{"id":8710050,"date":"2023-01-09T11:09:35","date_gmt":"2023-01-09T19:09:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/?p=8710050&preview=true&preview_id=8710050"},"modified":"2023-01-09T11:59:18","modified_gmt":"2023-01-09T19:59:18","slug":"colorado-river-water-cuts-crisis-solutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/2023\/01\/09\/colorado-river-water-cuts-crisis-solutions\/","title":{"rendered":"Can the West save the Colorado River before it\u2019s too late? Here are 8 possible solutions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Conditions on the drying Colorado River are worsening faster than expected<\/a>. States can\u2019t agree on how to divide water cuts.<\/a>\u00a0Native American officials say they\u2019re still largely shut out from the bargaining table and murmurs of a dystopian \u201cwater war<\/a>\u201d scenario now punctuate the conversations.<\/p>\n

The crisis is over a century in the making<\/a> and water experts have been ringing alarm bells for decades. Now government officials have weeks or months, not years, to find ways to save massive amounts of water<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At risk are the country\u2019s two largest reservoirs \u2014 lakes Powell and Mead<\/a> \u2014 both of which are losing water<\/a>. Levels could drop so low this year that Glen Canyon and Hoover dams would no longer be able to generate electricity for millions of people. By the end of next year<\/a>, Powell\u2019s water level could fall so low that its dam will only be able to send smaller quantities of water downstream to Arizona, California and Nevada.<\/p>\n

Federal officials need the seven states in the Colorado River Basin to save at least 2 million acre-feet but water managers now acknowledge that number might need to be three times higher<\/a>, enough to bury the entire state of Rhode Island<\/a> under more than seven feet of water.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s just so the basin can survive long enough to plan for the years ahead. Nobody wants to be the one responsible for turning down \u2014 or off \u2014 taps to farmers, ranchers, companies or even major cities.<\/p>\n