‘Killing The Colorado’ on Discovery Channel

[HTSS_TR]

Quote:
‘Killing The Colorado’ Exclusive Clip: A Hard Look At The Man-Made Water Shortage That Threatens The American West

The upcoming documentary “Killing The Colorado” examines the man-made water crisis that’s affecting the American West. At one point, water was an abundant necessity, and now it’s a scarce and complex commodity. Though many efforts have been taken to curb excessive water use in the West, it’s not clear shorter showers and ripping out lawns will make any discernible difference. While recent drought conditions have diminished the once-mighty Colorado River — the source of the vast majority of the West’s water — experts are now wondering whether the most severe shortages have been caused not by weather or consumer choices but by short-sighted policies and poor planning. Did we cause this crisis, and can we find a way to fix it?


http://www.indiewire.com/2016/07/killing...nel-1201706974/

So Cal is in the 5th year of drought. Last raining season No Cal had some good rain because of El Nino, but we didn't much rain in So Cal. We had less than 4-5" of rain a year for 5 years in a row.

This is Los Angeles river for about 350 days a year.

 

[user52165]

"Colorado River — the source of the vast majority of the West’s water"

Not true. Not even close.

 

[OilyWaterMIXER]

Originally Posted By: user52165
"Colorado River — the source of the vast majority of the West’s water"

Not true. Not even close.


The thing is, people like me would not know that. In today's age, if its on the Internet, it just has to be true.

 

[CT8]

Usually the mainstream media is agenda driven, can not be trusted to even come close to being fair and Balanced. Faux news is full of lies despite their claim. the western U.S has been on a 300+ year drought cycle. Tree ring studies show the weather cycles.

 

[Lyman]

It's all a bunch of [censored]. Driving out the 8E to Yuma shows me huge canals full of water flowing into Mexico.

 

[Number_35]

I saw the title of this thread in 'Recent Topics' and, typically for me, over-thought it and anticipated this being a TV show about driving a mid-sized Chevy truck on bad roads. Or perhaps using 0W-20 oil.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: user52165
"Colorado River — the source of the vast majority of the West’s water"

Not true. Not even close.


Quote:
Known for its dramatic canyons and whitewater rapids, the Colorado is a vital source of water for agricultural and urban areas in much of the southwestern desert lands of North America.[6] The river and its tributaries are controlled by an extensive system of dams, reservoirs, and aqueducts, which in most years divert its entire flow to furnish irrigation and municipal water supply for almost 40 million people both inside and outside the watershed.[7][8] The Colorado's large flow and steep gradient are used for generating hydroelectric power, and its major dams regulate peaking power demands in much of the Intermountain West. This intensive consumption has dried up the lower 100 miles (160 km) of the river, such that it has reached the sea only a few times since the 1960s


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_River


Originally Posted By: Blkstanger
It's all a bunch of [censored]. Driving out the 8E to Yuma shows me huge canals full of water flowing into Mexico.


We have a water treaty with Mexico about Colorado river.

Quote:
An amendment to a standing water treaty between the United States and Mexico has received publicity over the past six months as an example of progress in water sharing agreements. But the amendment, called Minute 319, is simply a glimpse into ongoing mismanagement of the Colorado River on the U.S. side of the border.

In 1922, the seven U.S. states in the Colorado River Basin established a compact to distribute the resources of the river. A border between the Upper and Lower basins was defined at Lees Ferry, Ariz. The Upper Basin (Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico) was allocated 9.25 billion cubic meters a year, and the Lower Basin (Arizona, California and Nevada) was allotted 10.45 billion cubic meters. Mexico was allowed an unspecified amount, which in 1944 was defined as 1.85 billion cubic meters a year.


https://www.stratfor.com/analysis/us-mexico-decline-colorado-river

 

[3800Series]

Wasn't agriculture that the land could not support a large part to blame for the water crysis?

 

[MNgopher]

Although getting to be a little out of date, an excellent primer on the how we got to where we are is the book Cadillac Desert.

And being the source of water for 40 million people in one way, shape, or form certainly makes it a major player in the discussion about water in the west.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: 3800Series
Wasn't agriculture that the land could not support a large part to blame for the water crisis?

California produces 46% of national fruit and nut. This needs a lot of water. That is why why we are called the earth quake and nut state.

 

[BrocLuno]

Calif also runs THE Largest Water System in the world - the Central Valley Project and Cal-Fed. But no matter how much water we move around, it all has to start as snow or rain, and that has not been happening at anywhere near the rate of the pre-1980's ...

Calif is projected to house over 50M people by 2050 and still be one of the biggest Ag states in the union. So how are they going to do it?????????

I live in a flood plain with two wells (domestic & irrigation). But I have no idea how others will get by ...........

 

[skyactiv]

I thought I read about desalination plants being constructed in California.

 

[UncleDave]

What does the LA River have to do with the Colorado River from a water system perspective?




UD

 

[Vern_in_IL]

We are not in a drought, there is the same amount of water here as always, but people wanted to move into deserts..... So now water is stretched thinner.

 

[BTW]

I lived in so cal for 10 years, I always thought it was weird to have so many golf courses in a desert...

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: UncleDave
What does the LA River have to do with the Colorado River from a water system perspective?

UD

I just showed how dry we are. The LA river only have water running in it for few days a year.

Where are you in CA ? Did you have good rain last winter ? When was your last day of rain ? Mine was about 3 months ago and don't expect any until November.

One advantage of no rain from April till November is I can remove the wiper blades from my cars.

 

[user52165]

Originally Posted By: BrocLuno
Calif also runs THE Largest Water System in the world - the Central Valley Project and Cal-Fed. But no matter how much water we move around, it all has to start as snow or rain, and that has not been happening at anywhere near the rate of the pre-1980's ...

Calif is projected to house over 50M people by 2050 and still be one of the biggest Ag states in the union. So how are they going to do it?????????

I live in a flood plain with two wells (domestic & irrigation). But I have no idea how others will get by ...........


This is the only good post so far. The Wikipedia figure of 40 million is misleading and incomplete. The CR only provides a SMALL PORTION of the water used in SoCal. Most comes from the sources listed above from the Cascades, Sierra Nevada, Pacific Northwest, etc. And it's not people that use most water - it's agriculture - about 80%. And The West is much more than the west coast.

Not saying the CR is not important - it is a significant part of the water system. But it is FAR from being the major player.

Too bad Jerry Brown does not have the foresight of his father - Gov. Pat Brown, who built many major water projects. Instead, we get the bullet train............... from/to nowhere.

 

[splinter]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
California produces 46% of national fruit and nut...

My friends and acquaintances in other states and countries believe our percentage of fruits and nuts is actually far higher.

 

[John_Conrad]

it's not likely to get any better with growing population in the area and as the agriculture tries to feed the growing world population.

we should have already begun a pipeline from the missouri river to the somewhere on the colorado river.

 

[MNgopher]

Regarding the Missouri River idea, that's great except for this little thing called gravity. Its been talked about and proposed except it becomes very hard to overcome the costs of transporting water uphill substantial distances.

A better question would be why do we insist on growing in places that don't have enough water to support it without massive diversion type projects? Food for thought...

And as to user52165, the 40 million people figure is misleading only if you base your premise on this only being about California, or even more specifically Southern California. The Colorado is important to much of the west - like Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado, etc... Not just Southern Cal...