Another article on Colorado River water distribution issues... (Chama, San Juan: live, rating)

[Mike Horrell]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/28/us/28mead.html

I'm not going to pretend to have any great insight into the complexities of this, but basically
Peter is being robbed to pay Paul... and that is unlikely to be something that can be continued
for very much longer..

"... the operating plan also lays out a proposal to prevent Lake Mead from dropping below the
trigger point. It allows water managers to send 40 percent more water than usual downstream
to Lake Mead from Lake Powell in Utah, the river’s other big reservoir, which now contains
about 50 percent more water than Lake Mead. In that case, the shortage declaration would be
avoided and Lake Mead’s levels restored to 1,100 feet or so.

Lake Powell, fed by rain and snow melt that create the Colorado and tributaries, has risen
more than 60 feet from a 2004 low because the upper basin states, Colorado, New Mexico,
Wyoming and Utah, do not use their full allocations. The upper basin provides a minimum
annual flow of 8.23 million acre feet to Arizona, Nevada and California. (An acre-foot of water is
generally considered the amount two families of four use annually.)"

FWIW

[Ziasforever]

Good point. So why doesn't Colorado and Utah whine about delivering water to thristy Arizona and California the way it and NM cry about giving water to Texas?

[Zoidberg]

Originally Posted by Ziasforever

Good point. So why doesn't Colorado and Utah whine about delivering water to thristy Arizona and California the way it and NM cry about giving water to Texas?

My best guess: different watersheds, different problems.

Most of NM and CO's populated and farming areas are E of the continental divide and are primarily linked up with Texas water supplies. Occasionally there's some cross-connect (San Juan/Chama) but NM's not very dependent on the Gila, San Juan, etc.

It would appear the Rio Grande is stretched far more than the Colorado.