Pessimistic outlook for Colorado River dominates conference

KSL.com (Utah): A pessimistic outlook on the long-term water supply for the desert Southwest dominated a conference in Salt Lake today. It also hinted at changes that could flow from the Democratic resurgence in the national election, possibly even involving the future of Lake Powell. The political shift is emboldening environmentalists, like many at the conference at Fort Douglas, who insist our water management policies are out of whack. With Democrats taking the White House and a firmer grip on Congress, the critics could move into the driver's seat, including a powerful congressman we spoke with today.

As Lake Powell and Lake Mead declined in the last decade, scientific studies have revealed that the dry era now is more or less normal. The previous century was abnormally wet, compared with the last thousand years. Scientists at the conference warned of long-term water shortages in the growing Southwest, which depends on the Colorado River. Gregory McCabe, a scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey, said, "We're going to be in trouble as we move into a drier period, which may be more normal than what we've experienced over the last hundred years."

"Regardless of the climate change issue, the Colorado River Basin is a basin in trouble," he said. Population growth is pushing water demand up as supplies decline. A few years or decades from now, the lines may cross. Richard Ingesbretsen of the Glen Canyon Institute said, "Somehow the system is going to break, and we're not going to be able to grow our cities, and these reservoirs are just going to go away."

It's fueling calls for reform. California Congressman George Miller will be a key player with his powerful committee assignments. "Unfortunately, over the last eight years, while we were trying to look toward the future, we had an ideological jihad going on against the scientists," he said….

Lake Powell Arizona, USA (from plane). Note the prominent "bathtub ring" made visible by low water (May 2007). Shot by PRA, Wikimedia Commons, under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2