<![CDATA[Unprecedented #water decline]]>Unprecedented decline

Two major are at record lows, careening toward a point where they will no longer be able to meet the needs for millions of people

, the 2nd-largest reservoir in the US, provides water & to millions in the West. It has now has shrunk to its lowest level on record, in the latest sign of the alarming crisis unfolding on the stricken .


https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/16/climate/lake-powell-reservoir-record-low-colorado-river

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/topic/1dbf585c-3bcf-416c-83d3-2733543660ce/unprecedented-water-declineRSS for NodeFri, 11 Sep 2026 14:58:47 GMTSun, 16 Aug 2026 17:58:29 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Unprecedented #water decline on Sun, 16 Aug 2026 19:34:26 GMT]]>@Nonilex

JFC.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/Benhm3/statuses/117106859461687383https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.social/users/Benhm3/statuses/117106859461687383Sun, 16 Aug 2026 19:34:26 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Unprecedented #water decline on Sun, 16 Aug 2026 19:27:26 GMT]]>@Nonilex Lake Mead too:
Lake Mead now at a record low level, bringing water concerns to millions
https://www.yahoo.com/news/weather-news/articles/lake-mead-reaching-record-low-165548973.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://friendface.kalum.ca/users/gemlog/statuses/01M060P3DCH712EWWHCJ7FEM47https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://friendface.kalum.ca/users/gemlog/statuses/01M060P3DCH712EWWHCJ7FEM47Sun, 16 Aug 2026 19:27:26 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Unprecedented #water decline on Sun, 16 Aug 2026 18:17:46 GMT]]>@Nonilex too bad they don't have hundreds of thousands of sunny acres that couldn't possibly supply their power needs via solar combined with storage. Their idiot president doesn't believe in solar. He'll probably come up with some dumbfuck plan like running a pipeline from Lake Superior to refill Lake Powell.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://polyglot.city/ap/users/116920690631779955/statuses/117106558026631076https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://polyglot.city/ap/users/116920690631779955/statuses/117106558026631076Sun, 16 Aug 2026 18:17:46 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Unprecedented #water decline on Sun, 16 Aug 2026 18:09:03 GMT]]>This “scary threshold” will be reached this year unless “extraordinary measures” are taken, said Brad Udall, a senior & research scientist at Colorado State University. These include reductions in water releases from Lake Powell & upstream, he added.

The most alarming scenario would see Lake Powell reaching “deadpool” levels of below 3,370 feet. At this point water would no longer be able to flow downstream from the dam at all.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://masto.ai/users/Nonilex/statuses/117106523729371064https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://masto.ai/users/Nonilex/statuses/117106523729371064Sun, 16 Aug 2026 18:09:03 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Unprecedented #water decline on Sun, 16 Aug 2026 18:08:04 GMT]]>…A major concern is the impact on generation. The force of the turns the Glen Canyon Dam’s 8 huge turbines, producing enough each year to nearly 500,000 households. It’s relied on by Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada & Nebraska.

The could now be barreling toward “minimum power pool” — at 3,490 feet — when levels will be too low to spin the turbines & generate electricity.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://masto.ai/users/Nonilex/statuses/117106519894143271https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://masto.ai/users/Nonilex/statuses/117106519894143271Sun, 16 Aug 2026 18:08:04 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Unprecedented #water decline on Sun, 16 Aug 2026 18:04:42 GMT]]>The lifeblood of the Southwest, the starts in the Rocky Mountains, fed by melting snowpack, & ends in the Gulf of California in Mexico. It provides to roughly 40 million people & irrigates >5 million acres of across 7 states: California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado & Utah.

fueled & increases in temperature, combined with years of heavy water use, have caused the crucial waterway to shrink by roughly 20% since 2000.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://masto.ai/users/Nonilex/statuses/117106506640216836https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://masto.ai/users/Nonilex/statuses/117106506640216836Sun, 16 Aug 2026 18:04:42 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Unprecedented #water decline on Sun, 16 Aug 2026 18:04:32 GMT]]>@Nonilex

This is catastrophic and isnt even on the current radar.

We are a very short jump from people all the sudden buying up 5 gallon water bottles because of necessity.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://universeodon.com/users/LaNaehForaday/statuses/117106505990660850https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://universeodon.com/users/LaNaehForaday/statuses/117106505990660850Sun, 16 Aug 2026 18:04:32 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Unprecedented #water decline on Sun, 16 Aug 2026 18:01:50 GMT]]>“We are in uncharted territory,” said Jack Schmidt, director of the Center for Studies at Utah State University.

Lakes Mead & Powell, which are essentially one gigantic separated by the Grand Canyon, hold just under 60% of the total currently stored in the Colorado River basin. The unprecedented decline of these vast bodies of water, which have been shrinking for >20 years, drives home the perilous state of the river that feeds them.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://masto.ai/users/Nonilex/statuses/117106495368801009https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://masto.ai/users/Nonilex/statuses/117106495368801009Sun, 16 Aug 2026 18:01:50 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Unprecedented #water decline on Sun, 16 Aug 2026 18:00:22 GMT]]>The reservoir’s levels dropped to 3519.91 feet on Saturday, breaking the record low of 3,519.92 feet set in April 2023, acc/to data from the US Bureau of Reclamation published Sunday. It is now just under 30 feet away from the point at which its dam will no longer be able to generate .

The record comes 9 days after downstream , the US’ biggest , dropped to its lowest level since it was first filled 9 decades ago.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://masto.ai/users/Nonilex/statuses/117106489593736678https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://masto.ai/users/Nonilex/statuses/117106489593736678Sun, 16 Aug 2026 18:00:22 GMT