Lake Powell’s summer water levels hit an all-time low
Lake Powell’s summer water levels have reached record lows, raising concerns that dead pools could form during the hottest part of the summer.
Cities across the Southwest are stepping up conservation efforts as the Colorado River’s critical reservoirs, which straddle the Utah-Arizona border, become increasingly threatened.
Experts say water bills could rise for residents in the Southwest, but changes in the Colorado River are unlikely to disrupt drinking water supplies. Still, cities in Arizona, California and New Mexico are taking no risks. Some are recycling wastewater and limiting the amount of time people can water their lawns, while others are desalinating seawater.
Their efforts come as Lake Powell, the reservoir that provides power to millions of homes in the West, is at its emptiest on record this late summer. As long-term climate change has made the West warmer and drier, the amount of that water has decreased.
Lake Powell’s water level was 23.4% as of July 19th. The last time it was full was in 1983. If the water level drops further, the rivers flowing through the Grand Canyon could be dammed, causing an environmental catastrophe. This is a situation known as “Deadpool.”
This crisis could have ripple effects across the country. Nearly half of California’s vegetables and more than three-quarters of its fruits and nuts are grown in California, according to the state Department of Food and Agriculture. A significant amount of California’s crops are irrigated with Colorado River water.
Meanwhile, California and the six other states that jointly manage the river have been unable to reach a compromise on how to address the issue.
“At the end of the day, cities have a responsibility to ensure reliable and safe tap water supplies,” said Kathryn Sorensen, research director at Arizona State University’s Kill Water Policy Center. “It’s not the state’s responsibility. It’s not the federal government’s responsibility. And we see cities really stepping up to the plate.”
Some states have been hit harder than others, with farmers and rural towns in Utah facing “unprecedented” water shortages. Most of the water diverted from the Colorado River is used for agricultural purposes, and 20% is designated for residential use.
Sorensen praised cities for their conservation efforts, but warned that farmers, the biggest users of water, need to do more.
“We cannot solve this problem without agricultural participation,” Sorensen said. “The scale is too large for cities to solve alone.”
Cities and states can save more water by encouraging better landscaping and low-flow showers and toilets, said Dave Owen, associate dean for research at the University of California School of Law in San Francisco.
“The reality is, if we think about how we use water wisely, there’s probably enough water in the Colorado River,” said Owen, who studies water law and environmental policy.
To understand how they’re adapting, USA TODAY spoke to government officials and water policy experts in the cities of Phoenix, Tucson, San Diego and Albuquerque, which receive large amounts of water from the Colorado River.
phoenix
Phoenix has invested in three water treatment plants, installed leak sensors in municipal housing, and uses technology to control irrigation schedules based on weather data. The city, which serves 1.7 million water customers, receives approximately 47.9 million gallons of water annually from the Colorado River.
“We know that conservation can be very meaningful,” said Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego.
“We hope that a cooperative agreement can be reached that will reduce the use of all river users,” Gallego said. “Cuts would be more tolerable if everyone was at the table. From national defense to semiconductors, we want the national government to understand that Central Arizona has unusually important contributions that need to be taken into account.”
tucson
Throughout the late 1900s, Tucson replaced many of its lawns with Sonoran Desert landscaping that included natural rock formations and native plants that required less water.
Over the past 25 years, these efforts have helped Tucson fill its Colorado River reservoir. Tucson Water Commissioner John Kmiec said that despite significant population growth, the city is using the same amount of water as it was in the late 1980s.
“We have been banking in the Tucson area for over six years and are ready to help buffer any changes or deficiencies that may be made to our contracts while we work to finalize a river agreement,” Kmietz said.
san diego
The Colorado River is important to San Diego, which receives low average annual precipitation. The city receives about 97.8 million gallons of water from the river, said Meena Westford, who oversees imported water for the San Diego County Water Authority.
San Diego also has the nation’s largest desalination plant, capable of providing water to up to 400,000 homes annually.
On July 14, the federal government entered into an agreement with Southern California’s Metropolitan Water District to pay water bills. that Up to $65 million to halt water withdrawals from the Colorado River.
The region, which includes San Diego, also pays farmers to conserve water and leave portions of their land unplanted.
“Conservation is a way of life in San Diego County.”,” “And the new water reuse projects that are coming into full swing should definitely help us weather the drought to some extent,” Westford said.
albuquerque
In drought years, about 70 percent of Albuquerque’s water comes from the Colorado River, said David Morris, a spokesman for the Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority.
The City of Albuquerque encourages people to limit watering to three days a week and prohibits watering lawns between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. These efforts have helped the city reduce water use from 250 gallons per person per day in the mid-1990s to about 125 gallons per day today.
The city has a 100-year water plan called Water 2120, which takes into account different scenarios based on climate change and water scarcity. Meanwhile, Morris said city officials want to invest more in aquifer storage.
“We feel like our conservation efforts are beginning to be successful, but we don’t feel like we’re done yet,” Morris said. “We still have a way to go.”
