports.
Scientists Map Non-Native Tamarisk Beetles in Grand Canyon
By Melissa Sevigny • Apr 20, 2018
Scientists have made the first-ever map of how tamarisk beetles have spread into the Grand Canyon from other states. The leaf-eating beetles were introduced to control the invasive trees. But as KNAU's Melissa Sevigny reports, they weren't supposed to survive as far south as Arizona.
Feud Erupts Between Utility, U.S. States Over Colorado River
By Associated Press & Dan Elliott • Apr 19, 2018
AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, File
Tension over the drought-stressed Colorado River escalated into a public feud when four U.S. states accused Arizona's largest water provider of manipulating supply and demand, potentially threatening millions of people in the United States and Mexico who rely on the river.