Water in the West, Part 1: Getting thirstier as water supplies dwindle

With changes in climate, population and water resources upon us, there’s a sense among those working toward drafting the state water plan that the potential for a Colorado water catastrophe is real. That catastrophe could come in many forms, but the most feared is a curtailment of the Colorado River Compact of 1922. Seven states — Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, California and Nevada — form the United States portion of the Colorado River Basin. Those seven states separated the basin into upper and lower regions under the compact, apportioning the water and mandating minimum average flows at the border that divides the Upper and Lower basins in Lee Ferry, Arizona. When the compact was signed in 1922, the flow of the river was estimated to be at least 17 million acre-feet, so 7.5 million acre-feet was apportioned to both the Upper and Lower basins, with the Lower Basin also getting the right to an additional 1 million acre-feet. The remaining 1.5 million acre-feet are apportioned to Mexico. The river flows were based on flows 1899 to 1920, an exceptionally wet period. (An acre-foot is the volume of water that would cover one acre to a depth of one foot.) But none of the states want to go back and draft new laws based on the realistic flows, except for maybe California, said Glenn Porzak, a water attorney based in Boulder who represents water entities and municipalities in both Summit and Eagle counties, as well as Vail Resorts.. “If you go back and say, ‘We made a mistake when we negotiated, we thought there was 17 million acre-feet.’ If you renegotiate, (Colorado’s) going to lose,” he said. “All water is political.” The 10-year rolling average flow at Lee Ferry cannot fall below 75 million acre-feet under the compact. That 10-year average over the last three years has been around 90 million acre-feet, according to U.S. Geological Survey data. In the early 2000s, the average was just more than 100 million acre-feet. Lake Powell in the Upper Basin and Lake Mead in the Lower Basin are the river system’s two main storage reservoirs, and both are approaching critically low levels. Inflows to Lake Powell over the last decade provide evidence of a sustained drought — in fact, according to climate data including the U.S. Drought Monitor and the National Climatic Data Center, the last 13 years have been the driest period in more than 1,000 years in the American West...more

Water in the West: Conservation measures take center stage

The agriculture industry in Colorado has a bull’s-eye on it as the state creates its Water Plan. Municipalities want to buy up senior agriculture water rights to secure supplies that can meet the demands of population growth — it’s known as “buy and dry” — and being that the agriculture industry uses more water than any other, it has found itself at the center of the discussion. At a recent Colorado River Basin Roundtable meeting, Bumgarner and others brought up the consumptive use point time and time again. The agriculture representatives at the roundtable want to be sure there’s more clarification in the Colorado Basin Implementation Plan before it’s sent off to the state. Six themes have emerged from the first draft of the basin’s plan, one of which is to “sustain agriculture.” That’s the million dollar question. When senior agriculture water rights are private property rights, meaning the owners can do whatever they want with their property — including buy, sell and transfer their water rights. If a Front Range municipality wants to come in a buy the rights, and the farmer or rancher wants to sell, there’s not much anyone can do to stop it. “If you’re making money, it’s sustainable. If you’re not making money, it’s not sustainable,” Bumgarner said. “Do I want my neighbor to sell out? No. Do I want the ability to sell out? Yes.” But the level of conservation that irrigation efficiencies could create is debatable. Much of the water lost through irrigation inefficiencies returns to the river or groundwater system for use by downstream water diverters, according to a 2008 Colorado Agricultural Water Alliance study “Meeting Colorado’s Future Water Supply Needs.” “Increased agricultural water conservation could potentially result in a voluntary reduction in the diversion of water to the farm, creating benefits such as improved water quality, allowing more water to remain in the streams, reduced waterlogging of soils, and reducing energy costs for pumping, but may not result in water that can be legally transferred to other uses,” according to the study. “If the use of water conservation measures can improve water supply availability without causing injury to downstream users or the environment, then the result may be improved water supplies for agriculture and other uses.”...more

Interior Sec. points to need to conserve Colorado River water

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell cited the Colorado River and Lake Mead as examples of the water conservation problems that she called one of the top issues facing her department. And that problem will only get worse as climate change creates more extreme droughts in the Southwest, Jewell said. On water issues, Jewell said the region has not done enough to conserve water and that the federal government needs to work with states on conservation efforts. She also said the Colorado River Basin’s water issues are a symptom of climate change. “Climate change is upon us,” she said. “You see it in droughts throughout the West. You see it in the Colorado River. If you look at the levels in Lake Powell or Lake Mead or any of the other lakes that are in that region, you will see that we have a huge problem.” Her comments came the same day that more than 80 public officials from the Colorado River basin – including 16 local government officials from Arizona – sent a letter to the Interior Department supporting water conservation measures. While thin on specifics, the letter supported “urban and agricultural water conservation” and urged state and federal governments to follow up on a 2012 Bureau of Reclamation report that warned about the future of the Colorado River. That report said the Colorado is not on track to keep up with the demand on its water. It said the river’s water supply could be reduced by 10 to 20 percent by midcentury, creating a deficit that would be exacerbated by the area’s rapidly growing population...more