Drought for the west

[Laszlo Cravensworth]

Jackson Co. lake levels below 10%, going to be a ‘tough year’ Watermaster says | KMVU Fox 26 Medford

*Photo is from 2020 JACKSON COUNTY, Ore — As Jackson county continues to navigate through a years-long drought, the situation will likely get worse according to officials. Jackson county Watermaster Shavon Haynes, noted that the reservoirs are losing more water than its been receiving. As of...

www.fox26medford.com

Nrcs says the Rogue watershed is at 63% of median snow water equivalent. That's sort of skewed by the higher elevation areas around Crater Lake.

The lakes mentioned in that article supply a large portion of the Rogue Valley irrigation water, and the snowpack there is in significantly worse shape.

Last year we had enough water to get one irrigation on the pears at the research station, and a few more on the grapes. This year we're just hoping to keep the newly planted vines alive.

 

[MarvB]

Ducking hunting will take it in the shorts again, Lower Klamath will be a sand flat, and any remaining water will be ripe for another botulism outbreak. Sucks.

 

[BigHornRam]

I'd bet that most of their claims are horseshit.
1. I bet you need one of the barrels at the start of every row
2. Very little if any flow control
3. No ability to remotely control flows
4. You probably have to replace the entire distribution line when it does plug up with sediment.

We work with a ton of drip irrigators for both berries and grapes and no one is relying on filterless gravity drip. Is it better than flood? Sure, but that's like the least efficient form of irrigation.

N drip scaling up with a big money Corp. See how this phase goes in their development process.

PepsiCo taps Israeli startup N-Drip for drip irrigation tech

Farmers who grow crops for the US beverage and snack giant's range of brands to adopt tech for better yield, water conservation

www.timesofisrael.com

 

[Laszlo Cravensworth]

Race to the bottom: How big business took over Oregon’s first protected aquifer

A remote corner of Eastern Oregon is emblematic of how state officials have long ignored water sustainability concerns.

www.opb.org

Opposite side of the state from the last article I shared.

 

[elkduds]

For now, the Arkansas river basin in SE CO is above 100% of average annual snowfall. For now.

 

[Chama Grande]

Not quite 100%, but there's a storm in the mix.

 

[sapperJ24]

March 17 update:

 

[hank4elk]

IPPS still killing pinions here. Single trees & small groups. I've lost another dozen this year.
Only good thing is the number of young pinion that have come up since I moved here and they seem less affected . 20 years into this drought and maybe they don't feel it yet being only 10 or less.


On a good note the snows we have gotten this spring have soaked in good and I finally am seeing some green under the brown. Had 2 inches yesterday and it's almost dry now.

 

[Bluffgruff]

It looks like most of the mountain west is near average snowpack. Colorado looks the most consistently damp, but most drainages in most states are in the green as of today.

 

[Chama Grande]

Zuni River is having a laugh this year. It's at 3.9" of snow water equivalent as opposed to its median 0.8" (488% of median). It's not a crazy amount like Colorado or the north would see, but still, Ramah and Nutria will be pleased during runoff.

 

[hank4elk]

The Largo is dry, usually flowing outside Quemado by now from runoff. SFR is just flowing,sort of.

 

[hank4elk]

Jeez. Now NOAA has spring summer forecast for NM online. Talk of potential 3rd year of La Nina. Not good.

 

[BirdManMike]

It looks like most of the mountain west is near average snowpack. Colorado looks the most consistently damp, but most drainages in most states are in the green as of today.

What are you looking at?

 

[MarvB]

Ugh…living in the land of red gonna suck this year…again

 

[Oak]

What are you looking at?

In his defense, there was a lot more green a week ago.

Interesting snow year for the Upper CO River.

 

[Chama Grande]

Amazing what a warm weekend will do

 

[Oak]

The Colorado River’s confounding math problem

This brings us to another number for this Colorado River Basin math problem: 11 million acre-feet.

That’s the number cited last week at a University of Utah conference about future flows of the Colorado River. “The best climate scientists in the world say we will be lucky to have 11 million acre-feet,” said John Entsminger, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, the agency serving Las Vegas.

How low can the Colorado River go? Drought forces states to face tough choices about water

While the water experts who gathered in the S. J. Quinney College of Law’s moot courtroom know they must plan on less water, some aren’t ready to publicly commit to a number that will alarm water users back home. Arizona Department of Water Resources Director Tom Buschatzke, for instance, needs legislative approval for any deal he might make.

“I won’t say 11,” Buschatzke quipped from the symposium stage, “because I might get arrested when I get off the plane in Phoenix tonight.”

 

[Southern Elk]

The Colorado River’s confounding math problem

This brings us to another number for this Colorado River Basin math problem: 11 million acre-feet.

That’s the number cited last week at a University of Utah conference about future flows of the Colorado River. “The best climate scientists in the world say we will be lucky to have 11 million acre-feet,” said John Entsminger, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, the agency serving Las Vegas.

How low can the Colorado River go? Drought forces states to face tough choices about water

While the water experts who gathered in the S. J. Quinney College of Law’s moot courtroom know they must plan on less water, some aren’t ready to publicly commit to a number that will alarm water users back home. Arizona Department of Water Resources Director Tom Buschatzke, for instance, needs legislative approval for any deal he might make.

“I won’t say 11,” Buschatzke quipped from the symposium stage, “because I might get arrested when I get off the plane in Phoenix tonight.”

That first link is very interesting. That’s the first that I’ve heard that they may have overestimated the yearly runoff when they built the dams.

 

[Southern Elk]

We visited the Hoover Dam last week. You really get a sense of how low the lake is seeing it in person. Notice how tiny the people look in the picture of the backside of the dam, then compare that to the water level.

 

[lynlan1819]

We visited the Hoover Dam last week. You really get a sense of how low the lake is seeing it in person. Notice how tiny the people look in the picture of the backside of the dam, then compare that to the water level. View attachment 217193View attachment 217194

About 30 ft more foot drop,and the intakes will be completly out of the water, a dead pool !