JOHN DANKOSKY: Local science stories of national significance. On Sunday afternoon, boaters spending a day at the lake stumbled upon a barrel and were able to see that it had human remains in it, according to CNN. A years worth of rain and snow is missing from Utahs ground. Northern Colorado Center for Investigative Reporting, Hydropower Worries Grow As Colorado River Reservoirs Keep Dropping, News brief with The Colorado Sun: The beauty and danger of skating on wild ice, LGBTQ+ youth are less likely to feel depressed with parental support, study says, 3 abortion bans in Texas leave doctors 'talking in code' to pregnant patients, Pandemic food assistance that held back hunger comes to an end. "This is apparently a decent (water) year, but still, if it turns dry again there are some pretty big reductions on tap and every state could be affected," saidHasencamp. Lake Powell could dry up in as little as six years, study says, Cutbacks in Arizona Water deliveries possible, The highly anticipated Portillo's is now open in Tucson, Nebraska cheerleader competes by herself at state competition, but crowd doesn't let her feel alone, Lawmakers want to strip 19 cities' rights but Tucson is real target, New game, entertainment center makes southwest Tucson a bigger draw, Watch: The most notable things Tommy Lloyd said after Arizona's heartbreaking loss to ASU, Tim Steller's column: Converting Tucson's big boxes, vast parking lots into housing tantalizes, A big ol' guide to this weekend's Tucson Festival of Books, U of A eliminates musical theater program in Tucson, Greg Hansen: Pac-12's apathy toward basketball might be best reason for UA to leave, Celebrity Las Vegas chefs opening Tucson restaurant, Pima County to use signs to dissuade panhandling at intersections. The study is aimed, in part, at trying to help guide efforts at devising a contingency plan, to keep things from getting out of hand, Kuhn said. More. Science Friday transcripts are produced on a tight deadline by 3Play Media. The new studys analysis is consistent with the studies and analyses CAP has been doing and is part of the reason its been focusing on trying to protect Lake Mead, Cullom said. Why is Lake Mead drying up? Its not just like, you get a miracle year and youre out of it. They both use water from the Colorado River. We'll assume you're okay with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. California broke from six other Western states in proposal to cut Colorado River use as water levels reach historic lows. According to nonprofit news organization CalMatters, California, which receives the most water from the river at 4.4 million acre-feetmore than one-third of the river's supplyhas not yet been impacted by the cuts. If the reservoir dips below 895 feet a possibility still years. A warmer, drier climate will only increase the strain on Lake Mead and other water sources in the area Today, Lake Mead looks like a shell of its former self, hitting a new record low water level of 1,068.08 feet above sea level, according to a report from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. By Jan. 29, when the "after" image was taken, Shasta was up to 56%. If the reservoirs reach dead-pool levels, more than a million people using the electricity could be required to find new power sources. In a wetter year, it will release 9 million acre feet to Mead. The use of these cookies is strictly limited to measuring the site's audience. After seeing 30 inches of rain in one day in Louisiana, 20 inches in Houston, unprecedented drought in California over the last 5 years, not to mention the flow reductions in Colorado River, Udall said, I think we need to seriously consider water-related climatic events that have no historical precedent.. He and his wife have four cats, thousands of bees, and a yoga studio in the sleepy Northwest hills of Connecticut. Kathryn Sorensen, research director at the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University, said it will push water managers further in the direction of finding more permanent solutions. People are having to do things that you dont necessarily see, but we have water being hauled for livestock, water being hauled in for wildlife, Selover said. Lake Mead's water level on Wednesday was measured at 1,044.03 feet, its lowest elevation since the lake was filled in the 1930s. 2002, 2018 and 2021 are the most intense dry periods on record for the basin. And thats really what were watching right now, is how low is Lake Mead going to go? And by themselves they are no longer sufficient to meet the area needs. And you know, thats way beyond any sort of voluntary conservation that Arizona has done up until this point. Its also in the groundwater, something that you cant see. Lake Mead's water level on Wednesday was measured at 1,044.03 feet, its lowest elevation since the lake was filled in the 1930s. After more than 22 years of drought compounded by warmer temperatures with climate change, Lake Mead and Lake Powell have declined to their lowest levels since they were filled. Lake Powell (credit: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation) The power pool mark is 3,490 feet of elevation. Lake powell has an electrical generation station there. Throughout the history of the American West, water issues have shown their ability to both unite and divide communities. Having a reliable Lake Powell to back up Lake Mead is crucial especially during a period of uncertainty, Lower Basin users say. That includes releases of water upstream of Lake Powell, and voluntary cuts in Powells downstream neighbor, Lake Mead. For terms of use and more information, visit our policies pages athttp://www.sciencefriday.com/about/policies/. That deficit is about the same amount of precipitation that falls across Utah in an entire year. You would have to go back to April of 1937, also twoyears into its initial filling, to find levels that low. Im John Dankosky, and now its time to check in on the state of science. An acre-foot is 325,851 gallons, or the amount of water that will flood an acre of land to a depth of one foot. Applying data from three droughts from a 25-year period starting in 1988, it predicted that even with little new growth in that basin, a moderate drought would trigger shortages of 350,000 to 500,000 acre-feet. Is this as bad as climate change is going to get in shrinking the snowpacks in the headwaters? The water in Lake Mead on Wednesday reached a new low 1070.6 feet above sea level since it was filled in the 1930's, according to data provided by the US Bureau of Reclamation. By January, the bureau projects water levels at Lake Mead to fall to 1,065.85 feet nine feet below the first shortage trigger elevation. Back-to-back dry years years with below-average runoff have left little water in Lake Mead and Lake Powell, a reservoir upstream. Mountain snowpack is generally below average for this time of year, so that boost may not be as big as it has been in years past. But Lake Powell's current water level is the lowest since it was first filled almost 60 years ago. The lower basin is made up of Arizona, Nevada, and California. Secondly, Phoenix does not get it's water from Lake Powell. The future of the reservoir is largely uncertain, but climate science and recent actions by the government are providing some hints as to what might happen in the near future. Water levels dipped below 3,525 feet the last major milestone before a serious threat to hydropower generation at the Glen Canyon Dam. Lake Oroville, a key component of California's water supply, also benefited from the early-winter storms, as . Issued by Microsoft's ASP.NET Application, this cookie stores session data during a user's website visit. So Luke, I dont know is this all just because of climate change? Water managers in the four Upper Basin states and the federal government are expected to start monthly planning calls this year to consider options for propping up the reservoir if needed. Together, these reservoirs, fed by the mighty Colorado River, provide the water 40million Americans depend on. So, what would happen if Lake Powell dried up? Arizona, which receives 36 percent of its water supply from the river, according to the Arizona Department of Water Resources, has been hit hardest by the cuts. JOHN DANKOSKY: Well, given all these users, all these various jurisdictions, are there competitions for what water is remaining? Getty Images. What about the idea of a water shortage? This cookie is used to manage the interaction with the online bots. The Lower Basins legal share is 7.5 million acre feet a year. JOHN DANKOSKY: So obviously, people are preparing for worse times. The dropping water levels are indicated by white marks on the canyon wall, often likened to a bathtub ring. Give us an idea, if you would, just how low the supply is in the basins reservoirs right now. She compares the current drought conditions to 2018, another record-breaking hot and dry year just a couple years ago. LUKE RUNYON: Well, Arizona is in the line for the steepest cuts from the Colorado River. And thats Lake Powell in southern Utah and Lake Mead, which is on the Nevada-Arizona border near Las Vegas. But even some creosote is dying, unable to take the one-two punch of both the hottest and driest conditions on record last year in parts of Arizona. . 3. The dropping water and the reservoirs expanding bathtub rings are also tied to policy. Air entering the system would also damage the generators. Officials managing the effort say computer models show that taking these steps would reduce the risk of catastrophically low levels to near zero. Climatologist Jon Meyer with the Utah Climate Center said the number that captures the severity for him is 12 inches. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed. The latest data shows the reservoir at 3,523 feet above sea level. We don't know if the dam will operate as expected. This cookie is set by the provider Akamai Bot Manager. It can hold 9.3 trillion gallons of water at its peak and reach an elevation of 1,220 feet above sea level. Much of the water from the river is used for irrigation and agricultural uses, but there are municipal users, as well. Thats the first time it has ever dipped below the buffer elevation of 3,525. Lake Mead the largest reservoir in the Colorado River Basin is losing water at record speeds, dropping . This is very unpredictable and these are going to be difficult conversations in the coming years.. All signs point to a hotter, drier future for the Western U.S. An official shortage declaration from the federal government could come as early as this year, as Lake Mead is currently projected to be below 1,075 feet in elevation at the end of 2021. An acre-foot is the amount of water needed to fill one acre of land to a height of one foot. 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