https://earthobservatory.nasa....-mead-keeps-dropping

How low can you go?!

The Great Salt Lake in Utah is also dropping. Back in the 1980s, it rose so high that they had to raise the railroad track that runs across it and build a pumping station to take water out and spread it in the desert. It has an interesting longer-term history (see wiki article.).

Climate change, from either natural or man-made causes, can really be a bitch.

Big Al

Yes, it's bad and everyone seems to be at a standstill in terms of how to deal with it. The feds recently passed (Trump signed it in 2019 I think) a modified drought contingency plan that would spread the impact of significantly reduced water more equitably--before the new DCP was signed into law, moving into a Tier 1 status (where Arizona currently is) meant virtually cutting off all water for agriculture and significantly hitting tribal communities. But Arizona being as it is, tribal communities included not just obvious areas like reservations, but also major cities like Mesa, Tempe, Phoenix, Gilbert, yada yada. Right now, residents are being asked to voluntarily reduce consumption and do things like fix leaky faucets and toilets. In my opinion, this isn't nearly enough.

In 2007, the stats peeps were predicting the odds of going to a Tier 3 at around 8%. Odds are currently at ~45% to go to Tier 3 in 2023. Having moved to Tier 1 in late June, they're also predicting a move to Tier 2 perhaps as early as August. I'm honestly not sure what Tier 2 means in terms of individual impact, since it's never been invoked.

Water is serious business for folks who rely on the Colorado River (Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and maybe Wyoming?).

It's just so distressing to see these kinds of visuals. But also so important, I just hope enough people are paying attention!

Then there's the Rio Not-So-Grande.

quote:

Rio Grande runs dry in Albuquerque for the first time in 40 years

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news...r-AAZSFiK?li=BBnb7Kz

A little odd given how wet the monsoon has been so far. I suspect the culprit is what is happening at the dams upstream. If they are impounding the flow to build up reserves (to fight fires, for instance), that could cause the drying out downstream independent of current rainfall conditions.

That "story" is really just an emotive snippet with no depth.

You got me curious about the snowpack. Here's an interesting article I found about this winter's snow pack and how it's affecting Lake Mead.

I learned
1. Lake Mead snow pack comes primarily from the Rockies. Had I thought I could've probably figured that one out.
2. This past winter's snow was impressive until February, then nada. So the net overall wasn't as great as hoped.
3. Because the ground is so dry, a lot of the melted water will go into the ground and stay there, rather than flowing down the various pathways to the reservoir.
4. This article was from March. We had a big, unexpected snowfall here in the PNW in early April. I wonder if the Rockies also got hit with that late storm?

Paging CHAS...

My home is in D1-moderate drought. Much of the state is in D2 and some is in D3- extreme drought.
Colorado is in better shape than it was. The lake never filled this summer, but there was enough for sailing.
The kayak launch spot I use requires a much longer carry to the water.
Rain expected today. Hoping there will be a lot of rain.