Drought in Colorado? Water Shortages? (Denver, Fort Collins: attorneys, house, to buy)

[james57]

The recent study on global warming concludes that the SW USA will experience reduced rainfall over time. In addition it says that the Rocky Mountains will see reduced snowfall and also melting of glaciers. Not a pretty picture.

I would think for Colorado this will be a serious problem in the long term. Is the state preparing for this possibility? Just wondered.

Jim

[looking4home]

Why would you bring this up after the winter Colorado has had this year? I imagine the snowpack is at near record leves already, and we're not even done with the season!

Anyway, I've always heard the opposite - that the already hot, drier climates will not get hotter with global warming, but will experience more rainfall, and be prone to flooding. These theories are all conjecture and a bunch of nonsense. Nostradamus and his dreams and predictions have more validity in my book.

[McGowdog]

Well, after California falls off into the ocean, won't that affect the global picture and overall weather patterns for the Rocky Mountain region?

I'm with you, Looking4home. Let's take this winter one month at a time and milk it for all it's worth. I think our attention should be on flooding caused by spring runoff. And let's get those reservoirs filled up.

The farmers Almanac calls for two huge snow storms yet before February is over! Yippee!

[tfox]

Originally Posted by james57

I would think for Colorado this will be a serious problem in the long term. Is the state preparing for this possibility? Just wondered.

Jim,

It likely will be a serious problem not just for Colorado, but for the nation as well. As you know, we're the only state in the lower 48 that must rely entirely on water sources within our own boundaries -- every other state has the option to steal water from elsewhere but we won't be able to do so. Believe me the scientists at NOAA in Boulder realize the risks we face.

As for how it will likely impact Colorado, I think you're going to see a race by municipalities in the next few decades to buy up farming water rights -- which will then make it less profitable to actually farm. As bidding wars over water increase, utilities and municipalities will pass on the costs to the consumers. It will be a long time before this impacts growth, however.

There's been a consistent lack of foresight into water resources in many areas. One of the most striking examples is the city-sized subdivision of Highlands Ranch, which relies primarily on a non-renewable supply of groundwater underneath the subdivision. Since a municipality is not legally allowed to continue to pump groundwater when it starts impacting the water table of adjacent communities, Highlands Ranch essentially has a finite amount of time until its water supplies drop to a very low level (it does have some claim on South Platte River water as well, but only as a secondary source). If I were running Highlands Ranch or other communities in the same boat, I'd straightaway start bidding for farming water rights because these rights are going to get really expensive some day.

[ncrea]

I for one, don't buy into the global warming issue. Since time began,the earth has gone through cycles of warm and cold temperatures. This is nothing new. When the cycle changes, the scientists and politicians will put a new spin on it and cause people to worry all over again for a different reason.

As far as preparing for water needs in the future, I know that the cities of Loveland and Fort Collins are doing their due diligence to build new reservoirs and buy up water to meet future demands. I know that in the past few years when the Denver area has gone through water restrictions, that the Loveland and Fort Collins areas were not as strigent and in some cases, had no water restriction at all. I feel pretty good about this area.

It will get ugly in the future. Water law, with all of its senior and junior water rights that go way back will really be tested. The water managers/attorneys and politicians will have their work cut out for them as they try to retain as much water as they legally can for the state, while lending an empathetic ear to the farmers and our out of state neighbors who want more.

This past summer was a prime example when many wells were ordered shut down, not allowing many farmers to water their crops in eastern Colorado. It's going to be an ongoing battle between the holders of water rights, farmers, cities (instate and out of state), and developers. And we will pay for it, one way or the other.

[rebagirl]

Thank God I'm not the only one who thinks Al Gore is an idiot. And global warming? Give me a break. We all know the picture of the polar bears was enhanced digitally and is a farce.

[sunsprit]

hmm, tfox ... ever heard of a state called Wyoming? It's a headwaters state, too, which is dependent upon it's snowpack and water storage to supply it's needs before shipping out water to adjacent states.

The Rocky Mountain region is still in a severe drought deficiency. There are folks who remember the recent moisture cycles that took place in the 1960's-70's-80's. While Colorado has had some good dumps this season, overall ... the snowpack and moisture levels are still behind historical average or wet season years.

Global warming/cooling has been cyclical for many centuries.

I can recall fishing for yellowtail and albacore just off Point Loma in the 1960's. The warm currents shifted away and those fish didn't make it there for many years. Friends there tell me that this last season was a big deal as the warm current and fish returned in numbers ....

Snow at my Vail house used to fall so fast in the late 1980's that the driveway would be impassable if not plowed every hour or two through a night. Haven't had snowfall like that in years through the drought period now.

And so forth throughout the world. Farming records from New England reveal January's that had warm temps and no snow all the way back to the 1850's.

Greenland used to be farmland when first settled ....

The Front Range is a high altitude desert. Water has never been abundant, and now it's needed for domestic use rather than farming .... which has caused much of the current controversy over water rights/allocations in Colorado. It doesn't help that Colorado allows water to be sold as a commodity, so a lot of farmland has been sold to capture the water rights ... which get sold to the highest bidder, even possibly out of state.

[looking4home]

Very smart comments on here, I must say. Who will eventually expose the lie that is Global Warming? unfortunately, there is money to be made in alternative energy sources, so now everyone's on the bandwagon.

Of course the weather has changed! What idiot would think otherwise? It is the ultimate in human hubris and conceit to think a couple hundred years of pollution from fossil fuel could alter the earth's weather patterns to such a catastophic extent. Having said that, fossil fuels are finite and for that reason alone, we should explore every other avenue available to create sustainable energy resources. But forget it, Baby Boomer/Me Generation - don't give us any more of your end-of-the-world scenarios. After all, by your predictions, we should all either be dead from a nuclear holocaust, or catatonic zombies living in a perpetual nuclear winter.

[tfox]

Originally Posted by sunsprit

hmm, tfox ... ever heard of a state called Wyoming? It's a headwaters state, too, which is dependent upon it's snowpack and water storage to supply it's needs before shipping out water to adjacent states.

Sunspirit, you are correct that Wyoming is a headwaters state much like Colorado, however the North Platte Rises in Colorado and flows through Jackson County, Colorado into Wyoming.

[ElkHunter]

Originally Posted by tfox

Sunspirit, you are correct that Wyoming is a headwaters state much like Colorado, however the North Platte Rises in Colorado and flows through Jackson County, Colorado into Wyoming.

Are you sure? I was always taught that the South Platte Originates in Colorado and the North Platte originates out of Wyoming. Then they come together in North Platte Nebraska along with the Loup River and form what is called "The Platte river".

Now I have to dig out my maps and start looking. haha You got my curiosity up.