CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) – The artificial lakes that store water and supply water to millions of people in the western U.S. and Mexico are expected to shrink to historic lows in the coming months and fall to levels that the federal government’s first chance might cause. ever official deficit statement and rapid cuts in Arizona and Nevada.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation released 24-month forecasts this week predicting less Colorado River water from the Rocky Mountains through Lake Powell and Lake Mead to the arid deserts of the Southwestern U.S. and the Gulf of California . Water levels in the two lakes are expected to drop so low that the agency is reporting an official shortage for the first time, jeopardizing the supply of water from the Colorado River, which growing cities and farms rely on.
It’s because climate change means less snow flows into the river and its tributaries, and higher temperatures evaporate the soil and cause more river water to evaporate as it flows through the drought-stricken American West.
The agency’s modeling project, Lake Mead, will drop below 328 meters (1,075 feet) for the first time in June 2021. That’s the level that gives rise to a deficit statement under agreements negotiated by seven states that rely on Colorado River water: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.
However, the April projections will not have a binding impact. Federal officials regularly issue long-term projections, but use the forecasts released every August to make decisions about river water allocation. If the projections do not improve by then, the Bureau of Reclamation will declare a level 1 deficit condition. The cuts were to be implemented in January.
Arizona, Nevada and Mexico have voluntarily given up water under a drought contingency plan for the river signed in 2019. A deficit statement would subject the two US states to their first mandatory reductions. Both are more dependent on the Colorado River than any other water source, and Arizona will lose about a third of its supply.
Water agency officials say they are confident that their preparatory measures, including conservation and the search for alternative resources, would allow them to weather cuts if the drought continues as expected.
The study, while significant, is no surprise. It reflects the impact of the arid and warm conditions in the Colorado River Basin this year, as well as the effects of a prolonged drought that has affected the Colorado River’s water supply, ”said Arizona Department of Water Resources and Central Arizona Project officials. in a joint statement.
In Nevada, the agency that supplies water to most of the state has built “straws” to draw water from further down Lake Mead when the water level drops. It has also created a credit system where the recycled water can flow back into the reservoir without counting towards its allocation.
Colby Pellegrino, director of water resources for the Southern Nevada Water Authority, assured customers that these preparatory measures would protect them from the effects of budget cuts. But she warned that more action was needed.
“It is up to all users of the Colorado River to find ways to conserve it,” Pellegrino said in a statement.
The Bureau of Reclamation also predicted that Lake Mead will decline to the point where they were concerned in the past that power generation at Hoover Dam could be compromised. The hydropower serves millions of customers in Arizona, California and Nevada.
To prepare for a future with less water, the agency spent 10 years replacing parts of five of the dam’s 17 turbines that run to generate power. Len Schilling, a dam manager at the agency, said the addition of wide-head turbines allows the dam to operate more efficiently at lower water levels. He said the turbines will be able to generate power to a point called “deadpool” when there will not be enough water to run the dam.
But Schilling noted that less water moving through the Hoover Dam means less hydropower.
“As the altitude at the lake decreases, so does our ability to produce power because we have less water on the turbines,” he said.
The hydropower costs significantly less than the energy sold in the wholesale electricity market because the government only charges customers for the costs of producing and maintaining the dam.
Lincoln County Power District general manager Dave Luttrell said infrastructure updates, less hydropower from Hoover Dam, and additional power from other sources such as natural gas pushed up costs and alerted customers in his rural Nevada district.
“Rural economies in Arizona and Nevada are living and dying from the hydropower produced at Hoover Dam. It may not be too bad for NV Energy, ”he said of Nevada’s largest utility company. It could be one decimal place from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. But for Lincoln County it has a huge impact. “
Metz is a Corps Member for the Associated Press / Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a national nonprofit service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on hidden issues.