The Colorado River Basin has lost a large amount of groundwater in the last 20 years. New Report From researchers at Arizona State University. Researchers used data from NASA satellites to map rapidly depleting resources.
Included regions Seven Western Provinceshas lost 27.8 million acre feet of groundwater since 2003. This is the amount of Lake Mead, almost the largest reservoir in the country.
Findings add a layer of complications It’s already stressed Colorado River. With water supply demand, more users could turn to groundwater instead.
Most of the water conservation work throughout the Colorado River basin I’m focused Reduction to surface water use. Some river experts say the focus should be wider.
Brian Richter analyzes water policy and science as the president of sustainable waters. He was not the author of the study, but he says his findings indicate the need for a “all-scale perspective” on water management from local leaders.
“We suggest that by reducing overall water consumption, we must become more aggressive and urgent,” he said.
This study found that groundwater loss in the Colorado River basin is 2.4 times the amount of water lost from the surfaces of Lake Powell, Lake Mead, and many other small reservoirs that store the water of the Colorado River. The study highlights the oversized water use of agriculture in the Colorado River basin, saying that if the region continues to provide limited water supplies, the industry may suffer from some of the biggest outcomes.
Most of the losses occurred in lower basin conditions of rivers in Arizona, California and Nevada. This study includes “active management areas” in Arizona. Restricting groundwater withdrawalit may have helped slow the depletion.
Kathleen Ferris, an architect with Arizona’s groundwater law, said more work is needed to protect groundwater.
“We’re not going well,” said Ferris, who was not involved in the study. “We’re behind eight balls. It’s really sad that nothing seems to be accomplished. We should have thought about this issue 25 years ago.”
Ferris is currently a senior researcher at Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University.
When experts demand a more robust groundwater management policy, Richter said the study presents a small silver lining. Scientists are generating better data than ever before, giving policymakers a better sense of local water issues.
“From a public policy perspective, this is bad news,” he said. “This shows us something worse than we thought, because we still understand what’s going on underground. From a science perspective, this kind of research is good news because we can accurately explain water problems like what we’re experiencing with the Colorado River system.”
The story is part of an ongoing coverage of Western waters produced by Kunku in Colorado and supported by the Walton Family Foundation. KUNC is solely responsible for editorial reporting.
