The #Wyoming State Engineer to present options for #ColoradoRiver Basin #water crisis September 27, 2022 #COriver #aridification
Click the link to read the article on the WyoFile website (Distin Bleizeffer):
The state’s top water authority will outline Wyoming’s role in the ongoing Colorado River Basin water crisis, including voluntary conservation and efficiency programs, at a public meeting [September 27, 2022] in Pinedale.
Though Wyoming declined to commit specific volumes to the US Bureau of Reclamation’s call for 2023 water savings, the state’s water users in the Green River drainage — a tributary of the Colorado River — will likely be called upon to voluntarily curb water consumption in coming years, according to the State Engineer’s Office.
 100vw, 863px” data-lazy-src=”https://i0.wp.com/coyotegulch.blog/wp -content/uploads/2022/09/20220920_wy_trd09202022.png?resize=863%2C667&is-pending-load=1#038;ssl=1″ data-srcset=”https://coyotegulch.blog/data:image/gif;base64, https://coyotegulch.blog/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7″/>Wyoming Drought Monitor map September 20, 2022.</p>
<p>SEO officials will provide information about ongoing drought conditions, Wyoming’s rights and obligations under the Colorado River Compact and options to “prepare ourselves to not only mitigate impacts to our water users, but to potentially help offset negative impacts to the rest of the system,” Wyoming senior assistant attorney general for the SEO’s water division Chris Brown said.</p>
<p>The meeting will be from 2-5 pm Tuesday at the Sublette County Public Library.</p>
<p><strong>Why it matters:</strong></p>
<p>Two decades of drought exacerbated by human-caused climate change has sapped the Colorado River Basin water system that serves some 40 million people across the West and in Mexico. The two largest reservoirs in the system, Lake Powell and Lake Mead, shrank to historic lows this summer, threatening hydroelectric power production.</p>
<p>This “teacup” diagram displays reservoir storage levels as of Sept. 21, 2022. (Bureau of Reclamation)</p>
<p>There’s simply not enough water in the system to fulfill the water allotments divided among stakeholders by the 1922 Colorado River Compact, and the situation is expected to get worse, according to federal officials.</p>
<p>“Every sector in every state has a responsibility to ensure that water is used with maximum efficiency,” Interior Department Assistant Secretary for Water and Science Tanya Trujillo said in a prepared statement. “In order to avoid a catastrophic collapse of the Colorado River System and a future of uncertainty and conflict, water use in the Basin must be reduced.”</p>
<p>Among other strategies, Wyoming plans to resume participation in the federal System Conservation Program, which pays water users to curb consumption, according to the Wyoming State Engineer’s office. Congress recently re-appropriated funding for the program, while the Inflation Reduction Act includes some $4 billion for efforts to modernize Colorado River Basin infrastructure and water management practices. Another $8.3 billion from the bipartisan infrastructure law is available to address water and drought challenges throughout the US</p>
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