California growers and others in the river’s Lower Basin want the federal government to consider draining Lake Powell to conserve more water downstream.
Two major California growers are calling on the Bureau of Reclamation to consider a proposal to remove Glen Canyon Dam, draining Lake Powell and allowing the Colorado River’s water to only accumulate in Lake Mead, farther downstream.
As Ian James explains in the Los Angeles Times, the one-dam proposal was once the purview of environmentalists. Now, some farmers believe removing the dam could help preserve the river’s dwindling resources and prevent the water from being used up by hydropower operations upstream of their agricultural operations in California’s Imperial Valley. “California uses more Colorado River water than any other state. And in the Imperial Valley, the Imperial Irrigation District delivers the single largest share of the river’s water to farmlands that produce crops including hay and vegetables.”
The Colorado River’s shrinking water supply has been a major challenge for the western states that rely on it. Farther upstream, Upper Basin officials—including in Utah, where the state plans to build a new pipeline from Lake Powell—want to see more reductions in usage in the Lower Basin states. See the source article for more details on the dam’s condition and proposals being weighed by federal officials.
FULL STORY: As Colorado River shrinks, California farmers urge ‘one-dam solution’
Colorado River Water Crisis Deepens
The states that rely on the Colorado’s water must make drastic cuts in water usage to maintain use of the West’s most important—and most threatened—water source.
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In the throes of a historic megadrought, three Southwestern states will make deep reductions in their water usage to preserve diminishing resources.
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Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research