Megadrought in the US West; Worst in 1200 Years?

[Dotini]

Why the Colorado River basin system was destined to fail. 40 million are directly affected.

 

[Joey D]

Hey, our government is finally doing something about it:

Gov. Spencer Cox issues state of emergency due to Utah’s historic drought

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox declared a state of emergency on Thursday as the state faces a historic drought and low snowpack.

www.sltrib.com

Also, this is peak Utah:

“Last summer, I asked Utahns to pray for rain, which helped, but we’re certainly not relying solely on deity to solve our problems.”

 

[Keef]

 

[Dotini]

Desalination is considered.

 

[Danoff]

Desalination is considered.

Here in colorado, the state is trying to pay people to rip out their lawns. It's an interesting technique to try to create a financial incentive to remove lawns while not jacking up the cost of water, which can put high strain on the lowest-income people via a resource they need to have. Without a program like this, keeping water costs low for the needy ends up encouraging the less needy to dump endless gallons on their lawns. Staggered pricing tiers are another option.

Meanwhile, despite the fact that colorado has made it against the law, and is paying people to remove their grass, I continue to battle with my HOA to remove grass.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Lake Mead and Lake Powell are looking pretty scary right now. Lake Mead may even hit deadpool level either this year or next with the hoover dam shutting down. John Oliver discusses the "drought" here:



Video posted by some Las Vegas locals (who apparently use Lake Mead for recreation often) here:


Thankfully, Northern California isn't doing as badly this year thanks to some decent out-of-season rain (last fall and later this spring). It's very sad what's happening with the Colorado river.

One thing I've wondered is what, specifically, is driving the drought. The region is still getting somewhat normal amounts of rain and snowfall as it "always" has been (though there have been some exceptionally dry years). The problem is that temperatures are increasing (due to declining amounts of low pressure systems to push out high pressure "heat domes") and leading to more evaporation of the runoff from the snowpack and rain, and drier soil. The drier the soil is, the more it absorbs and the less makes it into the rivers & reservoirs.

 

[Dotini]

One thing I've wondered is what, specifically, is driving the drought.

I've heard the drought has actually been building for several years, and has been declared a "1200 year" drought. Civilizations such as the Anasazi have been driven from the region about that time frame. So perhaps it has to do with long-term cycles, and not necessarily a product of modern climate change processes.

 

[CodeRedR51]

Monsoon just started in Arizona and so far its been good. Had enough rain last night to make the runoff ditch behind my apartment flow pretty well.

 

[Keef]

Monsoon just started in Arizona and so far its been good. Had enough rain last night to make the runoff ditch behind my apartment flow pretty well.

Heavy rain can cause more damage than good if the ground can't absorb it. But you live there so I assume you can judge what's good and what isn't lol.

 

[Danoff]

It's not so much about living here, but rather people choose to farm in the desert which is just stupid. For example, something like 10% of all water usage in Utah is for personal consumption. Everything thing else goes towards farming, livestock, and industry which is just absurd. We wouldn't have a water problem if we didn't feel the need to grow water-intensive crops like alfalfa. The snow every year would more than sustain us without issue.

California has a similar problem with agriculture, particularly crops like almonds which is one of the most water-intensive crops there are.

We need to rethink our food, or shift production to areas where it makes sense.

I know people don't like this but water has to cost money. Give an allotment for drinking, dishes, and bathing for a typical family at a low price, but then it should hit hard for things like watering lawns and growing crops. That is, if there is a shortage.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

I know people don't like this but water has to cost money. Give an allotment for drinking, dishes, and bathing for a typical family at a low price, but then it should hit hard for things like watering lawns and growing crops. That is, if there is a shortage.

I think California is going to have to eventually pivot to this model to fund large scale desalination/treatment of seawater. I'm not sure there will be much choice in a few decades.

 

[Joey D]

I know people don't like this but water has to cost money. Give an allotment for drinking, dishes, and bathing for a typical family at a low price, but then it should hit hard for things like watering lawns and growing crops. That is, if there is a shortage.

We have something like that here depending on what watershed you live in. If you live north of Salt Lake and are located in the Weber River water shed you can get a secondary hookup and meter that allows you to use that water for things like watering your lawn and whatnot. You're not supposed to drink it and it can't be hooked up to indoor water, but it does give residents the option to use a set amount of low-cost water. However, once you hit your cap, it's prohibitively expensive to use (or maybe it just shuts off now with the smart meters).

I'd be all for a tiered system for water use though with X amount being so much a CCF until you hit a certain point, then have the price go up and so on. It would eventually get to a point where people and/or companies would invest in water saving measures to reduce overall costs.

The farming in Utah is the worst though. They use so much water and they don't even keep the alfalfa in the US, it's almost all shipped to Asia, primarily China. If it was being used to feed the local livestock that was being grown for consumption, I'd probably feel a little better about it. But there are so many other feed crops that could be grown that are significantly less water-intensive than alfalfa. But nope, just because a bunch of Mormons decided that's what they were going to grow in the 1800s we can't deviate from tradition or something.

 

[Joey D]

US: Drought-stricken states to get less from Colorado River

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — U.S. officials announced Tuesday that two U.S. states reliant on water from the Colorado River will face more water cuts as they endure extreme drought. The move affecting Arizona and Nevada came as officials predict levels at Lake Mead, the largest U.S.

apnews.com

This is going to be tough for the residents of these states, but until the state leadership wises up and realizes that agriculture is what's draining the Colorado, I'm not sure anything will be done. Really, these states need to rethink their water allocations and basically tell these farmers unless they're growing stuff for US consumption, then their water rights will be significantly reduced.