AZ, Vegas water (1 Viewer)

slisk250

slisk250

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The high mountains of Colorado didn’t get the snowpack and warm temps caused an early melt. I noticed the Colorado River was really low out past Glenwood Springs. It was 3 weeks ago. It was enough to get my attention for sure. You pay attention to this stuff when wildfires are on your mind half of the year. Lake Mead and Powell are at all time lows. Intake pipes working since 1971 are above water at Mead now.

When do we start draining swimming pools and Bellagio fountains? Will they cut the CAP River allotment to AZ? They mix that water with Salt River near Mesa so when it gets to Tucson it isn’t killing plants with high salinity. Tucson has Zero surface water.

Time to stop housing permits? Spend a quarter of the military budget on desalination plants on the West Coast? More dams is not a solution either. In the desert sun it just evaporates more, we already pump it underground in AZ. Huge implications beyond who gets the water really. What should we grow to eat and where? Nothing in life is more important than water, absolutely nothing and I don’t really see a good end when people keep flocking to the Southwest.

edit: Didn’t even get into the looming Colorado wildfire season. Cinnamon Pass, Engineer Pass, and a few other high mountain OHV trails have no snow. There should be 5 ft at those spots. Locals are saying it’s never happened they are usually covered until mid June and need plows to open. We are forked here I’m afraid.
 
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I looked into buying property in Vegas during the economic downturn. I decided against it, because of Lake Mead's vanishing trick. Sure, it would have been a decent investment, but the risk is real.

I read that Vegas (or Clark County, or maybe the state) was paying residents to remove lawns. City parks that once had beautiful fountains are now dry.

Water is kind of important. Remember, global climate change can't kill the planet - just it's inhabitants.
 
I feel bad for the region and hope the recent dry conditions reverse soon. I also sort of see this as a self-correcting problem. As the cost goes up usage will go down, or creative alternatives will be developed. Nature always finds balance and we are part of nature.
 
Epic western drought might lead to truly difficult choices. Question - - - is the drought an outlaying event that will eventually return to historic expectations or is it the new normal? Let's not forget that very low reserves in the lake systems also affects hydro electric power.

There are no happy answers. A drought like that in the western USA is going to inflict massive economic losses and disrupt lives with all sorts of harsh consequences. Wish there was something easy to do, but I fear there is not.
 
Utah isn’t doing any better. Most upstate reservoirs are at 55-60%, the Great Salt Lake is down 11 feet and Lake Powell is at all time lows. We’ve barely gotten any snow the last 5 years. It’s not looking good, at all.
 
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I had watched an interesting documentary a few years back about how the southwest portion of America simply did not have enough water to support the expected population growth. The point of it was was to create a mega project to pipe water from the east side to the west side to help with the water needs. It pointed out how if we can pipe oil 800 miles across rugged Alaska, we certainly could do it with water across the continental US. Maybe it's time for this to happen?
 
Worth of Water.jpg
 
Poker Zombie said:
California, Utah, I get it. However Phoenix, Las Vegas and the like might want some old-school philosophy...
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Sam is great. More than 100 years ago, the Salt River Water Users Association was formed and my farming grandfather was part of it. His water rights and the home my brother now lives in have those water rights. Will it be gold in the future or just survival?
 
Without sounding like a conspiracy theorist.

As a Canadian still living in Canada I feel that our country is being proxy led by lobbyists essentially to preserve and obtain our resources. Canada has abundant fresh water reserves that could be harvested for so much more....currently municipalities are attempting to claim back/buy out/force residents to pay for "vague" old land deeds on shoreline properties for just this reason.... Water is life and one solution for America is "Annex Canada", before China does.
 
philhut said:
one solution for America is "Annex Canada"
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Bite your tongue! Canada is clean, beautiful, and people apologize for stepping on someone else's shadow. Adding to that, the average Canadian lifespan is 5% longer than the average Americans - all while eating French fries with cheese curds and gravy.

America annexing Canada would be like replacing a good THC set with a new set of Icons (and then destroying the Paulson's) :eek:
 
slisk250 said:
Sam is great. More than 100 years ago, the Salt River Water Users Association was formed and my farming grandfather was part of it. His water rights and the home my brother now lives in have those water rights. Will it be gold in the future or just survival?
Click to expand...

I'd wager good money that those water rights will be revoked and/or renegotiated at some point in the next 20 years.
 
Poker Zombie said:
Bite your tongue! Canada is clean, beautiful, and people apologize for stepping on someone else's shadow. Adding to that, the average Canadian lifespan is 5% longer than the average Americans - all while eating French fries with cheese curds and gravy.

America annexing Canada would be like replacing a good THC set with a new set of Icons (and then destroying the Paulson's) :eek:
Click to expand...
I'd have agreed with you a few years ago.... soon your country will likely need a Northern border wall the way the leadership is directing things.
 
RainmanTrail said:
I'd wager good money that those water rights will be revoked and/or renegotiated at some point in the next 20 years.
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I doubt it. These farmers funded the reservoirs.

The Association​

The Salt River Valley Water Users' Association delivers nearly 1 million acre-feet of water to a service area in central Arizona. An extensive water delivery system is maintained and operated by the Association, including reservoirs, wells, canals and irrigation laterals.

The Association is the older of SRP's two organizations. It began when a group of early Valley residents searched for an effective means to bring water to their families, farms and communities.

These pioneers tried to irrigate crops with a simple canal system fed by the Salt River. Canal operations were unpredictable. Sometimes the river shrank to a trickle, while other times, the river swelled beyond its banks and washed away a season of hard work.

In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt signed the National Reclamation Act. The law provided federal loans for construction of reclamation projects in the West. Valley settlers formed the Association in 1903 and pledged their land as collateral for federal government loan to build a massive water storage and delivery system.

The cornerstone of the system, Theodore Roosevelt Dam, was dedicated in 1911, six years after construction began. The dam was rededicated in 1996 following Safety of Dam modifications that added 77 feet of height to the dam and needed conservation and flood control capacity.

As part of its operations, the Association cooperatively manages a 13,000-square-mile "watershed" or natural drainage area in the mountains north and east of metropolitan Phoenix. This watershed feeds the Salt and Verde rivers that flow into the SRP reservoir system. From 1923 to 1946, five more water-storage dams were built along the Salt and Verde rivers to help satisfy the Valley's need for a reliable supply of water.

The duties of the Association increased as more people moved to metropolitan Phoenix. Water-quality monitoring and water conservation became priorities as agricultural needs decreased and urban uses increased.

Today, the Association delivers nearly 1 million acre-feet of water to a 240,000-acre service area in metropolitan Phoenix. The reservoir system feeds an extensive water delivery network comprising 1,265 miles of canals, laterals and smaller channels. This delivery network carries water to municipalities as well as agricultural and urban irrigators.
 
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The majority of the SW shouldn’t exist as it does. It was created largely by bringing water to where it historically isn’t. If you haven’t, read “Cadillac Desert”. And, start harvesting water on your own property now.
 
WedgeRock said:
According to the clickbait story from 'ItstheVibe' linked at the bottom of a CNN story about the Mars Rover, you guys are all good... Just need to be patient.

View attachment 903524

I didn't click on the story, but I guess the Rockies are gonna be below sea level in the future. Yet NOLA is all good.
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Man Bear Pig predicted everything..... Looks like it is a good idea selling my house in southern Ontario and moving to New Mexico. Perhaps I'll reconsider a sea can for the move.

1970/80's---global cooling
1990-2010-global warming
2010-now--Climate Change, because they realized we caught on and now everything is explainable by increased coverage of weather events to bombard the viewer into believing that a increase in weather events are both increasing in number and severity. All a false reality built up by unresearched televised projection.
 
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The dust bowl areas took a huge hit less than 100 years ago and are thriving areas of commerce and cultivation now. If you would have interviewed anyone who lived in Kansas or Oklahoma back in those days they would have told you the world is over and it can never be fixed. Just saying it’s not always doom and gloom forever.

However, Death Valley took a huge hit millions of years ago and still hasn’t recovered.

We can get better with farming and living practices (a 1/2 acre yard is nice, especially mowed and trimmed, but what do you really do with it? - I’ve always thought everyone should be growing vegetables in their flower beds instead of ornamentals, but that kind of talk can get you labeled crazy), especially with things like community gardens and other projects that help satisfy our need to grow things while using our resources wiser.
 
WedgeRock said:
According to the clickbait story from 'ItstheVibe' linked at the bottom of a CNN story about the Mars Rover, you guys are all good... Just need to be patient.

View attachment 903524

I didn't click on the story, but I guess the Rockies are gonna be below sea level in the future. Yet NOLA is all good.
Click to expand...
Damn Colorado going to be the Italian.
 
WedgeRock said:
According to the clickbait story from 'ItstheVibe' linked at the bottom of a CNN story about the Mars Rover, you guys are all good... Just need to be patient.

View attachment 903524

I didn't click on the story, but I guess the Rockies are gonna be below sea level in the future. Yet NOLA is all good.
Click to expand...
We currently live at about 8400 ft above sea level and apparently we are going to be underwater according to this map.
 
WedgeRock said:
According to the clickbait story from 'ItstheVibe' linked at the bottom of a CNN story about the Mars Rover, you guys are all good... Just need to be patient.

View attachment 903524

I didn't click on the story, but I guess the Rockies are gonna be below sea level in the future. Yet NOLA is all good.
Click to expand...
And Florida, the flattest state in the union, will also weather the storm. High quality research.
 
“Big short” closes with the most frightening scene card I’ve ever seen in a movie

GL out there folks

D6FE72D0-1D8E-411D-95F6-C2F74E95CEAB.png
 
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