Tipping Point: The #ColoradoRiver Basin: “The Colorado River was overdrawn from the start” – A PBS NewsHour Special #COriver #aridification

Colorado River “Beginnings”. Photo: Brent Gardner-Smith/Aspen Journalism

“We can’t ignore that science any longer” — John Fleck

“If you don’t understand the nature of the problem you’re going to come up with a solution that’s less than adequate” — Brad Udall

From PBS: “The Colorado River runs nearly fifteen hundred miles, winding through seven states and Mexico. It supplies drinking water to nearly 40 million people, irrigates nearly 4 million acres of farmland and attracts millions of nature lovers to scenic Grand Canyon vistas. And it is on the brink. A 20 year mega-drought — exacerbated by climate change — is squeezing the Colorado dry. It’s a crisis for the people of the Southwest and a “canary in the coal mine” for us all.”

Brad Udall: Here’s the latest version of my 4-Panel plot thru Water Year (Oct-Sep) of 2021 of the Colorado River big reservoirs, natural flows, precipitation, and temperature. Data (PRISM) goes back or 1906 (or 1935 for reservoirs.) This updates previous work with
@GreatLakesPeck.
The river is flowing [May 2021]! Observers have not yet confirmed that the freshwater has met the sea, but they think it may with the next high tide. Photo: Jennifer Pitt/Audubon

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