Climate Change Poses Rising Threat to Western Water Resources, U.S. Says

Climate change is posing an increased risk to water resources in the U.S. West and “ringing alarm bells” for farmers, towns and hydropower companies, according to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. The dangers include a decline of as much as 20 percent in the average annual flow in river basins such as the Colorado and the Rio Grande, which help generate hydroelectric power, according to the Interior Department study today on the impacts of climate change on U.S. Western water resources. A changing climate will affect rain and snowfalls this century, putting farms and communities in the U.S. West at higher risk of economic and environmental disruptions, Salazar told reporters on a conference call. The Interior Department’s report to Congress projects temperatures will climb 5 degrees to 7 degrees Fahrenheit (2.9 degrees to 3.9 degrees Celsius) this century, with increasing precipitation in the northwestern and north-central parts of the western U.S. and a drop in the southwestern and south-central areas. The changes may affect water available to agriculture, cities, fish and wildlife and other uses such as recreation, according to the study...more

The report is here. It's from the Bureau of Reclamation and I'm sure has nothing to do with the fact they build...dams.