Page 72 - Upper Basin News Today

The first weeks of 2023 will be crucial for Southwest U.S. states and water entities to agree how to use less water from the drought-stricken and fast-shrinking Colorado River, a top federal water manager said Friday.

Key questions resurfaced at a conference of Colorado River water administrators and users from seven U.S. states.

Discussions focused on conservation to keep reservoir levels up

Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico this week revived a program aimed at keeping water in the dwindling Colorado River by paying users who take conservation measures.

More questions than answers are surfacing at a conference in Las Vegas about what to do about projected shortages of Colorado River water relied upon by seven U.S. states, Native American tribes and Mexico. Some include: Who will bear the brunt of more water supply cuts, and how quickly? What target goals need to be met for voluntary cutbacks before the federal government steps in? What about controlling water evaporation from reservoirs and canals? Officials said Thursday during the Colorado Ri...

The Upper Colorado River Commission – comprised of Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico – is set to announce details of an extended “System Conservation Pilot Program” through which water users could be paid to cut back on their use.

Water is our lifeblood as humans, needed to sustain life, livestock, and livelihoods. So the news that the prediction that the Colorado River flows

Civil rights advocates have filed a lawsuit against the New Mexico Corrections Department seeking to ensure access for prison inmates to medication that reduces opioid withdrawal symptoms or cravings.

Deadlines about what to do are fast approaching

Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico unveiled the System Pilot Conservation Program, which would pay users in the Colorado River Basin to conserve water. Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the country’s largest reservoirs, are at historically low levels.