Archive
Decreased Water Flow Projected to Colorado River Basin
Colorado is no stranger to drought especially as the current one is closing in on 20 years with no trajectory change in sight. The drought is the second worst 20-year period in the past 1,200 years, according to Bradley Udall, a senior climate and water scientist at Colorado State University’s Colorado Water Center. This summer/fall alone had some of the hottest spells on record and the worst wildfire season ever. “Aridification” is what Udall formally calls the situation that is currently occurring in the western U.S. But perhaps more accurately, he calls it hot drought which is heat-induced lack of […]
Water Cutbacks for Arizona and Nevada Under New Deal
Under a set of agreements intended to help boost the water level of Lake Mead, which now stands at just 40% capacity, Arizona and Nevada will receive less water from the Colorado River starting next year. The Federal Bureau of Reclamation released projections on Friday showing that Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir, will be at levels next year that continue to trigger moderate cutbacks in both states. Those reductions could eventually increase in the next few years if Lake Mead drops further. The estimates show the reservoir near Las Vegas will likely begin 2021 about 10 feet above a […]
Leading the Way: Dallas’s Water Conservation Plan
In April 2020, the city of Dallas will roll out its Comprehensive Environment and Climate Action Plan. The plan will establish Dallas’s goals toward reducing emissions and conserving water in the face of climate change. Dallas believes the water conservation programs it has implemented are proving successful. Since 2001, with the adoption of restrictions on landscape and lawn irrigation, the average water use per person has been reduced by 30 percent and has enabled the city to offset a 10 percent increase in population. Additionally, the city initiated other programs that encourage the general population to be conservation minded, such […]