Normally at this time of year, Lake Powell's water level would have risen substantially due to spring runoff. But not this year. ksltv.com/462905/love-hope-wo...
@@stephenburnage7687 because of the archaic way water rights are dealt out, Arizona has the most “Junior” rights and California has the most senior rights. I find a certain irony of CA residents moving to AZ in the middle of a mega drought.
And they also try to use that water source to grow a lot of water hungry crops. We’ve gotten away with making the area do a lot of things that Mother Nature never intended it to do for so long and now that it isn’t working out we try to double down. The entire southwest needs to relearn the lesson of the Salten Sea.
Ironic, John Wesley Powell, who was the first to explore the Grand Canyon, the lake is named for and served as the Director of the US Geological Survey, tried to tell Congress there should be little to no development west of the 100 degree longitude, because there wasn't enough water.
Yet the more boats you would add on the surface would reduce the overall free surface of the water way faster than the water would rise and expand. Better to just let one boat out at a time so they can enjoy maximum open water.
It's in a desert where tree ring records going back over 1,000 years show has repeatedly gone into drought, some lasting over 100 years which wiped out civilizations like the Chaco Canyon Indians. This should surprise no one, yet here we are.
Finally, someone with some sense. I didn’t even know about the tree rings but the first thought I had was, “It’s a f*cking desert. What do you expect?”
@@JoeyKO757 the idea which would give large sums of money, power and control to the government and private corporations? the sea levels been rising for the last 20,000 bud. but if you want to believe the companies and billionaires who caused the problems in the first place then go ahead. these are the same people who's mansions use more electricity in one year then you'll ever use in your life and fly around and own multiple private jets. don't be a serf.
I remember visiting Hoover Dam in 1983 and watching the spillway overflow in action. It was a spectacular site to see. Went back two years ago and was very sad watching the water level drop extremely low. Never in my lifetime I would have experience this event ☹️
It was never intended to be a lake in the first place. They act like the dam was intended to create a lake when Powell was only created to become just a reservoir for the dam itself.
I guess you don't understand Colorado gets 52%, Utah 23% and Wyoming 14% of the Upper Basin water, while California gets 59% of the Lower Basin water. This does not include the 1.5 million acre feet that must continue downriver for use by Mexico. The mostly "desert" states like Arizona get only 37% of the Lower Basin, and Nevada only 4%.
GunBunny You would be hard pushed to find anyone in Europe who envies the US way of life, and even harder pressed to find anyone who would prefer to live there! For most of us, the idea of moving to the states is a nightmare scenario. The delusion amongst Americans that they have it so much better than elsewhere is comical.
Why soes a place have to look really cool to be """sacred""? Why is a smelly, weed infected swamp, or a boring flat plain never sacred? Should have the same chances of being
@@lizardman365 yes it is, the desert southwest was exactly that before all the irrigation and ground water pumping started. Plenty of life in even the driest of deserts
@@noelleonard2498 I keep telling people, you contain and overtax a water source, change the area by population, emissions changing atmosphere composition and you pay for it.
Try blaming the idiots upstream who pull all the water before the southwestern states even get a chance at it! We cant take what isnt there you idiot, it's the jerks upstream of the lake who are preventing it from filling AND have the majority of the water draw allocated to them, Arizona gets almost nothing compared to Wyoming and Utah and other northern states
There's lots of blame to go around, but hands down the largest consumers of Colorado River water by a large margin are alfalfa growers, and by extension, meat eaters. And I'm not moralizing or preaching vegetarianism, it's just a fact.
@@v8stmpr except that's not how fish work. Some fish live inside the top 100ft. That means there all stuck in a much narrower (100ft) pond that they were before...now the fish that swim at 500ft are also in a tighter spot.... Perhaps watch the animal channel.
Yea, thats usually how it goes when monstrous cities and farming in the desert use up more water than is going in. Lots of people have some nice green lawns in the middle of the desert at least. 👍
@@judeodomhnaill9711 Of course. Plus, those are the same idiots that pile into cities forcing urban expansion. Most of them don't even realize temperatures are 5 to 10 degrees cooler outside city limits.
@@xanderz161 yup, the asphalt and cement raises the temperature. Man, I totally forgot that. Very common sense, but overlooked because of the "dire situation".
we have the same issues here in California. They continually state we do not have enough water for the farmers much less the citizens but continue to build and expand urban sprawl. They do not give any thought on how to store water but let it flow into the ocean.
you can't build uncontrollably and think there will always be water when the world is already overpopulated, and we have been in a drought for more than 30 years! People don't pay attention to anything...
@@bestamerica yes states are needed federal government is suppose to guarantee our inalienable rights and provide for the common defense and that's it everything else is pose to be done on a state and local level CA needs to stop stealing the natural resources from other states
It was heartbreaking when they built the Glen Canyon Dam, senselessly flooding 'Cathedral in the Desert' and other treasures, just to prevent Lake Mead and Hoover Dam from silting up. It was only from a public outcry that the same fools were prevented from building a dam which would have flooded Grand Canyon. Thus far they have not prevailed. To see these magnificent natural treasures reduced to cesspools with bathtub rings around them shocks the sensibilities of anyone who appreciates the unrivaled beauty of the desert Southwest.
New mexico.We have a few small reservoirs that are nearly dry. Soon, the crops we raise will be obsolete. Yall boat people can eat dirt after its gone.
Not sure if many will remember this, but the Colorado River used to flow into Mexico. The land all around for hundreds of miles where it flowed into Mexico was rich productive farmland. However with the dam, and our (USA’s) water usage, the Colorado River flowing into Mexico is now a small stream compared to what it used to be. That farmland, it’s a desert now. The USA has always contended “our River, our land, our water,” which I’m not sure is fair to Mexico. If you take water rights and laws in the USA into consideration, Mexico got the short end of the stick.
@@BobABooey. - Yes, but not as far back as you think. Hover Dam was built in the late 1930’s, in the 1950’s the problem became critical, by the 1960’s the area in Mexico where the Colorado river flowed became Un-farmable as there wasn’t enough water, by the 1970’s it was a desert.
Primary water is completely renewable and could refill all lakes, rivers and ponds. Put the pumps along the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Call state and local government officials and ask them why they are not doing this? We do not not have to be hostage to surface water.
@@KLRJUNE did you know theres much water diverted in that distance from this lake? Or what about evaporation? You can't just blame everything on climate change.
One of the prettiest canyons in the world is buried underneath Lake Powell ..I shed no tears when the water goes away. Let the Colorado flow freely forever. Let Glen Canyon return
Before they built the dam, they went to each of the states that the Colorado river went through or touched. In order to sell the project they looked at rainfall records in the watershed area. They didn't have a lot of records, but they grabbed the numbers that jumped out at them. This amount of rainfall over a given area of watershed yielded a fixed volume of water. So, they had to issue water rights so they took this number, and promised or allocated each state a portion. Almost a hundred years later nobody ever thought to recheck the rainfall records and possibly modified allotments. Nobody wanted to see if a mistake was made in the beginning. After all in the western states of America, water is for fighting, whiskey is for drinking. Well rainfall records are much more complete now so a few folks started looking. Turns out before they built the dam, the yearly rainfall they thought was normal wasn't. In fact they used the data from exceptionally wet years. So, since the dam was built, they have been allocating the same number every year. They won't tell you that. But they will blame everything else...especially if they can get more control, money and power.
Primary water is completely renewable and could refill all lakes, rivers and ponds. Put the pumps along the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Call state and local government officials and ask them why they are not doing this? We do not not have to be hostage to surface water.
So…what’s your point? Sounds normal to me. How about all the record building in Arizona going on right now? How can ANY building permit be issued to a water dependent project when there’s not enough to go around already? Crazy….
I remember going to lake Powell my whole childhood and going to sand hill. It's crazy to see this. I remember seeing what the original water lvl was on the walls of the canyons. Can't imagine what it's like now. Very sad.
“About 80% of the Colorado River goes to agriculture, and 14% to California. “ I hadn’t ridden my motorcycle on this particular foothills mega dry stretch of road you wouldn’t want to break down on nothing out there. So yesterday I took that road and saw nothing but almond trees as far as I could see on some of the most dry lava rock littered no ag land you would ever think of planting anything on let alone water guzzling almond trees on friggin mountainsides and the peaks. These aren’t farmers doing this, these are massive corporations buying up the land out here planting more and more almonds and soybean when I can’t remember the last time it rained here. You would think with these forecasting of drought, they would consider reeling back on the almonds but they don’t because of Chinese demand and greed. They have some ground water pumps that can suck so much moisture that it starts drawing off of my well usually when you have the soap in your hair. These entities and folks involved profit until pushback or exposure and their first reaction is to blame the host/consumers. Nothing new under the sun.
Not to mention the impact the whole almond growing/harvesting routine has on the human beings living in the areas with regards to allergies. But sure, the Chinese people need those almonds so plant and shake away greedy corps!
Pass it on, i don't know how. 25 years ago i lived on the edge of the Fl. Everglades and saw builders draining water (you can't build on or own wet lands) any how i put a sign in the water and it said "future dry lands" by development.
What you said is true, you just missed an even more important point. That all that land bought up by those corporations will never be for sale again! That scares me the most! It wont ever change
I remember back in 84, when Lake Powell's water level rose to within 5 feet of over flowing the top of Glenn Canyon Dam and even running the spillways wide open couldn't push it back. We're in a severe draught now, it won;t last, they never do. Luckilly, Glenn Canyon and Hoover dams were designed to store prodigious amounts of water for just such drought conditions and they are proving their metal right now. We could easily go another 7 years of extreme drought before we'd be in real trouble. One good year of extreme snowfall could get us out of this.
The lake water level is projected to drop another 35 feet next year!? Well at least the golf courses will be nice and green until there's no water left in Arizona.
@@jeffvw1994 Most of the Coachella Valley golf courses use a decent amount of "purple water". But yes, there is a fair amount of trans-evaporation from them.
"There would be no water to distribute to the 40 million people who depend on that water..." Lady, there wouldn't be 40 million people to distribute water to in the first place. There is only a drought cause people insist on developing urban areas where is illogical to begin with!
@@wrathmachine7609 Population drops as education and technology increase in a society. China JUST OK'ed 3rd child policy because their population is aging so quickly. The problem is in 3rd world countries where parents use children as retirement benefits. As they develop, their birthrate will drop too.
@@wrathmachine7609 And that discussion will be as much BS as this one is.....All of the world's population can fit into Jacksonville, FL. Could live comfortably in only Florida. But, if you are still around in 2050 you can go first to be killed. Maybe your children and grandkids would line up to go first too?
Yep, blame it on a non existent drought. Annual snow pack that feeds LP has stayed pretty steady over the last few decades. It may sound silly, but desert don’t get much rain. Maybe it’s something crazy like too many people living in deserts.
Primary water is completely renewable and could refill all lakes, rivers and ponds. Put the pumps along the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Call state and local government officials and ask them why they are not doing this? We do not not have to be hostage to surface water.
I live near Lake Powell and can say without a doubt the snow pack has not been anywhere what it needs to be for several years. This past winter being the worst
Annual snow packs that feeds LP as well as other lakes and reservoirs in the southwest have NOT stayed pretty steady over the last few decades, they've actually been declining and our summer monsoons are drying up as well
You must be a full blown idiot, people in the desert live on Wells. You're probably one of those people who lives in an apartment and is re-drinking your own feces water that's been processed through a treatment plant... enjoy sheepman
The amount of fresh water that dumps into the ocean every second out of the Columbia river alone is mind boggling. We're not out of water, we just need to manage what we have better.
I completely agree, they were talking about building some sort of a pipe from Texas to California some time ago for oil and gas, why not do that for water? There are areas that would dramatically benefit from the flood waters the devastate Houston it seems almost yearly, have it funnel the flood waters from the reserviors, lakes, rivers, streams, bayous all the areas that overflow when it floods, drop the levels so when it does flood they do not overflow so quickly which will allow time for it to open and begin pumping the flood waters to the states that need it, that would create jobs, protect homes, save lives, protect animal life, protect wild life, create vegetation in drought areas, the only problem I see is cost but it will pay itself off over time.
@@chuckstith838 You do realize that if the US falls, we fall together, one party will not be spared over the other.....its not reps vs dems, its the have's vs the have nots and none of yall seem to understand that.
@@kittiepride7772 Ever heard of self sufficiency without the government's help? Thats the way it used to be before things like welfare were invented. Im for more personal responsibility in every facet of our lives, especially at the state and local level and LESS big government....this is what the founders envisioned, not the screwed up world we have today.
I'm in Arizona but not for long, headed to Oklahoma where there's plenty, shhhhhh don't tell anyone else or the smart people who put lake Powell will show up in Oklahoma and ruin things there too
@@mypassionrc-studioxd40lous66 congrats on moving! Oklahoma sounds nice, less crowded. Cheaper rents and no water shortages? Sounds like a win to me. Good luck on your journey 😊
Always interesting to listen to people's emotions and opinions about the environment they are in. Then there is reality of nature, it doesn't give a rip about humanity and our petty things and just continues on and on.
@@nocomment1379 you would have to give significant evidence to support your claim that nature cares. Nature has been in existence billions of years before we appeared on this little speck of dust called Earth, to claim we are important in the slightest to nature overall is a bold claim without any evidence to date.
@@nocomment1379 You sound confused and make a big mistake. If the lake were to dry up it is back to where it was for millions of years. Explain to me how it cares please?
@@quercus4730 wrong... read your Bible.. that's why God says he will have to create a new heaven and new earth cause as you can see this earth is TOAST
You would think with water levels as low as they are that states would restrict golf courses from watering their grass, and maybe cease production of almonds. It takes 1900 gallons of water for one pound of almonds. Neither of these measures would ever take effect because business is money and money is king.
That actually is true. When they drew up the Colorado River Compact in 1922, they had not realized that they were measuring the wettest years on the Colorado. They based all projections on that distorted statistics. There is price to pay. Chaco Canyon anyone? Communities flourished there 800 years ago. It is an archaeological site now.
A bunch of Easterners were "temporarily" not Mowing the dang Grass, with that Shitbox Lawnmower, ever again, which led to a permanent settlement or two, in the Desert. Mower Repairman retired, the previous year and sent his favorite old Customers some Peyote, via UPS or "U (need to try this) Peyote. Share."
@@bircruz555 They always knew, they deliberately distorted those statistics. The guy whom the lake is named after warned the government they had to drastically rethink how they were settling and managing land.
Starting to think the desert states would be the obvious first casualties when we pump dramatic amounts of heat trapping gases into our atmosphere. Climate scientists will tell you the same thing: The massive changes in temperatures in the past 800,000 years correlated directly with atmospheric CO2 concentration. Only it's happening at a much more extreme and rapid pace right now because we're pumping fossil fuel carbon into the air on top of already changing levels of co2.
it didn't dry up, it would be just as full as it was at full pool if you morons would actually conserve your water or create a solution to the drought. Without this lake the western side of the U.S. would be in severe poverty
@@blackdogslivesmatter1568 Definitely not permanent. Glen Canyon Dam is built on sand stone not bed rock. The dam was close to failure during the flood in early 80's (could not release enough water fast enough). Im sure The Army Corp of Engineers were scared of potential failure. They were lucky the river stopped flooding. (Not the biggest flood this river has seen) Just my opinion
Watch Life After People if you want to see what happen, it gives a good approximation. It doesn't take long for nature to erase us. If we get too big for our breaches, Mother Nature will flush her toilet.
@@blackdogslivesmatter1568 You're not what I'd call a "thinker" are you? In a few billion years the sun will burn out and destroy the Earth. Eventually the Universe will likely grow completely cold or may even collapse. The only thing around here that seems permanent is your stupidity.
Im from Colorado spent many times at Powell.. this absolutely breaks my heart I live in Kentucky now for the last two years and I wish I could send you the water that we have here to help you there because I don't know what the farmers the ranchers everyone's gonna do there
About 20 years ago I was in LV and the Hoover was literally overflowing. All the gates were open 24-7 and it was still overtopping the dam. That was one second ago in geologic time. This is a natural cycle and there's not anything we can do about it. Glad I saw the lake when it was full.
Diffrence is man's ability to dam, redirect, and to be wasteful. Speeds the natural processes up that would've taken hundreds of thousands of years. Look at the way the northern glaciers have receded more in the last ten years than the entire time man has been keeping track of them.
@@calartian85 If you mean to teach them to understand how democracy works and to be good productive citizens. If you teach them how the earth sustains us and how we must protect it for our own safety, then ok. "Your kids" need others to survive just like mine.
No no. The Colorado river would flood like crazy every year if it wasn't for the dam. Getting electricity from controlling the river is a perk and all sorts of people get to go boating on it.
I'm a boater, jeeper, fisherman, hunter, and pilot. I am also an environmentalist! The female reporter characterized environmentalism as exclusively separate from being a recreation enthusiast as if one can be goth! Her statement was typical of most people's misunderstanding of the idea that someone can be be both.
60,000 palm trees in LA. Not a tree, but a form of grass. Uses huge amounts of water and is not native. Palms need a constant source of water. Same as in Denver. You brought in trees that are not native which require water not provided naturally for their survival.
@@michaelcassady1289 it's definitely beautiful. But again, it was man made to allow more people to move to the area. They changed the natural order. Now the consequences of too much building in areas that shouldn't be built on.... It's a neverending cycle
It was put here to provide irrigation flood control and electricity. ,you dipstick.Are you going to sell your tesla and live with oil lamps and bathe once a year?
@ThoughtCrime You misunderstand, I love in a farm community that supplies 42% of the onions and chili in the US, and 84% of the pecans.Theyve been growing ever since our reservoirs were built in 1912.If you dont like to eat, that suits me.Our cattle need water, too. You like hamburger? It needs water too. If youre set on suicide, its okay, I wont argue with you.
I've always had a soft spot in my heart for lake powell, especially after I found out that it's official christening so to speak was the day I was born.
Imagine feeding half of the world's population on man made food on a planet with constant population growth. Well, that's EXACTLY what we do! Credit to the Haber Bosch process of nitrogen fixing supporting 3.5 BILLION people. We do this all the time. Mankind supports FAR more population with all sorts of "man made" stuff, like modern transportation, agriculture and medicine, just to name a few. Just because we now rely on these things doesn't mean it's stupid or irresponsible.
Almond groves, massive ones, known to be some of the biggest water hogs, growing on the high desert. Golf course communities, new ones being built as fast as they can in Utah, in the desert. Some planning commissions somewhere are very well connected politically.
This is USA of course the vanity of motor boating will be more important to most people than the actual conservation of resources critical for the regions survival.
Primary water is completely renewable and could refill all lakes, rivers and ponds. Put the pumps along the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Call state and local government officials and ask them why they are not doing this? We do not not have to be hostage to surface water.
The issue of the water level decreasing is needlessly cluttered with the recreational needs of boaters! Reporters are confused. Hiding trees in the forest? Should I be concerned about the drop in water levels, or about the discomfort to a few well-heeled boaters?
I had to suffer through the video to find what you were talking about. You were spot on. LOL! They all look like old hippies turned college professors on some bad brown acid trip. You'll be damned sure they're going to brainwash every single student they come across.
So sad, I’ve been going to Lake Powell since I was a child in like 2001. Now my grandparents are a bit too old to stress about running a house boat full of people, but Lake Powell dipping so low just adds salt to the wound to my childhood.
This is the 3rd lake I've heard of where the water has dropped to historical low levels. Lake Mead in Las Vegas NV..the Great Salt Lake in Utah & now Lake Powell. Temperatures are getting very high..sometimes as high as 116 degrees or more!!
Primary water is completely renewable and could refill all lakes, rivers and ponds. Put the pumps along the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Call state and local government officials and ask them why they are not doing this? We do not not have to be hostage to surface water.
@@talusranch990 Where are you from? Out here in the west it was a huge river that ran wall to wall in the canyons when Powell explored it. Now it's just an oversized creek.
So refreshing not seeing the climate crazies taking over the reporter, producer and park personnel. Actually providing balanced insight that in some ways the climate could recover on it's own.
it's the same message from the climatechange deniers...'hope', 'could', 'pray','it's all a lie'... yeah, we heard that for over 30 years.. it's not getting better "on it's own"...
It's time to open the Glen Canyon dam and store that water in Lake Mead. We lose enough water from Lake Powell due to bank seepage and evaporation each year, that the losses would cover Nevada's share of the river water. By storing the water in Lake Mead, you keep the water in a lake on actual hard basaltic rock that doesn't allow nearly as much seepage as Sandstone, and you eliminate one source of evaporation. And as an added benefit, you get to restore Glen Canyon to it's previous beauty.
Years ago, I saw some articles that spoke about the "Snowy Mountain Project" that took place in Australia. That continent has one major Mt. range located in the S/E corner. Winter snow run off sent about 50% of it's water into the ocean. A series of catch basins, tunneled pipeline to the interior, managed to reclaim much of that run off and pumping it inland, supplied sufficient irrigation to feed 25M more people. Each year here in the US, we lose countless amounts of water via the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers into the Gulf of Mexico, not to mention immense quantities of top soil. I can't help but wonder how much of those river might be processed much like that Snowy Mt. one and perhaps help farms and ranches upstream of Lake Powell, allowing more of it to reach the reservoir?
Do you have any idea how many environmentalist in California claim that desalination would over salinate the Pacific, the worlds largest ocean? 🤣 Countries like Saudi Arabia and Israel have not managed to do that in decades. Oh well, that California for ya! 🤦🏻♂️
@@jamram9924 Well, if they are true environmentalists and not just "mentalists", they will realize that the extra salt they worry about so much will actually keep the saline balance because of the extra ice melting in the oceans which is fresh water.
That would require Californians to think, plan years in advance, redirect money from idiot social programs and stop tryint export crazines to the other 49 States, not to mention quite simply mind your own business.
