drought - western u.s.

what are the current drought records?

• ½ U.S. population lives in an area designated as being a drought
• The nation's largest reservoir, Lake Mead, is almost to its lowest level since it was first
filled in the 1930s.
• Driest couple of years in Southwestern states since 1895

details about lake mead?

a. Largest reservoir in the United States
b. Part of a system that supplies water to at least 40 million people
c. Present: 35 percent of its capacity
d. Just a few miles from Las Vegas Strip
e. Hoover Dam, 1935
f. Source of Water

• Colorado River

• 10% from local precipitation and groundwater

• 90% snowmelt in the Rocky Mountains

*what are lake meads sources of water?

• Colorado River

• 10% from local precipitation and groundwater

• 90% snowmelt in the Rocky Mountains

Snow/ice melts and flows down to rivers, traveling through Lake Powell, Glen Canyon, and the Grand Canyon

who manages lake mead?

a. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
i. Manages Lake Mead, Lake Powell, and other portions of the Colorado River watershed
ii. Managed to provide water to millions of people
iii. Nation's largest wholesale water supplier
iv. Operating over 300 reservoirs in U.S.

what’s happening to the colorado river?

a. Watershed covers seven states (Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, arizona, nevada, california, and New Mexico in the upper basin) and northern Mexico
b. The river has been overallocated for a century, leading to significant depletion.
c. Major reservoirs like Lake Mead and Lake Powell are approaching "dead pool" status, where the water levels are so low that water cannot pass through the dams.

to fix: would require about a 25% cut in water usage

why?: Compacts (1922) were not written to accommodate water shortages

how much of the water in the colorado river do the indians own?

a. 29 Indian Tribes
b. Indian Tribes together hold rights to about 20% of the water

what is the ten tribes partnership?

• The Ten Tribes Partnership is a coalition of Upper and Lower Basin Tribes that have come together to claim their seat at the table and raise their voices in the management of the Colorado River as water challenges persist.

• Formed in 1992, the goal of the Ten Tribes Partnership is to increase the influence of tribes in Colorado River management and provide support for the protection and use of tribal water resources

why do natives still have a lack of water despite owenership?

d. Oldest irrigation system built by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, dating to 1867, serves tribal land
e. "Closing the Water Access Gap in the United States," shows that more than 2 million Americans live without these conveniences and that Native Americans are more likely to have trouble accessing water than any other group.
f. The groundwater in some areas has been contaminated by the abandoned uranium mines.
g. Unregulated drinking water sources are the greatest public health risk on the Navajo Nation, according to the Environmental Protection Agency
h. Fifty-eight out of every 1,000 Native American households lack plumbing, compared with 3 out of every 1,000 white households.