Drought-stricken Rivers

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Pumping Mississippi River water west: solution or dream?

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Waves of torrential rainfall drenched California into the new year. Snowpacks in the Sierra Nevada Mountains have swelled to more than 200% their normal size, and snowfall across the rest of the Colorado River Basin is trending above average, too.

https://apnews.com/article/science-arizona-state-government-california-disaster-planning-and-response-automated-insights-earnings-be28e7e022007c82cdee63ca2b9ed555

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Breakthrough proposal would aid drought-stricken Colorado River as 3 Western states offer cuts

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Arizona, Nevada and California said Monday they’re willing to cut back on their use of the dwindling Colorado River in exchange for money from the federal government -- and to avoid forced cuts as drought threatens the key water supply for the U.S. West.

https://apnews.com/article/colorado-river-arizona-california-nevada-drought-climate-change-85bfbc63bfc6590613bb142347e1a014?

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What to know as Colorado River states reach deal on cuts, start long-term negotiations 

The seven U.S. states that use water from the Colorado River — overallocated and shrinking in supply with a warming climate — reached a short-term deal Monday that officials say will avert a near-term shortage across a watershed that supports about 40 million people in the Southwest. 

https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/what-to-know-as-colorado-river-states-reach-deal-on-cuts-start-long-term-negotiations?

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Drought, water overuse prompt Arizona to limit construction in some fast-growing parts of Phoenix

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona will not approve new housing construction on the fast-growing edges of metro Phoenix that rely on groundwater thanks to years of overuse and a multi-decade drought that is sapping its water supply.

https://apnews.com/article/arizona-colorado-river-drought-climate-change-groundwater-52860198c654d7308137c6c7836707f4?

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How Arizona Stands Between Tribes and Their Water

As it negotiates water rights with tribes, Arizona goes to unique lengths to extract concessions that limit tribes’ opportunities for growth and economic development, according to a ProPublica and High Country News investigation.

https://www.propublica.org/article/how-arizona-stands-between-tribes-and-their-water?

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Tijuana, reliant on the Colorado River, faces a water crisis

TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) — Luis Ramirez leapt onto the roof of his bright blue water truck to fill the plastic tank that by day’s end would empty into an assortment of buckets, barrels and cisterns in 100 homes.

https://apnews.com/article/colorado-river-tijuana-mexico-water-drought-189a291a583841da327a49689fc16252?

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The 20 Farming Families Who Use More Water From the Colorado River Than Some Western States

As the Colorado River snakes through the deserts of the Southwest United States, its water is diverted to cities, states, tribes and farmers along its course.

https://projects.propublica.org/california-farmers-colorado-river/

The Historic Claims That Put a Few California Farming Families First in Line for Colorado River Water

Twenty families in the Imperial Valley received a whopping 386.5 billion gallons of the river’s water last year — more than three Western states. Century-old water rights guarantee that supply.

https://www.propublica.org/article/california-farm-families-gained-control-colorado-river?

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The Future of the Colorado River Hinges on One Young Negotiator

J.B. Hamby, California’s representative in talks about sharing water from the Colorado River, holds the keys to a quarter of the river’s flow — and its future.

https://www.propublica.org/article/jb-hamby-colorado-river-water-negotiations?

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As Colorado River states await water cuts, they struggle to find agreement on longer-term plans

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government is expected to announce water cuts soon that would affect some of the 40 million people reliant on the Colorado River, the powerhouse of the U.S. West. The Interior Department announces water availability for the coming year months in advance so Western cities, farmers and others can plan.

https://apnews.com/article/colorado-river-california-arizona-climate-change-drought-690ec20790e10819b8bb1341772534ac?

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In the Arizona desert, a farm raising fish raises questions about water use

In landlocked Arizona, where the Colorado River crisis has put water use under a microscope, a new inland desert fish farm is growing barramundi — a tropical species native to Australia — for American restaurants. Read More.

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A drying-up Rio Grande basin threatens water security on both sides of the border

One of North America’s longest rivers, the Rio Grande — or Rio Bravo as it’s called in Mexico — is in crisis. Findings released Thursday by the World Wildlife Fund, Sustainable Waters and a team of university researchers show unsustainable use threatens water security for millions of people who rely on the binational basin. They estimate that just 48% of water consumed throughout the basin is replenished by renewable sources like snowmelt and rain. Read more.

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Colorado River Conundrum

Negotiations kicked off yesterday in Las Vegas to determine how to divide the Colorado River basin’s shrinking water supplies. Any outcome will have implications for more than 40 million residents relying on the river to power cities, farms, and companies—including resource-heavy data centers and semiconductor businesses. A decades-long drought (the worst in 1,200 years) has pushed Hoover Dam's Lake Mead to historic lows. The federal government aims to cut 2 million to 4 million acre-feet of water usage per year to reduce strain; an acre-foot equals 1 acre covered by 12 inches of water. However, the seven states—Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming—have repeatedly reached an impasse. Two states (Arizona and Nevada) are swing states, adding political complexity to any steps lawmakers—or the federal government—take.  The Interior Department has threatened to impose its own plan if states can’t agree on a plan to manage the river after next year, when the current arrangement expires. See previous write-up here.

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Colorado River water negotiators appear no closer to long-term agreement

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The seven states that rely on the Colorado River to supply farms and cities across the U.S. West appear no closer to reaching a consensus on a long-term plan for sharing the dwindling resource.

https://apnews.com/article/colorado-river-water-vegas-8d3ccf6c1f6e62c21ae930f2a8fa8bf9?

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Water to surge into drought-depleted Lake Powell but at costs elsewhere

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — Canyons in eastern Utah will churn this spring with huge volumes of water — as much as 50,000 toilets flushing constantly at the same time — in a desperate attempt to maintain electricity generation for thousands of homes across much of the Western U.S.

https://apnews.com/article/colorado-river-drought-lake-powell-dam-053644c9e3e7981d5af07e83e0dac3c7?