What's Happening on the Colorado River?
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From Western Resouce Advocates:
In 2022, the water levels in Lake Powell dropped so low that experts worried the Colorado River wouldn’t be able to flow past Glen Canyon dam. This situation is called deadpool, and it’s one of many concerns surrounding a drier and hotter Colorado River.
The current guidelines managing the water in the river expire in 2026 – leaving the door open to create long-term solutions that support both the river's overall health and our growing communities' needs in the face of climate change.
"There's so much uncertainty with what's going to happen in the future with this river. We have to be flexible in responding to changing conditions."
- John Berggren, PhD., Regional Policy Manager
Right now, the seven Colorado River Basin States are talking about these guidelines, but they haven’t made much progress. We had a conversation with one of WRA’s experts on the Colorado River – John Berggren. John has been deeply involved in the work to create new guidelines.
He gives us a quick update about the state of our snowpack in the West, where negotiations on the river stand, and what we need to see in the future to sustain a healthy Colorado River. Learn more at Western Resource Advocates and listedn to the podcast -Two-Degrees Out West - On how the negotaitions on the Colorado river are going.