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This Arizona Aquifer Is Draining Faster Than All But 2 In U.S.
February 23rd, 2024
Via Tuscon.com, an article on the Gila Bend groundwater basin’s rapid decline: The Gila Bend groundwater basin about 125 miles northwest of Tucson has one of the fastest-falling aquifers known on the planet, a new study shows. The aquifer in the Gila Bend Basin — where pumping isn’t regulated — fell faster from 2000 through 2020 than […]
Read more »Dozens of Colorado Farmers, Ranchers and One City offer to Cut Colorado River Water Use for $8.7M
February 15th, 2024
Via Colorado Sun, a look at a Colorado River conservation program which aims to keep water in the river system as years of prolonged drought and overuse have threatened the water supply for millions of people by paying cash to those who reduce their water use: Coloradans gunning to join this year’s effort to save […]
Read more »Colorado River Rescue Plan: North vs. South in the West
February 15th, 2024
Via The Desert Sun, a look at the status of the Colorado River rescue plan: Will seven Western states be able to rapidly craft a voluntary plan to keep the Colorado River afloat for decades to come? It’s increasingly unclear, as negotiations have foundered between two sides, according to key players. There are sharp differences […]
Read more »With Climate Change, Colorado River Officials Peer Into Muddy Future
February 12th, 2024
Via the Washington Post, a report on efforts to use innovative, web-based tools to predict the Colorado River’s future flows: To ensure that the Colorado River can remain a lifeline for 40 million people, the federal government is looking for answers in the extremes of the distant past and the warnings of a hotter future. In a low-slung […]
Read more »Romancing the River: The Appropriation Doctrine – and Its Appropriation
February 10th, 2024
Via Sibley’s Rivers, commentary on the Colorado River Compact and the appropriation doctrine: ‘The single biggest roadblock to solving the problem of stabilizing the river is the priority system.’ – Tom Buschatzke, Director of Arizona’s ? Department of Water Resource Last post, I laid out some reasons why the water mavens now engaged in mapping […]
Read more »Aridity Could Dry Up Southwestern Mine Proposals
January 23rd, 2024
Via Inside Climate News, a look at how – while critical minerals for the clean energy transition are abundant in the Southwest – dozens of mines proposed to access them will require vast sums of water, something in short supply in the desert: One by one, leaders from across Arizona gave speeches touting the importance […]
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