Drought for the west

[hank4elk]

Hank, do you have a link to the bill or know the sponsor?

SB1 Wirth SB 57 Wirth SB70 Hemphill SB167 Wirth

I don't even know who the State Eng. is anymore.

 

[TOGIE]

things are gonna start getting more interesting i think.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/27/climate/colorado-river-biden-cuts.html

i've been at a water policy conference the last three days. an entire panel discussion had to be cancelled this morning because i think nearly everyone on that panel, including my general manger, got called out to what i assume was basically an emergency colorado river meeting. i assume it's related to the contents of this article and some internal rumblings from DOI.

i'm not sure of the details of that meeting or what other officials were there, could've very likely involved the governor.

 

[Dsnow9]

things are gonna start getting more interesting i think.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/27/climate/colorado-river-biden-cuts.html

i've been at a water policy conference the last three days. an entire panel discussion had to be cancelled this morning because i think nearly everyone on that panel, including my general manger, got called out to what i assume was basically an emergency colorado river meeting. i assume it's related to the contents of this article and some internal rumblings from DOI.

i'm not sure of the details of that meeting or what other officials were there, could've very likely involved the governor.

Any chance on a brief summary since it’s behind the pay wall?

Never mind, I googled it and could see the same article

 

[TOGIE]

Any chance on a brief summary since it’s behind the pay wall?

Never mind, I googled it and could see the same article

yeah i think it should be available one or another for everyone.

my personal TLDR would be: after DOI conitnually threatening to drop the hammer and then instead just continually extending the deadline might stop happening. i.e. hammer time.

we'll see. every state claims to have some solid legal footing. because it will come down to some nasty legal fights IMO.

no way to be unbiased in my line of work, but i do truly believe the biggest losers will be arizona and cali. whether by DOI hammer alone or the result of a legal tussle.

i listened to the AG, senator bennet, the governor, and our colorado river commissioner speak in person this week. they are in full unanimous agreement on our states/upper basin state's approach to solving/fighting this issue. that being: the only way solve this problem has to stem from the lower basin, there is no way the upper basin can solve this issue without the lower basin making massively drastic changes; the tribes must absolutely be paramount in every discussion; and that we will fight as hard as we can to not lose any apportionment (of which we take less than half of) to states that have been historically overtaking theirs.

 

[Dougfirtree]

I sure hope the folks who are being paid, will not be counting on the money lasting forever. Could be a helpful program to give stakholders a chance to adapt, or it could just be an expensive delay-of-crisis...

 

[Chama Grande]

SB1 Wirth SB 57 Wirth SB70 Hemphill SB167 Wirth

I don't even know who the State Eng. is anymore.

Thanks for the bills. That NM Unit Fund one for 600k seems specific, I wonder what that plan is there

And Mike Hamman is the current SE:

Governor appoints Hamman as State Engineer

Mike Hamman, the state’s water advisor, has been appointed to fill the vacant state engineer position. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced the appointment on Wednesday. “Mike Hamman is a consummate expert in his field and a homegrown New Mexico professional widely respected across the state,”...

nmpoliticalreport.com

 

[Scott85]

Tahoe snowpack currently sitting at nearly 200%

Recent storms have boosted all of our areas snowpacks, but have really helped the ones to the south, with the Walker River basin coming in at 254% of average and the Carson River basin just below that.

www.kolotv.com

 

[marksjeep]

So far so good for a lot of basins.

 

[marksjeep]

Colorado River: Six western states agree to cuts proposal. California is lone holdout​

https://www.cpr.org/2023/01/30/colo...-to-cuts-proposal-california-is-lone-holdout/

https://www.snwa.com/assets/pdf/seis-letter.pdf

 

[Wild Bill]

So far so good for a lot of basins.
View attachment 262975

 

[Dougfirtree]

So far so good for a lot of basins.
View attachment 262975

That's great news, but it looks to me like the time period that current levels are being compared to is largely made up of the "super drought" years, so may just be saying that this year is less terrible so far...

 

[marksjeep]

Plotted against period of record median values.

 

[Scott85]

 

[Dougfirtree]

View attachment 262986
Plotted against period of record median values.

Less difference than I would have guessed. Do you know how far back the records go?

 

[marksjeep]

NRCS started installing snotel in the 60s. POR will obviously vary by station.

 

[Chama Grande]

I think those are all done to 30 year normals (1990 - 2020), it shouldn't be entire the period of record

 

[BirdManMike]

New York investors snapping up Colorado River water rights, betting big on an increasingly scarce resource

Investment firms are showing a growing interest in an increasingly scarce natural resource in the American West. For some, that's concerning.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[Scott85]

 

[Irrelevant]

View attachment 263260

Idk... hard to reconcile the two


I mean NW Nevada is 150% normal but in a drought? Eastern Utah is at 200% normal but severe drought? I think the model is wrong.

 

[marksjeep]

They have a brief explanation of the DM map. Not saying I disagree with you, however.

West​

Precipitation was below-normal across the region, especially along the West Coast. Due to weeks of heavy precipitation, from a series of atmospheric rivers, halted most degradations or improvements this week despite the deluge, placing much of the region on a holding pattern. The rain did give reservoirs a much-needed boost, but California’s infrastructure is not set up to make use of such a massive rainfall. Because of California’s system of dams and levees, which try to control surface water flow, underground aquifers are not always able to recharge their overpumped supplies during heavy rain events. When rivers are restricted, less water comes into contact with soil surfaces and less water is therefore able to seep down into aquifers. In the drier areas of the West, moderate (D1) drought expanded into parts of northern Idaho and northwestern Montana due to continued degrading conditions that can be observed in soil moisture, streamflow, and precipitation deficits (up to five inches) for this area. In Utah, much of the state has above normal snowpack but no improvements were made this week based on the current issues with groundwater and depleted reservoirs.