In 2021, water managers considered releasing even more water from Navajo Reservoir to help water levels in downstream reservoirs. The . 2002, 2018 and 2021 are the most intense dry periods on record for the basin. If states, cities, big farms and utilities were able to buy water freely, especially across state lines, the allocations of the compact could be obviated and the governmental power to manage the fate of the river eroded. Yeah. Interior officials did not issue any mandatory water cuts for New Mexico. My fear is that the speculators are going to break it. 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. The All-American Canal carries water from the Imperial Dam, on the Colorado River near Yuma, Ariz., to a series of smaller distribution canals in the Imperial Valley. Selling the rights to a Rocky Mountain trout stream or a hayfield dating from the pioneer era to nonlocal interests, especially those seeking to turn a profit, has the potential to be seen as auctioning state patrimony. Flows during the past 23-year period are the lowest in the past 120 years and (among) the lowest in more than 1,200 years, Bunk told the webinar audience. Reclamation water managers responded with plans to hold back more water in Lake Powell but warned that Lake Mead water levels would drop. In 1922, a landmark agreement called the Colorado River Compact divided the river among two groups of states: the upper basin and the lower basin. Victoria must navigate love and loss while her home town drowns under the rising waters of the Gunnison River. Last year, Australias devastating wildfires and drought spiked water prices. We let anyone come play.. The Colorado River provides water for one out of every eight Americans for residential, indus-trial, mining, agricultural, and recreational needs. Florida Public Utilities, a part of Chesapeake Utilities. Sign up for the Climate Coach newsletter, in your inbox every Tuesday and Thursday. Steve Benson, managing partner of Benson Farms, points out a neighbor's field where a crew is planting lettuce. Back in the 1920s, they knew that if they didnt reach agreement, there were going to be winners and losers, so with a lot of wrangling and quarreling, they eventually agreed to agree, said Russell George, a former state representative from western Colorado who founded the Interbasin Compact Committee, a statewide governmental body devoted to seeking consensus on water issues. Associated Press journalists Brittany Peterson in Denver, Sam Metz in Salt Lake City and Felicia Fonseca in Flagstaff, Arizona, contributed to this report. 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. The Colorado River provides water to more than 40 million people across seven southwestern states, 29 tribal nations and Mexico - and a lot of major cities in those states are heavily dependent on . Access to it can make or break both cities and rural communities. It certainly seems that we have to reset our expectations for what we might be trying to get out of the river, said Lpez, a former Reclamation commissioner. Article 16, Section 5. 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. In exchange, San Diego pays the irrigation district more than $100 million each year. Those who grow alfalfa in Southern Californias Imperial and Coachella valleys would keep their water before people in parts of Los Angeles. The event theme, A New Century for the Colorado River Compact, marks 100 years since a 1922 interstate agreement divvied water shares among interests in the seven states now home to 40 million people and millions of farmed acres. Today it is 28% full. Exclusive news, data and analytics for financial market professionals, Reporting by Liliana Salgado and Temis Tormo; Writing by Clarence Fernandez; 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. 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. The California proposal makes a constructive effort to uphold the Law of the River while making substantial efforts to protect the Colorado River system with voluntary reductions far beyond Californias legal obligations, JB Hamby, chairman of the Colorado River Board of California, wrote in the introduction to the plan. Feb. 11, 2023 Updated: Feb. 11, 2023 10:50 a.m. When the states struck their agreement 100 years ago, it envisaged the river could provide 20 million acre-feet of water a year. Without the river and its load of nutrients, marine productivity in the Gulf of California where the Colorado River once ended has fallen by up to 95 percent. A prolonged 21-year warming and drying trend is pushing the . Marc Catlin, a third-generation farmer who represents western Colorado in the General Assembly, said, A farmers property is their 401(k).. Interior Department has said it will engage with tribes in the basin as parties hammer out some management details of the compact that are set to expire after 2026. Living with less water in the U.S. Southwest is the focus for a conference starting Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022, in Las Vegas, about the drought-stricken and overpromised Colorado River. They cant follow the priority system. The past two years have also seen healthy winter snow accumulation in the Rockies only to have runoff levels into Lake Powell that were a fraction of normal, as terrain dried out by the warming climate absorbed more of the water before it can reach the reservoir. It may feel like California is flush with water at the moment, after a winter of historic storms that replenished drought-starved lakes and left the . However, over time, as the West has grown in population, constraints on water supplies have emerged, leaving a system that was originally designed around the needs of farms to support the growth of vast cities like Las Vegas and Phoenix. Here water is very scarce, and in periods of shortage traders essentially cheer on the drought, Mr. Kells said. Fourth in a series. The Evergreen State takes the top spot again in the U.S. News Best States ranking on the strength of its tech sector and other industries. 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. But those plans, say members of Colorado's outdoor recreation, real estate, and tourism industries, jeopardize a $9 billion dollar economy that hinges on healthy rivers - and supports more . 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. Thats the dilemma looking at how we can reduce demand with as soft a blow as possible, Hamman said. Colorado River expert John Fleck, a professor at the University of New Mexico, wrote that Californias plan gets to roughly the same place as the six-state plan at the most extreme reservoir levels, but the difference is timing waiting until water levels drop further at Lake Meads Hoover Dam. But we will not serve as an emergency reservoir for uncontrollable, unsustainable urban sprawl, Cardenas said. "Something will have to give," said Sharon Megdal, director of the University of Arizona's Water Resources Research Center. (AP Photo/John Locher, File), determine how to use at least 15% less water, restricting the planting of decorative lawns, Trump PAC Complaint Against DeSantis Rejected in Florida, North Carolina AG Urges Public Safety, Law Enforcement Bills, 7 Bodies Found During Search for Missing Oklahoma Teens. Why is the river drying up? "The river has a gun to everybody's heads, and it's in everybody's interest to try to work out this thing," says JB Hamby, a member of the irrigation district's board of directors. Those forage crops, which cover the majority of the land, aren't usually as valuable as vegetables. 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. The high-tech market there services Denver and other cities, fueling development in some of the fastest-growing housing markets in the country. Clewiston Utilities. Use less waterevery drop counts! But Mr. Eklund denies that the firm is flipping water rights. Mr. he says. Clay Electric Cooperative. Nor is it official policy yet. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. EL CENTRO, Calif. A few hundred farms in the southern tip of California, along the Mexican border, may hold the key to saving the drought-plagued Colorado River from collapse. That a lush hay farm had once been here seemed hard to believe. Arizona, by contrast, is entitled to 2.8 million acre-feet of Colorado River water every year. The amount of water being used far exceeds whats actually available. 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. Negotiators have had a bit of help from nature to start the year. The Biden administration helped pave the way for that offer by pledging $250 million for environmental projects to address the dust-ravaged shorelines around the Salton Sea, Californias largest lake, thats fed by agricultural runoff from the Imperial Valley. Irrigation canals that are currently simple ditches in the dirt could be lined with concrete, to prevent water from seeping into the ground. LAS VEGAS (AP) Living with less water in the U.S. Southwest is the focus this week for state and federal water administrators, tribal officials, farmers, academics and business representatives meeting about the drought-stricken and overpromised Colorado River. Most of the water in the 1,450-mile-long river comes from Colorado, and as that states top water official from 2013 to 2017, James Eklund directed the creation of a comprehensive long-term plan to address climate change, the first by a state in the West. The Central Arizona Project, a 336-mile-long water delivery system, brings water from the Colorado River to Arizona's . California on Tuesday submitted its own proposal for how reductions should play out in coming years, depending on the elevation in Lake Mead. The six states made their case in a letter to the Bureau of Reclamation on Monday. One, moving very rapidly, is climate change. This led to domination by professional investors with no ownership of farmland, Mr. Kells said. Copyright 2023 KVVU. The dry period has lasted more than two decades, draining the major reservoirs along the river. But officials in these farming districts with long-standing water rights do not intend to give them up without a fight or without compensation that meets their needs. PHOENIX (CN) On the heels of one of the wettest Arizona winters in history, federal, state, local and tribal leaders united Thursday to announce a total of $233 million in funding for water conservation agreements to aid the Gila River Indian Community and other Colorado River users. Bunk said the two largest reservoirs on the river Lake Mead behind Hoover Dam on the Nevada-Arizona state line and Lake Powell formed by the Glen Canyon Dam on the Arizona-Utah line are at unprecedented low levels. Theres a problem of aridification. The platform is designed to engage citizens and government leaders in a discussion about what needs improvement across the country. The water level in Lake Powell has fallen about a foot this year and stands 33 feet above the threshold where Glen Canyon Dam could no longer produce power. Florida Power & Light, a part of NextEra Energy. 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%. Sprinklers deliver vital Colorado River water to a field of celery in California's Imperial Valley. In an online presentation last spring outlining WAMs long-term strategy, Marc Robert, the chief operating officer, professed his belief that U.S. consumers would be compelled to use more wisely in coming years. Thats not what water is meant to be.. The most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs. But here there was nothing to see: just an empty field of ankle-high weeds and crimson splotches of peat. And with the worst drought in 1,500 years parching the region, water anxiety is at an all-time high. It is just in the wrong places. Native American tribes werent included and were referenced in one sentence: Nothing in this compact shall be construed as affecting the obligations of the United States of America to Indian tribes.. An acre-foot (1,233 cubic meters) of water is generally considered enough to supply two urban households per year. Once criticized for being a profligate user of water, fast-growing Phoenix has taken some major steps including banking water in underground reservoirs, slashing per-capita use, and recycling wastewater in anticipation of the day when the flow from the Colorado River ends. Half is in its natural state, a bone-dry desert. A water conservation deal is in the works. Colorado River tributaries serve relatively small portions of northwest and southwest New Mexico. Farmland meets the desert, separated by an irrigation canal, near Fruita, Colo. The State of Colorado could actually buy the water from them, Mr. Libecap said. The water will flow down the Colorado River system and eventually hit Pearce Ferry by April 26, and more water will flow into Lake Mead from April 26 to April 30. Researchers at the New Mexico State University Agricultural Science Center in Farmington, N.M., works with alfalfa on July 22, 2020. Subsequently, the governments antitrust department started an inquiry. The top 5 states are Mississippi, Missouri,. [1/3]An aerial view of Lake Powell is seen, where water levels have declined dramatically as growing demand for water and climate change shrink the Colorado River in Page, Arizona, U.S., November 19, 2022. "There's been a bad crop in northern California. 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. If we can get water users within places like the San Juan Basin to agree to shortage sharing agreements, then theres no need for strict priority administration, he said. The water flows will not add any more water to Lake Mead than otherwise scheduled for 2023, according to the feds. The Grand Valley Ditch, running through Grand Junction, Colo., diverts water from the Colorado River to irrigate farms. Top 5 US Consumers California is the largest consumer of water in the US. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. Seven arid states comprise the Colorado River BasinColorado, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and Californiaand all exceed the national average for farm water use, with the exception of Wyoming, which uses 1.5 acre-feet of water per acre, in line with the national average. What top five states have rivers? It's about the future of the whole valley. The U.S. a line, or reservoirs have been emptied, have the water consumers show the amount of water they drew by raising their cups or calling out the amount. Agricultural water use makes up nearly 80% of total water consumption in the Colorado River basin, with roughly half of that going toward the production of alfalfa hay, according to a 2020. Felt drove me in his pickup to a wide spot in a two-lane highway where trucks towing horses and inflatable river rafts whizzed past. Throughout the river basin, warnings have increased and measures have tightened markedly in 2022. 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.. From 2005 to 2010, California consistently used more water than any other state, followed by Texas, Idaho, Florida, and Colorado. Farmers, however, would almost certainly challenge such an order in court. The emergence of open markets could outpace the negotiations. So it's been a high market. 24, 2023 at 11:45 PM PDT. Scientists attribute extended drought to warmer and drier weather in the West to long-term, human-caused climate change. 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. The price had risen tenfold in a matter of months. Traders could exploit volatility, whether due to drought, failing infrastructure or government restrictions. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. When I reached Holly Irwin, a county supervisor who lives in Cibola, by phone a couple of weeks after my visit, she was angry. Sept. 14, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. Increasing Pressures on Colorado River Water in New Mexico. California, despite using more water than any state, is the remaining holdout. The platform is designed to engage citizens and government leaders in a discussion about what needs improvement across the country. Dan Charles for NPR The Western model is a sort of comprehensive, consensus-based public discussion, and its worked very well, said Bruce Babbitt, a former governor of Arizona and secretary of the interior during the Clinton administration. Imperial Valley farmers like Andrew Leimgruber, for their part, argue that they have a legal right to all of this water. (Anthony Jackson/The Albuquerque Journal via AP) The Associated Press. The proponents of water markets say they are not in it just for the money. All rights reserved. Colorado is next (3.8 million acre-feet), followed by Arizona (2.8 million acre-feet), Utah (1.7 million acre-feet), Wyoming (1.04 million acre-feet), New Mexico (0.84 million acre-feet) and Nevada (0.30 million acre-feet). Just kind of a nightmare, Mr. 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). WAM has become one of the largest landholders in the Grand Valley, a high-mountain desert on the Western Slope of the Rockies, 250 miles west of Denver. But the entire region must work together, Lpez said, to avoid more mandatory cuts. New Mexico still uses only about half of its allotment under the compact each year. It has offered its own plan to conserve water. These farmers, in Imperial County, currently draw more water from the Colorado River than all of Arizona and Nevada combined. The New Deal brings Colorado River water to a desert. Albuquerques municipal supply is entitled to as much as 15 billion gallons of San Juan-Chama water every year. Another supporter is Michael Burry, the hedge fund manager portrayed by Christian Bale in The Big Short, who made more than $800 million shorting the subprime mortgage market in the mid-2000s. States that receive more rainfall and precipitation logically have lower water usage. But over the last two decades, the actual flow has dwindled to 12.5 million acre-feet on average, leaving state water managers with more rights on paper than existing supply. Tags: Associated Press, New Mexico, Wyoming, natural disasters, Colorado, Nevada, California, allergies, Arizona, Utah. This area gets less attention than California's Central Valley, the nation's leading producer of produce and nuts, which draws its water from rain and snow in the Sierra Mountains, or pumps it from shrinking underground aquifers. The Imperial Irrigation District draws enough water from the river each year to cover 470,000 acres with 5 feet of water. Former U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Scotland on Monday for a short trip to visit his golf courses in the country and in Ireland. Beginning Monday . Last month, 30 agencies that supply water to homes and businesses throughout the region joined the Las Vegas area in restricting the planting of decorative lawns that no one walks on.
