Exposed to the beating sun and hot dry air, more than 10% of the water carried by the Colorado River evaporates, leaks or spills as the 1,450-mile powerhouse of the West flows through the region's dams, reservoirs and open-air canals.
Now with a looming federal deadline for Colorado River basin states to say how they'll use at least 15% less water from the river, there's renewed urgency for Arizona, California and Nevada to factor in what's lost to evaporation.
Nevada stands to lose the least under this plan since Lake Mead — the man-made reservoir from which Arizona, Nevada, California and Mexico draw water — sits in its backyard."Calculating the losses as Nevada has proposed is probably the most equitable and matches the real, physical world," Buschatzke said. "The further you are, the more the losses are."
For Arizona, that could mean shouldering losses so significant that some experts say the drinking water supply for Phoenix could be threatened due to diminished deliveries to the Central Arizona Project, the 336-mile aqueduct system that delivers Colorado River water to that metro area and Tucson. "When you have a junior right, that's what you do," Shields said. "You try to share the problem with other users."
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
In the West, pressure to count water lost to evaporationExposed to the beating sun and hot dry air, more than 10% of the water carried by the Colorado River evaporates, leaks or spills as the 1,450-mile (2,334-kilometer) powerhouse of the West flows through the region’s dams, reservoirs and open-air canals. For decades, key stewards of the river have ignored the massive water loss, instead allocating Arizona, California, Nevada and Mexico their share of the river without subtracting what's evaporated. The West's multi-decade drought has sent water levels in key reservoirs along the river to unprecedented lows.
Read more »
Feds prepare to order water cuts for Utah, other states that rely on Colorado RiverThe seven states that rely on water from the shrinking Colorado River are unlikely to agree to voluntarily make deep reductions in their water use, negotiators say, which would force the federal government to impose cuts for the first time in the water supply for 40 million Americans.
Read more »
Emails reveal tensions in Colorado River water cut talks: AP reportAs the deadline approached without meaningful progress, one water manager warned: “We’re all headed to a very dark place.”
Read more »
6 states, without Calif., offer deal to save Colorado River waterFor Star subscribers: But the proposal, made on a deadline set by federal officials, is likely to face opposition from California, which controls the largest share of the river's water among the seven basin states.
Read more »
States miss deadline to address Colorado River water crisis, pressure builds on CaliforniaStates dependent on Colorado River supplies have missed yet another deadline for agreeing to water cuts. Will the federal government step in?
Read more »
New York investors snapping up Colorado River water rights, betting big on an increasingly scarce resourceInvestment firms are showing a growing interest in an increasingly scarce natural resource in the American West. For some, that's concerning.
Read more »