The irrigation districts of the Grand and Uncompahgre valleys are close to the state line and the Upper Gunnison Valley is just above Blue Mesa, so the majority of water conserved in these locations will get to where it needs to go without the state Division of Water Resources having to actively shepherd it.
Tag: Post-2026 Colorado River negotiations
Posted inWater
Western Slope lawmakers take Colorado River managers to task
Roberts’ line of questioning seemed prompted by recent projections that show river flows dipping below a threshold that could trigger litigation.
Posted inWater
Colorado River experts say agriculture must make permanent cuts to water use
Some in the academic community are advocating for the federal government to either set up a voluntary program to buy and retire lands that use a lot of water or pay landowners who agree to permanent restrictions on water use.
Posted inWater
Feds say new Colorado River plan will be short-term
In the absence of a seven-state deal for sharing shortages and managing reservoirs, river management now falls to the federal government — an outcome nearly everyone had hoped to avoid.
Posted inWater
Flexible pool of water could be key to protect Lake Powell
There isn’t a way to physically move water upstream, but according to WRA, water could be transferred between reservoirs through adjustments to dam releases and careful accounting.
Posted inWater
March heat wave fueled worst end-of-winter snowpack on record
Light said she has been hearing from water users about how early they have had to turn their ditches on to irrigate their fields – some the weekend of March 21 – due to the meager snowpack and record-high temperatures.
Posted inWater
Upper Basin states test methods to fill Powell pool
Colorado still does not seem to have the policies in place to implement a large-scale, traditional conservation program in the near future.
Posted inWater
Colorado River crisis fails to force deal from states
And if the states can’t reach an agreement by then, the federal government will impose its own management rules, doling out cutbacks that could trigger lawsuits from the states but would not go far enough to prevent the system from crashing.
Posted inWater
Colorado River experts say some management options don’t go far enough to address scarcity, climate change
This winter’s dismal snowpack and dire projections about spring runoff underscore the urgency for the states to come up with an agreement for a new management paradigm.
Posted inWater
States repeat talking points with little progress on deal as Colorado River crisis deepens
A question looming over this week’s conference was: Will the federal government step in?