New study shows huge groundwater losses along Colorado River

The region, which includes seven western states, has lost 27.8 million acres-pounds of groundwater since 2003. That is approximately the volume of Lake Mead, the largest deposit in the nation.

The findings add a layer of complication for the red river already stressed. As the demand for their water supply, more users can be resorting to the adjustment of groundwater, which is less regulated than river water and streams on the ground.

The majority of water conservation work through the Colorado River Basin has focused on the cuts for the use of surface water. Some experts in the river say the approach should be broader.

Brian Richter analyzes the policy and science of water as president of sustainable water. He was not the author of the study, but says that his findings show the need for a “holistic perspective” on the water management of the leaders of the regions.

“It suggests that we have to be more aggressive and more urgent in our reduction in our general water consumption,” he said.

The study found that groundwater losses in the Colorado River Basin were 2.4 times larger than the amount of water lost from the Powell Lake surfaces, Lake Mead and a series of other smaller deposits that store water from the Colorado River. The study highlights the use of huge water of agriculture in the Colorado River Basin and said that the industry could some of the biggest consequences if the region continues to leave limited water supplies.

Most of the losses occurred in the states of the lower basin of the Arizona, California and Nevada river. The study says that the “Active Management Areas” of Arizona, which the State established to regulate the abstinence of groundwater, may have helped delay exhaustion.

Kathleen Ferris, an architect or Arizona’s groundwater laws, said that much more work is needed to protect groundwater.

“We are not on their way,” said Ferris, who did not participate in the study. “We are very aggression of the eight ball, and I am really sad that nothing to do. We should have bones thinking about this problem 25 years ago.”

Ferris is now a senior research member at the Kyl Water Policy Center of the Arizona State University.

As experts ask for more robust groundwater management policies, Richter said that this study presents a small silver coating: scientists are producing better data than ever, giving political leaders a better idea of ​​water problems in the region.

“From a public policy point of view, this is bad news,” he said. “This tells us that it is worse than we thought, because now we understand what is also happening underground. From a scientific perspective, this child study is good news, because it says that we are now attenable or experienced that we are in the system or experiencing that we are establishing or experiencing that we are in the Colorado River system.”

This story is part of the current coverage of Water in the West, produced by Kunc in Colorado and supported by the Walton Family Foundation. Kunc is solely responsible for its editorial coverage.