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For Thai Fishers Facing Dwindling Catches, A Lao Dam Looms Large
June 11th, 2022
Via Mongabay, a report on the impact that a Laos dam will have upon Thai fishing communities: Laos plans to build a $2 billion, 684-megawatt dam on the Mekong River, just 2 kilometers (1.25 miles) from the Thai border. The proposed Sanakham dam is the latest in a cascade of more than a dozen dams […]
Read more »Water Cuts Coming For U.S. West
June 11th, 2022
Via Pew Charitable Trust, a look at the impact of drought in the U.S. west: If Californians don’t change the way they consume water, officials are warning, sweeping, statewide mandatory cuts may be unavoidable. Three years into a severe drought and with water supplies plummeting, lush green lawns and the careless use of drinking water […]
Read more »What Happens If Glen Canyon Dam’s Power Shuts Off?
June 7th, 2022
Courtesy of Circle of Blue, commentary on the impact of Lake Powell drying behind one of the Southwest’s largest hydropower plants: Glen Canyon Dam is operating at 60 percent of its hydroelectric capacity. Hydropower generation will likely shut down when Lake Powell’s elevation drops below 3,490 feet. Currently the lake is at 3,534 feet. Besides the […]
Read more »As California’s Big Cities Fail To Rein In Water Use, Rural Communities Are Already Tapped Out
June 6th, 2022
Via CNN, an article on how – as California’s big cities fail to rein in their water use – rural communities are already tapped out: Gary Briggs’ family hasn’t had water coming out of their private well for over a decade, after a multi-year drought and overpumping by agriculture and industry. Now, the eight-acre farm in West […]
Read more »Drought-Stricken US Warned of Looming ‘Dead Pool’
June 6th, 2022
Via BBC, an article on the risk that Lake Mead will fall to such a low level that Hoover Dam may cease to function: A once-in-a-lifetime drought in the western part of the US is turning up dead bodies – but that’s the least of people’s worries. Sitting on the Arizona-Nevada border near Las Vegas, […]
Read more »With Severe Drought, Urgent Need To Rework Colorado River Compact
May 20th, 2022
Via the LA Times, an article on the need to rework the Colorado River compact: One hundred years after a landmark agreement divided the waters of the Colorado River among Western states, the pact is now showing its age as a hotter and drier climate has shrunk the river. The flow of the Colorado has […]
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