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Topics relating to the colorado river
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Summary
Nevada’s population is increasing, in particular Las Vegas’ population, which is causing the water supply to decrease in the state (Brown, n.d.; Larson et al., 2015). Lake Mead provides Colorado River water to Las Vegas and currently Lake Mead’s water level is dropping (Wockner, 2014). This supply makes up 90% of Las Vegas’ water resource (Tracy, 2014). The lowering water level elicits concern over how water will be supplied to Las Vegas, and Nevada as a whole, in the future. Las Vegas sits in a valley, a trough, with sediment layered in the trough from weathered bedrock (Laczniak et al., n.d.). Before groundwater pumping began in the valley discharge occurred primarily through “springs and evapotranspiration” and the estimated natural
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Groundwater remained the main supply until 1971 which was when Las Vegas became more dependent on Colorado River water due to the “Southern Nevada Water System” (Brown, n.d.; Larsen et al., 2015). Since then up to 90,000 acre-feet of groundwater has been pumped on a yearly basis, this value surpasses the natural groundwater recharge (Laczniak et al., n.d.). Rain as well as snow serves as the primary sources of groundwater recharge for the aquifers while precipitation plays a minor role (Laczniak et al., n.d.). Due to there not being balanced discharge and recharge this has led to subsidence and as a result of this subsidence the storage capacity of aquifers has decreased due to compaction (Laczniak et al., n.d.). It is estimated that 187,000 acre feet of storage capacity in the aquifers has been lost due to compaction (Laczniak et …show more content…
Conflict between residents in northern Nevada and SNWA has risen (Brean, 2015). In 2012 the U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced its support of SNWA wanting to build a pipeline from rural Nevada to Las Vegas, rural Nevada being primarily in the northern portion of the state (Larsen et al., 2015). Residents including farmers who depend on water for their crops argue that redirecting water supplies would harm the environment and wildlife that inhabit northern Nevada (Brean, 2015). There is also an issue of oversubscription, this is due to the Colorado River not only supplying water to Nevada but neighboring states which include “Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah” (Wockner, 2014). Both Arizona and California are expecting water shortages in the future as they too depend on the Colorado River (Wockner,
The negative aspects of Glen Canyon Dam greatly exceed the positive aspects. The dam’s hydroelectric power supply is only three percent of the total power used by the six states that are served by the facility. There is a surplus of power on the Colorado Plateau and with more and more power-plants being created in the western hemisphere, Glen Canyon Dam’s power is not needed (Living Rivers: What about the hydroelectric loss). Although the ‘lake’ contains twenty seven million acre feet of water, one and a half million acre feet of water are lost yearly due to evaporation and seepage into the sandstone banks surrounding the ‘lake’ (Living Rivers: What about the water supply?). The loss of that much “water represents millions, even billions of dollars” (Farmer 183). If the government were to employ more water efficient irrigation practices, as much as five million acre feet of water per year could be saved.
How is development creating longer term problems for groundwater storage ? Cities like Phoenix and Las Vegas are built in the desert. This whole process relies on water from two sources: 1. River water pumped from the Colorado system 2. Groundwater held in aquifers below ground.
Fact: Arizona is in a 10-year drought. Fact: The city of Phoenix has a water problem that has nothing to do with lack thereof. A hundred years ago or more humans would just drink from a river or stream, but today we need purified, cleansed, and filter water. We do, as a state have a water treatment system in place but the faculties periodically need maintenance and must be shut down to receive it. The Water Department and their puppet master Frank Fairbanks the city mangers have been playing Russian roulette with the citizen of Phoenix. The bet you ask, will the shut down of facilities due to maintenance leave the citizens of Phoenix with a contaminated water system. We learn the answer to that question on the 25 of January the city council and water department both lost that bet. The water supply was contaminated, water had to be boiled to make in safe and long showers were not advisable. How can we as voters keep this from happening again? The short answer is building another water treatment facility, for the details read on.
Farmers and ranchers who own water rights should have their water amount filled earlier in order to facilitate themselves with the proper amount of water. They should not be restricted to a smaller prearranged amount of water each year. Water us...
Texas, with its abundances of natural resources, is facing a new demon, one that doesn’t even seem possible, a shortage of water. Water, without it nothing can survive. Texas is the second largest state for landmass in the nation and ninth for water square miles. Within the borders of Texas are more than 100 lakes, 14 major rivers, and 23 aquifers, so why has water become such an important issue for the state? Politicians and conservationists all agree that without a new working water plan, the state could be facing one of the most damaging environmental disasters they have ever seen. The issues that shape the states positions are population growth, current drought conditions, and who actually owns the water.
As global temperatures and ocean levels rise, the water levels of the Great Lakes continues to fall. As the lakes hit their all time lowest level in global history in 2012, society remains ignorant to the imposing doom that lurks ahead. Since the Great Lakes make up the largest group of fresh water lakes on Earth and are responsible for approximately 21% of the Earth’s fresh water supply, this issue is becoming one of the largest environmental and economical issues our modern world faces. The effects of this issue include destroying animal habitats and a major economic market; shipping. Water levels in the Great Lakes have been dropping for the past fourteen years, but it wasn’t until boats were scraping the bottom of Lake Huron that people began to take notice. This terrible environmental issue has been dubbed a long term cycle of over evaporation and not enough precipitation to replenish the Lakes. Keith Kompoltowicz, chief of watershed hydrology for the United States Army Corps of Engineers in Detroit has been monitoring this issue for a decade and has made startling discoveries, such as in 2012, he discovered Lake Michigan and Lake Huron’s water levels only rose four inches after winter, whereas the Lakes have been regularly recorded as gaining a foot of water after the winter season had ended. This amount of water added is not enough to maintain a proper water level during the dry, hot summer seasons that evaporate much water from the Great Lakes. While some scientists say that this is just a cycle that will adjust itself naturally, most experts that have been studying this phenomenon, such as Kompoltwicz, would agree that the issue has gone to far
State water managers calculate roughly that water levels in some parts of the Valley have dropped 100 feet underneath historical lows.’’ (Source 3) As water levels sink, the land can sink, too — in some places by about a foot per year. Groundwater pumping could also put more stress on the San Andreas Fault.’’ (Source 3) So I estimate scientists are already telling the world about getting too much groundwater, and some parts of the Valley have dropped 100 feet as in the elevation is being switched and that’s not right it’s substandard for the community and in some places around the world it has dropped about one foot per year.Statewide, the average snow-pack (essentially water in storage) is almost twice the normal level for late January, according to the weekly monitor. That is significant since the supplies about 30 percent of California's water particularly in the spring and summer months. It could give more stress on the San Andrea’s Fault, the land can sink
The Colorado River is formed by small streams created by a huge amount of snowmelt from the Rocky Mountains. The ecology and flow of the river varies highly by region. The river is divided into two different regions, the Upper Basin and the Lower Basin. Beginning in the early 1900s, western states began to build dams in the Colorado river, diverting the water flow to fast growing cities like Los Angeles, San Diego, and Phoenix. The river now services over 30 million in the southwestern parts of the United States and Mexico (Patrick 1). Diverting the water of the nation’s seventh-longest river may be seen has a great accomplishment, however to others this is a great crime against nature. Over the past couple years the river has been running significantly low, since a drought has come up the southwest. At the lakes edge, “bathtub rings”, lines in the rock walls, can be seen showing the decrease in water level. It is recorded in some areas of the river that the water has lowered 130 feet since 2000. Some water resource officials say those areas will never be filled back to normal. The surrounding states must adjust to living with less water or further actions need to be taken to save the river’s water. There has been some talk about adding water to the river to replenish the river but nothing has hap...
Americans today tend to believe that the Colorado River drought has been a recent occurrence, although drought relief strategies have been implemented since early 1997. To summarize, in the book The Colorado River Basin Drought Planning and Organizations, Colorado is named as the original state to acquire a drought relief plan. For instance, various assume water levels are diminutive in the Colorado and blame is due to the previous ten years of drought throughout the United States. Although it is true that water levels are at a record low, initial plans in the early 1920’s to introduce manufactured structures into the water basin is the original reason Colorado’s water system began to be compromised. It follows, then the supplementary natural
For about five years California has experienced above average temperatures and a lack of rain. This lack of rain and snowfall has caused California to become increasingly dry, starting arguments over whose right to water is more important and who needs to be more mindful with their use of water. Farming in California truly began during the gold rush when water was redirected to land where food was grown for those looking for gold (Siegler, 2015). The farmers that have stayed on that land now have senior water rights (“Water wars”, 2015). Farmers that settled their land before 1914 are those with senior water rights (Terrell, 2015). Governor Jerry Brown has called for a cut in water use by one-quarter percent to people living
Caused by climate change and urbanization, water shortages are a major concern of the Mexican government at both the local and federal level. Mexico City, the third largest city in the world with more than twenty million inhabitants, struggles with water scarcity because of the potential risk it poses to the wellbeing of its citizens. Similar to the situation in other megacities, such as Jakarta and Bangkok, Mexico City’s water supplies are being depleted because of a growing urban population. (CBC News , 2009 ) Unable to sufficiently supply the increasing population size of the city, the water in the Mexico Valley aquifer is being drawn out faster than the aquifer’s recharge rate. Exacerbated by the fragmented nature of Mexico’s political culture, the exploitation of Mexico City’s water resources due to a growing urban population is detrimentally degrading the environment and creating a self-perpetuating problem that places the city and its inhabitants at risk.
As the temperature rises, global warming causes droughts. In Lake Tahoe, California, the drought has caused Tahoe’s water level to drop. “ Chaol Blanchard predicted earlier this year that by fall of 2014 , Tahoe would drop below it’s natural rim.’’ , writes Scott Sonner from Associated Press. It actually did, in October 2014, the lake went down from 6,223ft to 6,222.9ft. With hot weather, there’s no snow to even out the water that flows out the Truckee river. If we don’t get snow we will eventually have to close the truckee river, either to save water of because the water won't reach the dam in Tahoe City. Another drastic drought happening now is the drought in Southern California. In the small town of East Porterville, the drought is so bad
There is a global shortage of drinking water. A person might wonder how this can be if seventy percent of the earth’s surface is covered by water. Most of the Earth’s water is unsuitable for human consuption. Ocean water is salt water, which makes up 97.5% of all water on the planet. Freshwater is only 3.5% of all the water on Earth. Drinking water is sourced from bodies of freshwater.
Water Scarcity is harmful to human life because when water is poorly managed throughout the world, those who need water are deprived of nutrients they truly need causing them to die. This eventually affects the global population. Therefore many experts have proposed several solutions such as the LifeSaver Bottle, TrojanUVPhox treatment system, and Waste Water Recycling.
Freshwater in the world makes up only a small portion of water on the planet. While the percentage of water in the world is nearly 70%, only 2.5% is consumable. Even further, only <1% is easily accessible to basic human needs. According to National Geographic, “by 2025, an estimated 1.8 billion people will live in areas plagued by water scarcity, with two-thirds of the world's population living in water-stressed regions as a result of use, growth, and climate change.” With this current trend, water will become more immersed in environmental, economic, political, and social changes. Many of these in later years shall need to be addressed as tension rises: