"The researchers are urging the Trump administration to intervene and impose substantial cutbacks in water use across the seven states that rely on the river - California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. "We've got a real problem, and we ought to deal with it sooner rather than later," said Jack Schmidt, director of Utah State University's Center for Colorado River Studies, who co-authored the analysis. "Everybody needs to be looking at ways to cut right now.""
"A meager snowpack in the Rocky Mountains last winter added to the strains on the river. The researchers analyzed the latest federal data and found that if the coming winter is just as dry, the river's major reservoirs would approach critically low levels unless there are major reductions in water usage. "The results are grim," the experts wrote in the , which was released Thursday."
Colorado River reservoirs have declined dramatically since 2000 amid persistent drought and warming temperatures, placing supply at high risk. The river provides water to seven U.S. states, 30 Native tribes, cities from Denver to San Diego, and agricultural regions extending into northern Mexico. A poor Rocky Mountains snowpack and forecasts of continued dry conditions increase the likelihood of critically low reservoir levels. Projections show total water use could exceed natural flow by about 3.6 million acre-feet—roughly one-fourth of the river's flow—unless substantial reductions in water use are implemented across the basin.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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