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Water in Colorado: Climate, Hydrology and Uses
Dr. Gigi RichardFaculty Director, Water Center at CMUProfessor, Geosciences
River Cañon - Nestler
Water in Colorado: Climate, Hydrology and Uses
2015 Water Year
Oct 1
2014
Sept 302015
Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep
2014
2015
Water year is named for the year in which it
ends
How to define “normal”?
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
1971-2000 = 30 years
1981-2010 = 30 years
We often compare to the average of a recent 30-yr period
“The new normal” = warmer, drier, lower streamflow
Warmer, drier and
lower streamflow than 1970s
Colorado’s Water Supply
Image credit: Colo. Foundation for Water Education
A “Headwaters” State
Interstate Compacts
Importance of the Colorado
RiverWater for nearly 40 million people
Metropolitan areas have a combined metro gdp of $1.7 trillion (12th largest economy in the world)
International treaty w/ Mexico and interstate compact between seven states
Irrigates 2.2 million hectares of land (15% of US crops & 13% of livestock)
Generates more than 4,200 MW of electricity
Recreation & tourism
A “ribbon of green” – riparian areas in the Southwest make up less than 3% of the landscape, but provide critical resources for over 75% of wildlife
from US Bureau of Reclamation, 2012,Colorado River Basin Study
What is climate?Described by the long-term temperature and precipitation regime at a location
What’s the difference between weather and climate?
If you don’t like the weather:Wait five minutes!
If you don’t like the climate:Move!
Location! Changes very slowlyVery predictable
Grand Junction 9.4 in/yr
Colorado Average Precipitation 15.5 in/yr
Boulder 20.7 in/yrDenver 15.5 in/yrFort Collins 16.1 in/yr
Aridity DroughtAridity is a permanent climatic condition in a region, whereas drought is a temporary lack of moisture
Colorado’s climate varies spatially and temporally
Monthly temperature and precipitation, avg. 1971-2000
Blue bar = mean monthly precip, in (right axis)
Red line = mean daily
max T for each month
Blue line = mean daily min T for each month
From Climate Change in Colorado: A Synthesis to Support Water Resources Management and Adaptation , produced by Western Water Assessment, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), University of Colorado Boulder for the Colorado Water Conservation Board, Aug 2014
Climate & Hydrology of the Colorado River Basin
34% of watershed receives < 10 in/yr
84% of watershed receives < 20 in/yrMost of the runoff is produced by only 15% of the drainage area
Colorado River at CO-UT State Line
2011 Floo
d
Yampa River at Deer Lodge
Colorado River at CO-UT State Line
2012 Drough
t
Maps from http://climate.colostate.edu/~drought/
Streamflow data from usgs.gov
2013Drought?
Flood!
Variability in timing and distribution of precipitation result in variable streamflow and availability of surface water supply
GEOL 355 - Introduction 15
80-90% of the Population
80% of the Water
What do we do when we don’t
have water when and where
we need it?
From High Country News
Glen Canyon Dam, 1963
Lake Powell 27 million ac-ft
storage capacity
Hoover Dam, 1935Lake Mead
29 million ac-ft storage capacity
Photo by Peter McBride
Photos by Peter McBride
http://www.usbr.gov/lc
All-American CanalPhoto from Nasa.gov
Colorado River AqueductLos Angeles & San Diego
http://www.nydailynews.com/
Central Arizona Project
Oct.1921
Natural Variability
Filling Lake Powell
1983 Flood
Controlled Variability
Blue Mesa Dam completed 1966
Blue Mesa Dam completed 1966
Resulting impacts
Pre-dam Mean Annual Flood 82,700 cfs Post-dam
Mean Annual Flood 30,000 cfs
Hydrology
Sediment supply & channel
morphology
Ecological – riparian & aquatic
Water Quality
From VanSteeter & Pitlick 1998
Data from usgs.gov
Use ac-ft/yr
Public Supply 950,000
Domestic Fresh 42,500
Irrigation 10,900,000
Livestock 41,300
Aquaculture 137,000
Industrial 146,000
Mining 32,000
Thermoelectric 86,300
Total 12,335,100
How do we use water in Colorado?
Irrigation
89%
Data from Maupin, M.A., Kenny, J.F., Hutson, S.S., Lovelace, J.K., Barber, N.L., and Linsey, K.S., 2014, Estimated use of water in the United States in 2010: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1405, 56 pp.
How does Colorado’s water use compare with other states?
Figure from Maupin, M.A., Kenny, J.F., Hutson, S.S., Lovelace, J.K., Barber, N.L., and Linsey, K.S., 2014, Estimated use of water in the United States in 2010: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1405, 56 pp.
Irrigation withdrawals by state, 2010
#1CA
#2ID #3
CO
Data from Maupin, M.A., Kenny, J.F., Hutson, S.S., Lovelace, J.K., Barber, N.L., and Linsey, K.S., 2014, Estimated use of water in the United States in 2010: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1405 , 56 pp.
Groundwater Withdrawals in Colorado, 2010
215 mgd
157 mgd
1 mgd
141 mgd
Data from Maupin, M.A., Kenny, J.F., Hutson, S.S., Lovelace, J.K., Barber, N.L., and Linsey, K.S., 2014, Estimated use of water in the United States in 2010: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1405, 56 pp.
130 mgd
Surface Water Withdrawals in Colorado, 2010
754 mgd
702 mgd
441 mgd
559 mgd
355 mgd
Data from Maupin, M.A., Kenny, J.F., Hutson, S.S., Lovelace, J.K., Barber, N.L., and Linsey, K.S., 2014, Estimated use of water in the United States in 2010: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1405, 56 pp.
438 mgd
413 mgd
409 mgd
Total Freshwater Withdrawals in Colorado, 2010
755 mgd
462 mgd
579 mgd
703 mgd
563 mgd
Data from Maupin, M.A., Kenny, J.F., Hutson, S.S., Lovelace, J.K., Barber, N.L., and Linsey, K.S., 2014, Estimated use of water in the United States in 2010: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1405, 56 pp.
Thank you
Yampa River, June 2011, G. Richard