Why isn't Colorado's snowpack ending up in the Colorado River?
Recent University of Washington research reveals that lack of spring rainfall significantly reduces Colorado's snowpack streamflow, with warmer springs causing plants to consume more snowmelt, impacting water management strategies.
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Recent research from the University of Washington has identified a significant factor contributing to the discrepancy between predicted and actual streamflow from Colorado's snowpack: a lack of spring rainfall. Since 2000, water managers have struggled to accurately forecast water availability from the snowpack, with actual streamflow consistently falling short of predictions. The study indicates that warmer and drier springs account for nearly 70% of this issue. With reduced rainfall, plants increasingly rely on snowmelt for water, which diminishes the amount flowing into streams. The researchers found that only about 10% of the missing water was lost through sublimation, suggesting that the main issue lies in plant consumption of snowmelt due to the absence of spring precipitation. The study analyzed 26 headwater basins and revealed that lower elevation basins experienced more pronounced streamflow deficits, as snow there melts earlier, allowing plants more time to absorb the water. The findings emphasize the need for improved predictions of spring rainfall to enhance water management strategies, especially as the ongoing Millennium drought continues to impact water resources in the region.
- Lack of spring rainfall is a major factor in reduced streamflow from Colorado's snowpack.
- Warmer, drier springs account for nearly 70% of the discrepancy between predicted and actual water availability.
- Plants increasingly consume snowmelt due to reduced rainfall, leading to lower streamflow.
- Lower elevation basins show more significant deficits in streamflow due to earlier snowmelt.
- Improved predictions of spring rainfall are essential for effective water management in the region.
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9 commentsOne thing to keep in mind is that most estimates place human consumption of water at below 20% - a ton of the water of the basin goes to agriculture. To be clear, I think this makes sense - with added water regions in the basin can be some of the most productive ag regions in the country.
The big problem is policy has not adapted to scarcity. There are real tradeoffs when we have 30% less water than forecast and it's not clear who should suffer them.
I think there is often a misconception that this area is somehow "too hot" to live in. Since the advent of air conditioning, we have moved past this. Generally speaking similarly sized homes in Boston will consume more energy for HVAC than Phoenix will simply because heating homes in cold winters is often more energy intensive than cooling in the summer.
Water usage in the colorado basin: https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/article/meat-of-the-matter-col...
> Settlements in the region depend on groundwater. In the 1960s the City of Albuquerque began to extract large quantities of potable groundwater from wells drilled in the southeast and northeast heights. It was thought that this water came from a huge aquifer that would take centuries to exhaust. In the late 1980s there were declines in the water levels near Coronado Center causing concern that the water resource was not properly understood
[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albuquerque_Basin
Whoopsie!
The RG AFAIK is also supplied by primary Colorado mountain sources, but also from various other smaller mountain and rainfall feeds. I get that the Colorado River is the big kahuna. Id would love to see the RG at least casually discussed in these bigger sw water discussions.
Logical next step: remove the vegetation for more human population!
These don't seem like observations that require laboratories and massive studies to me.
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