Lake Mead drops to lowest level in history

[tabasco]

Source: WGRZ

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — The nation’s largest reservoir has broken a record, declining to the lowest level since it was filled in the 1930s.

Lake Mead reached the all-time low Wednesday night, slipping below a previous record set in June 2015.

The downward march of the reservoir near Las Vegas reflects enormous strains on the over-allocated Colorado River. Its flows have decreased during 16 years of drought, and climate change is adding to the stresses on the river.

As the levels of Lake Mead continue to fall, the odds are increasing for the federal government to declare a shortage in 2018, a step that would trigger cutbacks in the amounts flowing from the reservoir to Arizona and Nevada. With that threshold looming, political pressures are building for California, Arizona and Nevada to reach an agreement to share in the cutbacks to avert an even more severe shortage.

Read more: http://www.wgrz.com/news/nation-now/lake-mead-declines-to-lowest-level-in-history/205330465

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16 years of drought.

[Fairgo]

1. For now

New record will be set tomorrow.

[procon]

2. There's an enormous amount of water waste in desert communities.

All around me there are HOAs demanding lush green lawns, golf courses, orchards, even sod farms, and the cities keep sucking the water out of the ground like it won't ever end.

[Warpy]

5. Some golf courses here in NM have switched to artificial turf on fairways

and most green lawns bit the dust 20 years ago except for small patches here and there at malls and corporate office buildings.

Water restrictions are in place even in wetter years but this state has been in drought for over 20 years now.

Most people are very conscious of water waste because it's reflected in high water bills.

[Dont call me Shirley]

37. Rio Rancho's water bills are higher than Flint, MI. $78 a month for a single senior living alone.

$145 mo for family of 3.

[Warpy]

38. I'm a water miser

having lived in a place where the military polluted the town wells and I needed a water service for cooking/drinking water. I have gone over the bare minimum here only once, when the water line to the house sprung a leak. I did get the water turned off quickly enough that I wasn't funding the entire department that month.

The real water suckers seem to be dishwashers and mine is at the end of my arms.

[Dont call me Shirley]

40. I'm a water miser too. Going to do gutters and rain barrels soon for the vegetable garden. All

the other landscaping (xeriscaping) is on a "fend for yourself" condition.

[Duval]

6. I've seen the pictures!

How those guys can look themselves in the mirror without throwing up is beyond me.

[lunatica]

33. This is one reason Gov. Brown is making drought measures a permanent law

http://laist.com/2016/05/09/troubledwater.php

"Brown first declared a water-related state of emergency in January 2014, and ordered the state's first mandatory water cut for metropolitan areas in April 2015. Today's executive order will make the temporary water-saving measures currently in place permanent. These include not hosing off sidewalks, driveways and other hardscapes, washing automobiles with hoses not equipped with a shut-off nozzle, and watering lawns in a manner that causes runoff, according to the Governor's office."

[procon]

34. These measures are aimed at residential users, and many are cutting back voluntarily,

but the largest waste and misuse comes from commercial, industrial and agricultural users. Until the water restrictions forces them to change their ways, the residential water savings is just a drop in the bucket.

[lunatica]

39. I'm willing to bet Gov Jerry Brown will address these issues

[EL34x4]

45. 4 gallons of water to grow an almond

They grow a lot of almonds in the California desert, consuming a stunning 1.1 trillion gallons of water every single year.

Probably other climates exist that are more suitable to almond growing but California is doing it.

[Ford_Prefect]

3. How much did Nestle bottle and send away?

And the others? How much no longer flows into the aquifers and lakes because it was trucked away?

[Enthusiast]

10. I wondered the same.

[Baobab]

29. Bottled water is nothing compared to other things. Dont waste your energy thinking about it

If you worry - worry about endocrine disrupting chemicals from the plastic bottles..

[Duval]

4. Another sign we all need to conserve as much as possible.

[Quixote1818]

7. This was a wet winter for the Rockies so this is really bad news!

If it's dropping even after wet winters what is it going to do during dry ones?

See here: http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/webmap/index.html#elements=&networks=!&states=!&counties=!&hucs=&minElevation=&maxElevation=&elementSelectType=all&activeOnly=true&hucLabels=false&stationLabels=&overlays=&hucOverlays=&mode=data&openSections=dataElement,parameter,date,elements,location,networks&controlsOpen=true&popup=&base=esriNgwm&lat=39.98&lon=-98.96&zoom=4&dataElement=WTEQ&parameter=PCTMED&frequency=DAILY&duration=I&customDuration=&dayPart=E&year=2016&month=5&day=20&monthPart=E

All that blue in Colorado is an above average snowpack.

[safeinOhio]

8. Was over to Lake Michigan yesterday

Water was way up from the last few years. Brown trout were bitting and I'll be eating some in another 15 minutes.

[Enthusiast]

12. You could at least tell us what tackle/line you were using and what bait they hit. Jeez.

And what river while you're at it.

[safeinOhio]

19. Maple

Spinners and crawlers with 6lb test.

[safeinOhio]

20. I've moved back

To Michigan for the fishing.

[Enthusiast]

24. Great fishing in Michigan. I would like to visit Lake St. Clair for the battling smallmouth.

[safeinOhio]

31. The Islands in Ohio water of Erie

are suppose to be the best. I'm going to try for them up off the thumb later this year. This coming week I'm going to look for the big gills on the beds. Never found any spawn beds on the reservoirs in Ohio.

[Enthusiast]

32. Buckeye Lake was the lake for bluegills. Unfortunately they have lowered the water level

because the dam is unsafe. The gills were thick and beautiful hard fighters.

[safeinOhio]

35. I think they taste better

Than perch and sure fight more. Saginaw bay is loaded with walleyes they raised the limit from 5 to 8 in the bay. My 14 ft boat is a little small for that.

[Enthusiast]

41. I'm a little afraid of Saginaw Bay because of the expanse of shallow water and the old pilings.

They claim the fishing is excellent. I have a 14 foot Lund but only a ten HP motor so it is too slow for that sort of water. I need a twenty HP motor.

[safeinOhio]

42. Sounds like me, 14 ft SmokerCraft Alaskan/9.9

I've been out on Erie 3 or 4 miles on a nice day. Only problem was the big boats buzzing me.

Ever want to take a few days and head north, PM me. We could get a half or whole day charter on the bay for either walleye or smallies. Or go north for trout.

I'm retired and have the time. Can put you up for a few days.

[Enthusiast]

44. Man that sounds great! Thanks so much for the offer.

I have a number of physical issues that prevent me from traveling now.

We used to vacation in Michigan when I was a kid, I'm 63 now. Last time was in the 1990s when we fished Tawas Bay and caught some nice Northern and Walleye. We went to Ontario a number of times too. I have bad hips, back, knee, neck, arms—you name it. Sucks! As a matter of fact I haven't been in the boat all year! I fished twice from the bank at local lakes. Now I'm down to the bluegill and channel cat spawns to get in on. I sit around thinking about fishing, lol.

[mnhtnbb]

9. It's raining--again--here in NC.

There are trade-offs. I lived in California from 1965-1988 and would never go back. The water situation is going to be a long term problem.

We had dry weather/drought several years ago here in NC, but the situation has corrected. When I was looking up historical hurricane paths, guess
where has had the most hits? North Carolina.

Water is not the problem here: ignorant, gun-toting evangelical bigots, however, are prevalent.

[Ford_Prefect]

13. You must be living in Raleigh near the Legislature.

Or maybe Charlotte...

[mnhtnbb]

21. Chapel Hill.

[Ford_Prefect]

22. Durham, then Carrboro and Efland.

NC since 1981. Started in Raleigh and moved gradually ever westward away from the big noise.

[lordsummerisle]

15. Hurricanes are a steep price to pay

for plentiful water. I'll go with occasional droughts and less extreme weather...

[DrBulldog]

11. Meanwhile, China is solving its drought problem, unlike the U.S. sitting on its a$$.

China is building huge underground viaducts from the very wet south China to the very dry North China. It will be ready around 2020.

[Ford_Prefect]

14. Beats what Nestle has done here. They still use trucks.

[Baobab]

17. How are they going to pump the water energy wise?

?

[Baobab]

16. Not long before "history" rainfall was so low that trees grew on the beds of many High Sierra lakes!

They didn't know that until fairly recently. Those trees - some quite tall, are still down there. They have been sitting on the bottoms of these lakes in many cases for >1000 years.

So the level of historical variability in precipitation is substantial and sometimes droughts last hundreds of years. We may be in a wet period. It could get a lot drier.

[tabasco]

27. Here's a link to the study.

http://www.landandwaterusa.com/Letters_GN/2013SoundOff/2-18KleppeBrothersetal11-Sep21-Duration%20SeverityofMWP-LakeTahoeBasin.pdf

It actually only involves one lake in the Sierras. But it does indicate the possibility of mega-droughts in medieval times and before.

All the more reason to reduce the causes of man-made climate change, which is a fact.

[Baobab]

28. We cannot let them export our natural gas "until its gone" as Hillary wants to.

Thats insanity. We may need it to send water long distances. Solar just wont cut it for that.

Otherwise we could end up with huge abandoned cities all through the Southwest like time capsules to our greed and ignorance.

[tabasco]

30. At some point, we must concede to nature.

New Orleans is another example. We spend billions every year keeping the Miss. River flowing through N.O., when it wants to go down the Atchafalaya. Eventually, the river will win. But long-term national planning is not possible when we have a powerful political party that denies science and declares "who cares, we'll be dead."

[NWCorona]

18. Crazy stuff

[Brother Joe Observes]

23. Kick

This really needs as much attention as it can get!

[greatlaurel]

25. This is a very serious problem and needs national attention.

Water use in the desert Southwest needs a thorough and very difficult evaluation. Real estate agents, land developers and big agriculture need to be told no more. Agriculture uses the most water in California. Growing vegetables and citrus for the parts of the country that need fresh fruits and vegetables is important. Raising alfalfa hay to export to Saudi Arabia and China with irrigated water should be stopped. The West can no longer afford such ridiculously wasteful practices.

The continued development of cities in the desert Southwest can not be sustained, as there is no water for these cities. The ancient aquifers are being pumped dry, too.

[tabasco]

36. Long-term planning is impossible in the idiocracy of the U.S.

Anti-science, imbecile republicans do not care about future generations.

"We'll all be dead." --- George W. Bush

http://www.opednews.com/lower042904_dead.htm

[CanSocDem]

43. Absolutely right.

Back when I was part of the problem, it still bothered me that so much water and other resources were used to grow LETTUCE to ship to the east coast in the winter.

There is zero nutrition in lettuce. And anyone in North America can grow a healthy tomato plant, yet millions are spent shipping them back and forth across the country.

WATER should be 'the canary in the coal mine'.

.

[dembotoz]

26. so when does climate change turn into climate changeD

i dunno

we keep on talking like the changes are a temporary thing.

perhaps life can not exist as it has and it is time to figure that out.

in africa the sahara keeps getting larger, why not here