Tag: colorado river
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Colorado River crisis: Lake Mead, Lake Powell inch closer to ‘dead pool’
In the past 10 days, both Lake Mead on the Arizona-Nevada border and Lake Powell roughly 300 miles northeast on the Utah-Arizona line have recorded their lowest water levels since the reservoirs were first filled. Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir and which supplies water to Nevada, Arizona and California, measured 1,040.4 feet above sea…
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LETTERS: Explore ways to create new water; the state’s fees
Explore ways to create new water As Colorado and other Colorado River Basin states negotiate the river’s future, one important question is missing. Why are we only debating how to divide less water instead of exploring ways to create more? Conservation is essential, but it can’t solve a long-term shortage if the supply keeps shrinking.…
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Colorado is spared mandatory cuts under federal Colorado River proposal
California, Arizona and Nevada to take less water under plan While Colorado has been spared from mandatory reductions, Arizona, California and Nevada would take less water from the Colorado River under a proposal announced Friday by the federal government to stave off crisis in the beleaguered waterway. The proposal from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation…
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LETTERS: Long-term water shortage; street repairs
Long-term water shortage As Colorado and other Colorado River Basin states negotiate the river’s future, one important question is missing. Why are we only debating how to divide less water instead of exploring ways to create more? Conservation is essential, but it can’t solve a long-term shortage if the supply keeps shrinking. One concept deserves…
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Perspective: Eastern justice for the Western Slope
The Western Slope is roughly a third of Colorado. It holds the headwaters of the Colorado River system, the federal land that covers most of its counties, and a disproportionate share of the state’s energy, water and agriculture. What it does not hold, and has almost never held, is a seat on the courts that have the last word on…
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Behind Lake Powell’s low water levels, a canyon is coming back to life
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by
The Colorado River Basin is often described in terms of crisis — drought, warmer climate and failed water-sharing talks. Yet beneath Lake Powell’s retreating shoreline, Glen Canyon is quietly experiencing one of the largest natural restorations in the river’s history. The focus on the Colorado River has centered on the historic drought, overallocation and the…
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Colorado River overallocation collides with Colorado snowpack conditions
Tapped: Colorado’s Front Range is at the center of one of the American West’s most complex and consequential water challenges. This series examines the interconnected systems that determine how the region secures, stores, and conserves its water — while navigating the competing demands of fast‑growing urban communities and the increasingly unpredictable mountain snowpack that underpins…
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Amid record low snowpack, Colorado cities impose restrictions, farmers brace for ‘disaster’
By Mary Shinn and Savannah Eller In the West, water is for fighting, but this year, for many, there might not be much to battle over. The critical snowpack that sustains cities, farmers and ranchers is the lowest in memory. Some areas in the high country were barren at the start of the month. Cities,…
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Gov. Jared Polis, Upper Basin states criticize federal draft plan for managing the Colorado River
With no agreement among the seven Colorado River states, which missed multiple federal deadlines, the Upper Colorado River Commission on Monday sharply criticized the U.S. Department of the Interior’s draft plan for managing the river after the current guidelines expire this year. The critics accused federal officials of exceeding their authority and of relying on…
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Deadlocked: Colorado basin states negotiations collapse
With the Feb. 14 deadline looming, the seven states in the Colorado River Basin failed to reach an agreement on how to manage the river after the 2026 operating guidelines expire later this year. John Entsminger, Nevada’s chief negotiator, said there is no deal in place. “The seven Colorado River Basin states have failed to…