Tag: Lake Mead

Lake Mead Fails to Recover

Lake Mead is critically low, dropping significantly since 1998, and may reach a dead-pool status by 2034 due to mismanagement and permanent aridification. The video emphasizes the importance of repairing the Colorado River’s water cycle by reintroducing moisture to the delta, addressing the ongoing ecological crisis with proposed initiatives for restoration.

A Bleak Report on the Lake Mead’s Level.

In this video it is reported that Lake Mead is [5:19] “… at 1068, which is 2/3 down volumetrically…” from completely full. It is also reported that Lake Mead did not [0:11] “… recover the same amount of water that it lost last year….” The video states that [1:12] “Since the start of the 21st Century Lake Mead has been consistently going down…” and [3:58] the amount [the surface level] goes down each year increases the further down it goes….” All in all, this video forecasts a bleak future for Lake Mead. It is refreshing to hear someone honestly report the plain facts.

Chart displaying Low/Average/High Lake Mead Surface Elevation.

Permanent Aridification.

The population needs to be educated so they can accept the dismal future which appears inevitable. This problem of the reduced Colorado River flow rate was first blamed on a drought. Next it was explained to be a result of domino-droughts, and then the mega-drought. All this happened and now the final stage is permanent aridification.

Image of chart displaying a forecast of Lake Mead Elevation Levels.

Simple Math.

Let’s apply some simple math to this. Lake Mead’s level has been on a downward trend since 1998. We also know that Intake #1 is at elevation 1055 and [3:26] “currently it is at about 1068.” So, we’re only about 13 feet above the intake elevation. The surface level has dropped an average of 5.4ft/yr.

The 1st intake could be inoperable as soon as 2026.  From there when the lake drops another 55 feet, the 2nd intake will be inoperable, estimated as 2037. Following that after the lake decreases 125 feet more the 3rd Intake will be inoperable, estimated as 2059. And after lowering the opening by 40’ the 3rd Intake will again be inoperable, estimated as 2067. Southern Nevada’s water supply is safe and secure for 2025, but it is not safe or secure in the long term.

Image displaying chart showing the forecast pool storage for LAke Mead.

More Simple Math.

Looking at the surface level of Lake Mead, it is obvious that the lake is dwindling, but the video brings up that [3:26] these reservoirs are not rectangular swimming pools with vertical sides. They’re flooded Canyons. They get more … narrow the further down you go. So, the volume of water held in each foot of water level further down is less than the amount that was in the foot above it.” Others call this the concept of the martini glass in relation to the shape of the reservoir. This means that instead of thinking in terms of surface level, we should be thinking in terms of storage volume. As the lake level has dropped an average of 5.4ft/yr, the pool storage, the amount of available water has been reduced by an average 636.4k acre-feet of water per year. Doing the simple math, at this rate the Lake Mead will be at dead-pool by 2034. That is only 10-years into our future.

This Math is not Simple.

The problem with this simple math is that there have been artificial additions to the pool over the past years. This simple math does not account for these. These additions skew the results of simple math falsely toward a more positive outcome. So, the 10-years to dead-pool may be much sooner. The only metric which will be accurate is the volume of flow in the Colorado River.

Image of signpost pointing at various places to blame.

Gloom and Doom.

There is a reason the flow of the Colorado River has diminished. The blame for the reduced flow is spread all over the place, but there is one prime cause…

Mismanagement of Water.

We as humans have grossly mismanaged water. We have drained swamps. We have straightened streams. We have removed large quantities out of its watershed. Our cities and fields have altered water cycles. Most of this can be fixed over time, but not immediately.

Image of a man looking at a complex problem and seeing the solution.

How to Fix it Faster.

There is one place where we can mechanically repair what we broke. Read on to learn how this happened and how we can fix it.

Root Cause.

Notice that all the water within the Colorado River is used before it reaches the ocean. None of the Colorado River water enters the Colorado River Delta because of the over extraction of freshwater from the river. At first look this seems smart. We are harvesting all the freshwater for human use before it gets to the ocean and turns salty. But there is an unwritten natural law which states that: “Removing large quantities of freshwater from its watershed will create unintended consequences; usually negative.”  Draining the river dry, leaving no moisture for the delta is a problem. We have taken too much from nature and have not respected the resource. The unintended consequences are the: mega-drought; increased wildfire risk; reduced snowpack; shrinking surface levels of the Salton Sea, Great Salt Lake, Lake Mead, Lake Powell; and reduced flow of the Colorado River.

Image of dry and parched land with a little bit of green bushes.

Unintended Consequence.

As a result of the Colorado River Delta receiving no water, it is now a 3,000-sq-mi desert which adds no moisture into the air. The Colorado River Delta was a large wetland, in a hot and sunny place, which has strong northerly winds, and dry thirsty air. The delta used to provide vast amounts of moisture into the atmosphere, into a hydrologic cycle. But now it is dead and dry.

A Cycle of Despair.

This water cycle carries moisture to the headwaters of the Colorado River, which should return to the delta via the river. Today, the atmospheric water stream carries less water to the north. The lands north of the delta are starved of moisture and in a mega-drought. The mega-drought inhibits the Great Basin from sending moisture to the Colorado Mountains and the snowpack is reduced. The diminished snowpack provides less water for the Colorado River. Less freshwater in the Colorado River combined with the consistent demand for freshwater is emptying Lake Mead and Lake Powell and still sending no water into the delta. It is a cycle of despair.

Image of the water cycle

Hydrologic Cycle.

Overly simplified, this water cycle is: 1. Gulf or California, MX > 2. Colorado River Delta, Baja, MX > 3. Laguna Salada, Baja, MX > 4. Salton Sea, CA, USA > 5. Great Basin, USA > 6. Great Salt Lake, UT, USA > 7. Colorado Mountains, CO, USA > 8. Colorado River, USA & MX > 9. Colorado River Delta, Baja, MX. >

Dissecting the Water Cycle.

1. Gulf of California, MX.

The warm air over the gulf collects moisture and carries it north over the Colorado River Delta. The mega drought has not caused a change to the Gulf of California.

2. Colorado River Delta, Baja, MX

In 1935 the Colorado River Delta began to experience a local-climate-change because the Colorado River ceased flowing to the sea. This occurred for multiple reasons, but two are onerous. During 1935-1941 Hoover Dam was being filled, creating Lake Mead, blocking the river’s water from the delta. Beginning in 1939 the Colorado River Aqueduct opened and began transporting massive amounts of water to Southern California. For 80+ years these diversions along with other draws have removed all freshwater from the Colorado River before it reaches its delta. This local-climate-change has reduced the moisture fed into the hydrologic cycle; thus the water cycle has less moisture to carry northeast.

3. Laguna Salada, Baja, MX.

Technically Laguna Salada is in the Colorado River Delta, but this inland sea is a significant water feature, so it deserves its own mention. In 1999, Laguna Salada was the last part of the delta to become desert. Is it a coincidence that the mega-drought began in 2000?

GIF of the Salton Sea which displays the surface area in different years beginning in 2014 and projected out to 2033.

4. Salton Sea, CA, USA.

The Salton Sea, a terminal inland sea, was formed in 1905 when water from the Colorado River broke free from an irrigation canal and flowed into the Salton Basin. In the 1950s, the Salton Sea was a thriving tourist destination, a desert oasis. The surface level of the Salton Sea began to diminish significantly in the 1970s and the inland sea began to experience significant environmental problems. The reduced surface level is contributing less moisture into the water cycle thus the water cycle has less water to carry north.

Image of Great Basin on map.

5. Great Basin, USA.

The Great Basin is an interesting feature of the SW-USA. It is large and encroaches on 8 US States, thus it is great, and it is a watershed with no outlet, thus it is a basin. It is full of salt deposits; think of the Bonneville Salt Falts and the Great Salt Lake, plus Death Valley is heavily salted. All this salt points to vast quantities of water, but the Great Basin has a moisture deficit. So, where did the water come from? Moisture from the west is blocked by the Rain-Shadow effect. Moisture from the north seems to end up in the Colorado Mountains instead of the Great Basin. The Great Basin receives most of its moisture from the south, but with the dry Colorado River Delta, dry Laguna Salada and shrinking Salton Sea, not much moisture is progressing north. The great Basin has become dryer over the past 40 years.

Great Salt Lake as seen from space in 1985 and 2022.
Great Salt Lake as seem from space in 1985 and 2022.

6. Great Salt Lake, UT, USA

The Great Salt Lake, a terminal inland sea, is officially part of the Great Basin. There are twenty saline lakes within the Great Basin, but the Great Salt Lake gets most of the headlines. It lies in the northeast corner of the Great Basin and its evaporated moisture travels into the Colorado Mountains. In the last decade there have been fears that the Great Salt Lake would turn to dust. The surface level of the Great Salt Lake has been generally diminishing since 1986. As the lake surface diminishes, the amount of moisture sent northeast also diminishes, which means less snowpack for the Colorado Mountains.

7. Colorado Mountains, CO, USA.

The Colorado Mountains supply the moisture which feeds 158 named rivers. It is apparent that the flow of all these rivers has been diminishing since at least 1986. The Colorado mountains collect snow each winter, which is the time-release water for the rivers. The decline in snowpack, the reduction of source for the river water accounts for the reduced water inflows for the Colorado River.

8. Colorado River, USA & Baja, MX.

Historically the Colorado River is accredited with 16-million-acrefeet of flow. In recent years the river is providing more like 14 or 15-million-acrefeet of freshwater, and some of the projections show it could go down to 9-million-acrefeet. Approximately, 1/3 of the river flow goes to California, 1/3 of the flow goes to Mexico, and the last 1/3 goes to other cities and farming, leaving the river dry 60 miles north of its historic outlet.

9. Back to the delta.

Draining the river dry, leaving no moisture for the delta is a problem. We have taken too much from nature and have not respected the resource. The unintended consequences are the: mega-drought; increased wildfire risk; reduced snowpack; shrinking surface levels of the Salton Sea, Great Salt Lake, Lake Mead, Lake Powell; reduced flow of the Colorado River.

Image of seashore with boat and words reading: "We can't fix all problems, but we must fix the ones we can."

Let’s fix the problem.

There are two ways to fix the problem.

1. Stop taking freshwater out of the watershed.

Since approximately 40-million people rely on that freshwater for life and livelihood. They would protest this solution. Alternative sources of freshwater are massively expensive and bring their own ecological problems.

2. Repair the water cycle.

Without releasing the Colorado River water into the delta, the Colorado River Delta and the water cycle cannot be repaired. An alternative plan is to replace the diminished moisture input by replicating the lost water cycle. This sounds like a big task; nigh on to impossible, but since humans can break it, humans should be able to fix it. The cost of constructing, operating, and maintaining this project is considerable, but not massive. The funds can be collected from a water-use-fee imposed on those who broke the water cycle, the users of Colorado River water as they continue to consume the Colorado River water.

Image of the seal of the US Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation.

Because this operation spans multiple US States, it must be coordinated by the US Government. Fortunately, the government already has an agency in place for this: The US Bureau of Reclamation. This type of project is fully within their mission: “The mission of the Bureau of Reclamation is to manage, develop, and protect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner in the interest of the American public.” (https://www.usbr.gov/main/about/mission.html)

Image of pipes and pumps.

How to replicate the hydrologic cycle.

1. Colorado River Delta > Laguna Salada.

The plan begins with an agreement with Mexico to dredge the Coyote Canal and connect it to the Gulf or California, allowing ocean water to gravity flow into Laguna Salada. The Coyote Canal was installed as a connector between the Colorado River and Laguna Salada. Selecting a new serpentine track for the Coyote Canal, moisture can reach more parts of the desert delta on its way to Laguna Salada, thus providing hydration to more land, and more opportunity to infuse the atmosphere with moisture. Refilling Laguna Salada will provide an atmosphere moisture generator for the water cycle. Laguna Salada is a shallow, warm body of saltwater, with a large surface area, situated in a dry air environment, in virtual wind tunnel of air blowing atmosphere moisture northward.

2. Laguna Salada > Salton Sea.

The Coyote Canal can be extended to the Salton Sea. This will be a new 60-mile-long metered-flow canal which must pass through a 150-foot hill. By extending the Coyote Canal past Laguna Salada and into the Salton Sea, it can be refilled to its 1950s surface level. This inflow of ocean water will immediately lower the salinity of the Salton Sea. Increasing the surface level of the Salton Sea will improve its donation to the water cycle. The Salton Sea is a shallow, warm body of saltwater, situated in a dry air environment, with a large surface area making moisture available to the hydrologic cycle flowing northward.

3. Salton Sea > Great Basin.

The surface level of the Salton Sea can be increased and maintained at its 1950s level by the metered flow of the Coyote Canal and the pumped outflow into the great Basin. Over time, the salinity and agricultural pollution of the Salton Sea will be reduced by the flowthrough of water into the Great Basin. This will return the Salton Sea into a habitable place for fish, birds, and people.

4. Great Basin > Great Salt Lake.

The Salton Sea water pumped into the Great Basin will reside in a currently dry depression, where natural processes take over. Once the water is placed within the Great Basin, evaporation will infuse freshwater into the atmosphere and leave behind the salt and pollutants. The natural processes of the water cycle within the Great Basin will move freshwater around and deposit it into the Great Salt Lake. The surface level of the Great Salt Lake is the gauge which will determine the amount of water imported into the Great Basin.

5. Great Salt Lake > Colorado Mountains.

No human hands are needed for this part. By returning the moisture into the Great Basin and the Great Salt Lake, the original hydrologic cycle will be restored. The Colorado Mountains will be receiving enough moisture to return full flow to all 158 named rivers originating in those mountains.

Image of balaclava hooded robber stealing from Mother Nature

Conclusion.

We cannot rob Mother Nature without receiving a punishment. This broken water cycle is our penalty for years of robbing Mother Nature. Let’s not accept the new normal of permanent aridification. Let’s resist the aridification of the SW-USA and the Colorado River Watershed. Let’s put the US Bureau of Reclamation to work within their assigned mission. Replacing the hydrologic cycle will return a full snowpack to the Colorado Mountains. One last thing, once the river is returned to full flow, let’s give Mother Nature her share by allowing a constant flow into the Colorado River Delta.

Image used as the logo-image for Active Climate Rescue Initiative. This image shows an inland sea in a desert.
Proponent.

Move the Water! is the proposed initiative of Active Climate Rescue Initiative. Active Climate Rescue Initiative is founded to actively rescue our climate by encouraging positive climate change through water relocation into earth’s water deficit areas. Anyplace in the world where there is a dry depression is a place where there is a moisture deficit. These places are the key to reversing climate change. By infusing these places with water from an open flow inlet, moisture can be reintroduced into the local environment through hydrologic processes. Active Climate Rescue Initiative is a Michigan Non-Profit Corporation approved by the USA IRS as a 501.c.3 Public Charity.

Help Reverse Climate Change.

Your small donation to Active Climate Rescue Initiative will help reverse Global Warming. Reversing Global Warming and stopping Climate Change is our only goal, and we know how to do it. Your support will allow us to broadcast our message and save the world. Someone must do it. Be part of the someone. Donate today.

We are dealing with a crisis!

The Colorado River system faces severe challenges, with overuse and climate change leading to decreased flow and shrinking reservoirs like Lake Mead. This has disrupted the hydrologic cycle, resulting in detrimental effects on the environment. Proposed solutions include repairing the water cycle and reintroducing moisture to restore this vital ecosystem.

Above video: We’re dealing with a crisis: How the straining of the Colorado River system impacts us, and associated web article, are presented by KTNV Channel 13 Las Vegas.

Information reported in the video and article is grim.

The video acknowledges that [0:21] “… the river is strained…” Kyle Roerink states: “… 20% of the Colorado River has been lost in the past 24, 25 years.” The article states “… that Lake Mead … currently sits at about 32% full capacity.” The video says: [0:29] “Scientists say overuse, a megadrought, and rising temperatures due to climate change are major contributors.” Kyle Roerink says: [1:16] “Mother Nature is going to have the final say…” and “… we need to respect the laws of nature….” The Colorado River Water Users Association held a conference, but the stakeholders are in an uproar, no one agrees on how to proceed. The five plans from the federal government seem to cover all the options, yet do not address the root cause of this problem. Oh, yes, there is also a 2026 deadline to be met. So, what is happening here?

Image with words: "The problem with problems.", and a small person with lots of questions.

Let’s first understand the problem.

Lake Mead, and the other reservoirs along the Colorado River are going dry because the Colorado River’s flow has diminished.

Colorado River’s flow is less, as is the flow of the other 157 rivers originating from the Colorado mountains, since 2000 because the Colorado mountain snowpack has been less.

Colorado mountain snowpack has been less during the mega-drought.

Mega-Drought began in 2000 because of domino droughts throughout the SW-USA.

Domino-Droughts began with a drought in the Colorado River Delta.

Colorado River Delta was a 3,000 sq-mi, lush, green wetland but began losing its water in 1936. It went completely dry in 1999, because the Colorado River became dry 60-miles before the ocean. This former delta is now a 3,000 sq-mi, dry, desolate desert.

Colorado River no longer flows into its delta because all the water is being extracted from the river for human use, much of it being exported out of its watershed.

Unwritten Law.

There is an unwritten natural law which states that: “Removing large quantities of freshwater from its watershed will create unintended consequences; usually negative.”  Draining the Colorado River dry, leaving no moisture for the delta is a problem. We have taken too much from nature. We have not respected the resource. We broke a hydrologic cycle.

Broken Water Cycle.

Hydrologic Cycles are complicated things. The moisture they carry is literally blown by the winds. Yet there are patterns and predictability which can be observed. Here is the broken water cycle as we understand it: 1. Gulf or California, MX > 2. Colorado River Delta, Baja, MX > 3. Laguna Salada, Baja, MX > 4. Salton Sea, CA, USA > 5. Great Basin, USA > 6. Great Salt Lake, UT, USA > 7. Colorado Mountains, CO, USA > 8. Colorado River, USA & MX > 9. Colorado River Delta, Baja, MX.

Image of complex hydrologic cycle.

Investigating the Hydrologic Cycle.

When we say this is broken, what is meant is that it no longer carries its original supply of moisture. The question we need to answer is why has the moisture volume decreased?

1. Gulf of California, MX.

The north end of this body of ocean water lies between two mountain ranges, which focus the prevailing winds to the north. The warm air off the gulf carries moisture north over the Colorado River Delta. The mega drought has not caused a change to the Gulf of California.

2. Colorado River Delta, Baja, MX.

Since 1939 the Colorado River has almost completely ceased flowing to the sea. This occurred for two reasons, one temporary and one which has been constant since 1939. The temporary reason began in 1935 and lasted for 6 years while the Hoover Dam was being filled, creating Lake Mead. Since 1939 the Colorado River Aqueduct began transporting massive amounts of water to Southern California. For 80+ years massive amounts of freshwater have been removed from the Colorado River Watershed to six major cities: Albuquerque, NM; Denver, CO; Los Angeles, CA; Salt Lake City, UT; San Diego, CA; Santa Fe, NM. Combined they remove approximately 1.5-million-acrefeet of freshwater each year. This water export, combined with the other uses for the Colorado River water means that the delta effectively receives no water.

Enter Local-Climate-Change.

Today the Colorado River Delta is dry. The river’s flow ends just before the water enters the Colorado River Delta, 60-miles north of the Gulf of California. The lack of water in the delta, over the last 80+ years has changed the Colorado River Delta from a 3,000-sq-mi, verdant, wet-land into a 3,000-sq-mi, brown dry desert. The delta’s features of large wet surface area, sunny hot atmospheric temperatures, strong northerly winds, and thirsty air, used to add large amounts of moisture into the atmosphere; into the hydrologic cycle. This local-climate-change has reduced the moisture fed into the hydrologic cycle, thus the water cycle has less water to carry.

3. Laguna Salada, Baja, MX.

Technically Laguna Salada is in the Colorado River Delta, but this inland sea is/was a significant water feature, so it deserves its own mention. In 1999, Laguna Salada was the last part of the delta to become desert. Thus, the water cycle has less water to carry northeast. Is it a coincidence that the mega-drought began in 2000?

4. Salton Sea, CA, USA.

The Salton Sea was formed in 1905 when water from the Colorado River accidentally flowed into the Salton Basin due to a breach in an irrigation canal. In the 1950s, the Salton Sea was a thriving tourist destination, often referred to as a desert oasis. The surface level of the Salton Sea began to diminish significantly in the 1970s and began to experience significant environmental impacts. The reduced surface level contributed less moisture into the water cycle thus the water cycle has less water to carry north.

5. Great Basin, USA.

The Great Basin is an interesting feature of the SW-USA. It is a watershed with no outlet, thus a basin. The Great Basin is large; it encroaches on 8 US States. It is full of salt deposits; think of the Bonneville Salt Falts and the Great Salt Lake, plus Death Valley is heavily salted. All this salt points to vast quantities of water, but the Great Basin is an arid land, so where did the water come from? Moisture from the west is blocked by mountains and the Rain-Shadow effect. Moisture from the north seems to end up in the Colorado Mountains instead of the Great Basin. The Great Basin receives most of its moisture from the south, but with the dry Colorado River Delta, dry Laguna Salada and shrinking Salton Sea, not much moisture is progressing north. The great Basin has become dryer over the past 30 years.

6. Great Salt Lake, UT, USA.

The Great Salt Lake is officially part of the Great Basin. There are twenty saline lakes within the Great Basin, but the Great Salt Lake gets most of the headlines. It lies in the northeast corner of the Great Basin and its evaporated moisture travels into the Colorado Mountains. In the last decade there have been fears that the Great Salt Lake would turn to dust. As the lake surface diminishes, the amount of moisture sent northeast also diminishes, which means less snow for the Colorado Mountains.

7. Colorado Mountains, CO, USA.

The Colorado Mountains supplies the moisture which begin 158 named rivers. It is apparent that the flow of all these rivers has diminished in the past couple of decades. The common cry is that it Global-Climate-Change is the root cause. The mega-drought is being blamed, but is the mega-drought the cause or the symptom?

8. Colorado River, USA & Baja, MX.

Historically the Colorado River is accredited with 16-million-acrefeet of flow. In recent years the river is providing more like 14 or 15-million-acrefeet of freshwater, and some of the projections are showing it could go down to 9-million-acrefeet. Approximately, 1/3 of the river flow goes to California, 1/3 of the flow goes to Mexico, and the last 1/3 goes to other cities and farming, leaving the river dry 60 miles north of its historic outlet.

9. Back to the delta.

There is an unwritten natural law which states that: “Removing large quantities of freshwater from its watershed will create unintended consequences; usually negative.”  Draining the river dry, leaving no moisture for the delta is a problem. We have taken too much from nature and have not respected the resource. The mega-drought is the unintended consequence.

The review of the data shows that the most likely cause of the reduced Colorado River flow extraction of freshwater out of its watershed, and the overuse of the Colorado River freshwater, leaving its delta a desert and thus breaking the water cycle. So, can this be fixed?

Image of Suzanne Yoculan quotation: "Don't make excuses, just get it done!"

Let’s fix the problem.

There are two ways to fix the problem.

1. Stop taking freshwater out of the watershed.

This will happen because approximately 40-million people rely on that freshwater for life and livelihood. They would complain. Freshwater could be replaced by desalination, but this is massively expensive and has some environmental concerns. Freshwater is available and apparently plentiful in adjacent watersheds; this is also massively expensive and would create additional unintended consequences in those places.

2. Repair the water cycle. 

This approach involves developing an alternative water source, utilizes natural processes, and requires some investment into existing technologies and infrastructure. The goal is to replace the lost moisture input.

Image of simple water cycle.

Can humans replicate a water cycle?

This sounds like a big task; nigh on to impossible. Well, if man can break it, he should be able to fix it. So, yes, humans can fix it, and it is a viable option. The cost of constructing, operating, and maintaining this project is considerable, but it is less than any other viable option. The funds can be collected from a Colorado River water-use-fee as water continues to be removed out of the watershed. The users of the water broke the water cycle; it is only logical that they pay to repair it. 

Image of the Seal of the US Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation.

Because this operation spans multiple US states, it must be coordinated by the US government. Fortunately, the government already has an agency in place for this: The US Bureau of Reclamation. This type of project is fully within their mission: “The mission of the Bureau of Reclamation is to manage, develop, and protect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner in the interest of the American public.” This seems to be an exact fit. 

Image of a man studying a complex problem and observing the obvious solution.

How to replace the hydrologic cycle.

1. Colorado River Delta > Laguna Salada.

The plan begins here. The flow of the Coyote Canal will be reversed. The Coyote Canal was installed as an overflow path for Laguna Salada. Today, with Laguna Salada being dry, overflow is not a problem. Refilling Laguna Salada will provide a shallow, warm body of saltwater, with a large surface area, to be an atmosphere moisture generator for the water cycle. By increasing the length of Coyote Canal, moisture can reach more parts of the desert delta on its way to Laguna Salada, thus providing hydration to more land, and more opportunity to infuse the atmosphere with moisture.

2. Laguna Salada > Salton Sea.

The Coyote Canal can be extended to the Salton Sea. This will be a new 60-mile-long metered-flow canal which must pass through a 150-foot hill. By extending the Coyote Canal past Laguna Salada and into the Salton Sea, Laguna Salada water salinity will be kept stable near the ocean salinity level.

3. Salton Sea > Great Basin.

The surface level of the Salton Sea can be maintained at its 1950s level by the metered flow of the Coyote Canal. The saltwater entering the Salton Sea will reduce the salinity of the Salton Sea. Over time the salinity and agricultural pollution of the Salton Sea will be reduced by the flowthrough of water into the Great Basin. At the same time the Salton Sea will once again become a place for people to work and play.

4. Great Basin > Great Salt Lake.

The Salton Sea water pumped into the Great Basin will reside in a currently dry depression, where natural processes take over. No human hands are needed for evaporation to remove freshwater into the atmosphere and leave behind the salt and pollutants. Natural processes and the water cycle within the Great Basin will move the freshwater around and deposit it into the Great Salt Lake. The surface level of the Great Salt Lake is the gauge which will determine the amount of water imported into the Great Basin.

5. Great Salt Lake > Colorado Mountains.

No human hands are needed for this part. By returning the moisture into the Great Basin and the Great Salt Lake, the original hydrologic cycle will be restored. The Colorado Mountains will receive enough moisture to return full flow to all 158 named rivers originating in those mountains.

Image of balaclava hooded robber stealing from Mother Nature.

Conclusion.

We cannot rob Mother Nature without receiving a punishment. This broken water cycle is our penalty for years of robbing Mother Nature. Let’s not accept the new normal. Let’s resist the aridification of the SW-USA and the Colorado River Watershed. Let’s put the US Bureau of Reclamation to work within their assigned mission. One last thing, once the river is returned to full flow, let’s allow a constant flow into the Colorado River Delta, returning to Mother Nature her share. 

Proponent.

Move the Water! is the proposed initiative of Active Climate Rescue Initiative. Active Climate Rescue Initiative is founded to actively rescue our climate by encouraging positive climate change through water relocation into earth’s water deficit areas. Anyplace in the world where there is a dry depression is a place where there is a moisture deficit. These places are the key to reversing climate change. By infusing these places with water from an open flow inlet, moisture can be reintroduced into the local environment through hydrologic processes. Active Climate Rescue Initiative is a Michigan Non-Profit Corporation approved by the USA IRS as a 501.c.3 Public Charity.

Help Reverse Climate Change.

Your small donation to Active Climate Rescue Initiative will help reverse Global Warming. Reversing Global Warming and stopping Climate Change is our only goal, and we know how to do it. Your support will allow us to broadcast our message and save the world. Someone must do it. Be part of the someone. Donate today.

2025 Water Level Projections Released

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation projects declining water levels for Lake Mead and Lake Powell, attributed to reduced flow in the Colorado River due to diminished snowpack from drought. Experts emphasize that the core issue is over-extraction of freshwater. Proposed solutions include halting water withdrawal and restoring the hydrologic cycle.

Lake Powell’s and Lake Mead’s New Water Level Projections Released, by Jess Thomson, Science Reporter on: Aug 19, 2024.

Article Overview

According to this Newsweek article by Jess Thomson, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has forecast the 2025 water levels for Lake Mead and Lake Powell. In a nutshell, they are getting lower and approaching dead-pool. Within the article, quotations from: Robert Glennon; Zach Franlkel; Eric Balken; and Camille Calimlim Touton, all experts on the river, all bemoan the lower levels, and none offer any hope of reversal.

None of the experts nor the author is seeing the big picture. None of them have any hope because they do not understand the root cause of the receding water levels. Oh, they think they do, but they have not looked deep enough to see the real problem. What they see are secondary results of the underlying cause, the root cause. So, let’s look for the real reason, the underlying thing which is causing Lake Mead to dry up. 

Image illustrating root cause analysis steps.

Root Cause

Let’s first understand the problem. Let’s think out of the box for a minute.

Lake Mead, and the other reservoirs along the Colorado River are going dry because the Colorado River’s flow has diminished.

Colorado River’s flow is less, as is the flow of the other 157 rivers originating from the Colorado mountains, since 2000 because the Colorado mountain snowpack has been less.

Colorado mountain snowpack has been less during the mega-drought.

Mega-Drought began in 2000 in the SW-USA because of domino droughts throughout the SW-USA.

Domino-Droughts began with one drought in the Colorado River Delta.

Colorado River Delta was a 3,000 sq-mi, lush, green wetland but began losing its water in 1936. It went completely dry in 1999, because the Colorado River became dry 60-miles before the ocean. This former delta is now a 3,000 sq-mi, dry, desolate desert.

Colorado River no longer flows into its delta because all the water is being extracted from the river for human use, much of it being exported out of its watershed.

Unwritten Law.

There is an unwritten natural law which states that: “Removing large quantities of freshwater from its watershed will create unintended consequences; usually negative.”  Draining the Colorado River dry, leaving no moisture for the delta is a problem. We have taken too much from nature. We have not respected the resource. We broke a hydrologic cycle.

Image of a Jody Hedlund quote: "We're human. We break things. It's what we do with the brokenness that counts."

Let’s fix the problem.

There are two ways to fix the problem.

1. Stop taking freshwater out of the watershed.

I do not think this will happen because approximately 40-million people rely on that freshwater for life and livelihood. I think they would complain. Their freshwater could be replaced by desalination, but this is massively expensive and has some environmental concerns. Freshwater is available and apparently plentiful in adjacent watersheds; this is also massively expensive and would create additional unintended consequences in those places.

2. Repair the water cycle. 

This approach involves developing an alternative water source, utilizes natural processes, and requires some investment into existing technologies and infrastructure. The goal is to replace the lost moisture input. We can replicate the lost water cycle.

Image of a water cycle.

Can humans replicate a water cycle?

This sounds like a big task; nigh on to impossible. Well, if man can break it, he should be able to fix it. So, yes, humans can fix it, and it is a viable option. The cost of constructing, operating, and maintaining this project is considerable, but it can be collected from a water-use-fee imposed on the users of the Colorado River water as they continue to remove water out of the watershed. They broke the water cycle; it is only logical that they pay to repair it. 

Image of the seal of the US Department of the interior Bureau of Reclamation.

Because this operation spans multiple US states, it must be coordinated by the US government. Fortunately, the government already has an agency in place for this: The US Bureau of Reclamation. This type of project is fully within their mission: “The mission of the Bureau of Reclamation is to manage, develop, and protect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner in the interest of the American public.” An exact fit. 

Image of a Suzanne Yoculan quotation: "Don't make excuses, just get it done!"

How to replace the hydrologic cycle.

1. Colorado River Delta > Laguna Salada.

The plan begins here, with some agreement from Mexico, the flow of the Coyote Canal will be reversed. The Coyote Canal was installed as an overflow path for Laguna Salada. Today, with Laguna Salada being dry, overflow is not a problem. Refilling Laguna Salada will provide a shallow, warm body of saltwater, with a large surface area, to be an atmosphere moisture generator for the water cycle. By increasing the length of Coyote Canal, moisture can reach more parts of the desert delta on its way to Laguna Salada, thus providing hydration to more land, and more opportunity to infuse the atmosphere with moisture.

2. Laguna Salada > Salton Sea.

The Coyote Canal can be extended to the Salton Sea. This will be a new 60-mile-long metered-flow canal which must pass through a 150-foot hill. By extending the Coyote Canal past Laguna Salada and into the Salton Sea, Laguna Salada water salinity will be kept stable near the ocean salinity level.

3. Salton Sea > Great Basin.

The surface level of the Salton Sea can be maintained at its 1950s level by the metered flow of the Coyote Canal. The saltwater entering the Salton Sea will reduce the salinity of the Salton Sea. Over time the salinity and agricultural pollution of the Salton Sea will be reduced by the flowthrough of water into the Great Basin. At the same time the Salton Sea will once again become a place for people to work and play.

4. Great Basin > Great Salt Lake.

The Salton Sea water pumped into the Great Basin will reside in a currently dry depression, where natural processes take over. No human hands are needed for evaporation to remove freshwater into the atmosphere and leave behind the salt and pollutants. The natural processes of the water cycle within the Great Basin will move the freshwater around and deposit it into the Great Salt Lake. The surface level of the Great Salt Lake is the gauge which will determine the amount of water imported into the Great Basin.

5. Great Salt Lake > Colorado Mountains.

No human hands are needed for this part. By returning the moisture into the Great Basin and the Great Salt Lake, the original hydrologic cycle will be restored. The Colorado Mountains will be receiving enough moisture to return full flow to all 158 named rivers originating in those mountains.

Image of man, robber, thief, in a balaclava, stealing from Mother Nature.

Conclusion.

We cannot rob Mother Nature without receiving a punishment. This broken water cycle is our penalty for years of robbing Mother Nature. Let’s not accept the new normal. Let’s resist the aridification of the SW-USA and the Colorado River Watershed. Let’s put the US Bureau of Reclamation to work within their assigned mission. One last thing, once the river is returned to full flow, let’s allow a constant flow into the Colorado River Delta, returning to Mother Nature her share. 

Proponent.

Move the Water! is the proposed initiative of Active Climate Rescue Initiative. Active Climate Rescue Initiative is founded to actively rescue our climate by encouraging positive climate change through water relocation into earth’s water deficit areas. Anyplace in the world where there is a dry depression is a place where there is a moisture deficit. These places are the key to reversing climate change. By infusing these places with water from an open flow inlet, moisture can be reintroduced into the local environment through hydrologic processes. Active Climate Rescue Initiative is a Michigan Non-Profit Corporation approved by the USA IRS as a 501.c.3 Public Charity.

Help Reverse Climate Change.

Your small donation to Active Climate Rescue Initiative will help reverse Global Warming. Reversing Global Warming and stopping Climate Change is our only goal, and we know how to do it. Your support will allow us to broadcast our message and save the world. Someone must do it. Be part of the someone. Donate today.

Lake Mead’s Rising Water Levels, Explained

The video discusses the temporary rise in Lake Mead’s water levels due to controlled water releases, highlighting that sustainable water solutions are essential. This blog emphasizes the need to repair the broken hydrologic cycle to restore moisture levels and combat climate change.

When this video was published, [0:00] “Lake Mead’s water levels [were] at their highest levels in 3-years.” This was a result of the [2:36] “…  Bureau of Reclamation … releasing a controlled surge of water from Lake Powel over a 4-month period” in 2023. The victory was hollow since they were draining one reservoir to fill another. [3:13] “… It’s crucial to recognize that this is temporary and does not invalidate long-term challenges.” What is needed is [5:27] “… strategies to ensure sustainable water supply for the future.”

Image of Deadpool with head in dry Lake Mead.

The video makes many valid points, but its conclusion that [5:38] “Simply relying on reservoirs like Lake Mead is no longer a viable long-term solution. Water managers and authorities [must] actively [pursue] a new approach that involves developing alternative water sources, promoting efficient usage, and investing into new technologies and infrastructure.” Below is one such new approach.

Image with words: "The problem with problems."

The Problem.

To understand this new approach, lets first understand the problem. Shouted from every outlet, the blame is placed on Global-Climate-Change. This worldwide problem is such a large problem that it is easy to lay all the blame on it. They are blinded, and do not think to seek an alternative other than multiple forms of conservation. Let’s think out of the box for a minute.

  • Lake Mead and the other reservoirs along the Colorado River are going dry because the river’s flow has diminished.
  • Colorado River’s flow is less, as is the flow of the other 157 rivers originating from the Colorado mountains, since 2000 because the Colorado mountain snowpack has been less.
  • Colorado mountain snowpack has been less during the mega-drought.
  • Mega-Drought began in 2000 in the SW-USA because of domino droughts throughout the SW-USA.
  • Domino-Droughts began over the Colorado River Delta because this 3,000 sq-mi wetland began losing its water in 1936. It went completely dry in 1999, because the Colorado River became dry 60-miles before the ocean. This former delta is now a 3,000 sq-mi desolate desert.
  • Colorado River Delta no longer receives water from the Colorado River because all the water is being extracted from the river for human use, much of it being exported out of its watershed. There is an unwritten natural law which states that: “Removing large quantities of freshwater from its watershed will create unintended consequences; usually negative.”  Draining the river dry, leaving no moisture for the delta is a problem. We have taken too much from nature. We have not respected the resource. Mother Nature has imposed her punishment. We are reaping the unintended consequences.
Image of the path from problem to solution.

Let’s fix the problem.

There are two ways to fix the problem.

1. Stop taking freshwater out of the watershed.

I do not think this will happen because approximately 40-million people rely on that freshwater for life and livelihood. I think they would complain. To replace this freshwater from alternate sources would be massively expensive.

Image of millions of people in a protest.

2. Repair the water cycle. 

This new approach involves developing an alternative water source, utilizes natural processes, but requires some investment into existing technologies and infrastructure. We must replace the lost moisture input. We must replicate the lost water cycle.

Image of a quote: "We're human. We break things. It's what we do with the brokenness that counts." Jody Hedlund

Can humans replicate a water cycle?

This sounds like a big task; nigh on to impossible. Well, if man can break it, he should be able to fix it. So, yes, humans can fix it, and it is a viable option. The cost of constructing, operating, and maintaining this project is considerable, but it can be collected from a water-use-fee imposed on the users of the Colorado River water as they continue to move water out of the watershed. They broke the water cycle, it is only logical that they pay to repair it.  

Because this operation spans multiple US states, it must be coordinated by the US government. Fortunately, the government already has an agency in place for this: The US Bureau of Reclamation. This type of project is fully within their mission: “The mission of the Bureau of Reclamation is to manage, develop, and protect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner in the interest of the American public.” 

How to replace the hydrologic cycle.

1. Colorado River Delta > Laguna Salada.

The plan begins here, with some agreement from Mexico, the flow of the Coyote Canal will be reversed. The Coyote Canal was installed as an overflow path for Laguna Salada. Today, with Laguna Salada being dry, overflow is not a problem. Refilling Laguna Salada will provide a shallow, warm body of saltwater, with a large surface area, to be an atmosphere moisture generator for the water cycle. By increasing the length of Coyote Canal, moisture can reach more parts of the desert delta on its way to Laguna Salada, thus providing hydration to more land, and more opportunity to infuse the atmosphere with moisture.

2. Laguna Salada > Salton Sea.

The Coyote Canal can be extended to the Salton Sea. This will be a new 60-mile-long metered-flow canal which must pass through a 150-foot hill. By extending the Coyote Canal past Laguna Salada and into the Salton Sea, Laguna Salada water salinity will be kept stable near the ocean salinity level.

3. Salton Sea > Great Basin.

The surface level of the Salton Sea can be maintained at its 1950s level by the metered flow of the Coyote Canal. The saltwater entering the Salton Sea will reduce the salinity of the Salton Sea. Over time the salinity and agricultural pollution of the Salton Sea will be reduced by the flowthrough of water into the Great Basin. At the same time the Salton Sea will once again become a place for people to work and play.

4. Great Basin > Great Salt Lake.

The Salton Sea water pumped into the Great Basin will reside in a currently dry depression, where natural processes take over. No human hands are needed for evaporation to remove freshwater into the atmosphere and leave behind the salt and pollutants. The natural processes of the water cycle within the Great Basin will move the freshwater around and deposit it into the Great Salt Lake. The surface level of the Great Salt Lake is the gauge which will determine the amount of water imported into the Great Basin.

5. Great Salt Lake > Colorado Mountains.

No human hands are needed for this part. By returning the moisture into the Great Basin and the Great Salt Lake, the original hydrologic cycle will be restored. The Colorado Mountains will be receiving enough moisture to return full flow to all 158 named rivers originating in those mountains.

image of an idea coming to a conclusion.

Conclusion.

[5:54] “While the recent rise in water levels at Lake Mead has provided temporary relief, the harsh reality is that the Colorado River Basin remains challenged.” We cannot rob Mother Nature without receiving a punishment. This broken water cycle is our penalty for years of robbing Mother Nature. Let’s not accept the new normal. Let’s resist the aridification of the SW-USA and the Colorado River Watershed. Let’s put the US Bureau of Reclamation to work within their assigned mission. One last thing, once the river is returned to full flow, let’s allow a constant flow into the Colorado River Delta, returning to Mother Nature her share. 

Proponent.

Move the Water! is the proposed initiative of Active Climate Rescue Initiative. Active Climate Rescue Initiative is founded to actively rescue our climate by encouraging positive climate change through water relocation into earth’s water deficit areas. Anyplace in the world where there is a dry depression is a place where there is a moisture deficit. These places are the key to reversing climate change. By infusing these places with water from an open flow inlet, moisture can be reintroduced into the local environment through hydrologic processes. Active Climate Rescue Initiative is a Michigan Non-Profit Corporation approved by the USA IRS as a 501.c.3 Public Charity.

Help Reverse Climate Change.

Your small donation to Active Climate Rescue Initiative will help reverse Global Warming. Reversing Global Warming and stopping Climate Change is our only goal, and we know how to do it. Your support will allow us to broadcast our message and save the world. Someone must do it. Be part of the someone. Donate today.

Save The Great Salt Lake

The Great Salt Lake has shrunk. In 1985 the lake filled to its capacity. In 2022 the lake is at its lowest point on record. Some fear the Great Salt Lake will soon disappear completely.

Does The Great Salt Lake Really Need Saving?

Since 1947, the Great Salt Lake has had a well-documented fluctuating surface level above sea-level between 4,190’ in 1963 and 4,211’ in 1986[5][6]. Without human intervention the lake would likely fluctuate within this range for many years to come and eventually turn into a salt flat, but that eventuality would be well beyond the lifetime of anyone alive today.

Great Salt Lake Hits A New Low.

The average daily level of the Great Salt Lake hit a new record low in November 2022, when it dropped to 4188.5 feet[7]. The lake’s elevation fluctuates depending on the balance between inflow and outflow of water generated by moisture within The Great Basin watershed. The Great Salt Lake’s drop has accelerated since 2020, with an average deficit of 1.2 million acre-feet per year. If this loss rate continues, the lake as we know it, is on track to disappear in five years. The lake needs an additional million acre-feet per year to reverse its decline[8]. For reference, the bottom of the Great Salt Lake is at 4,160 feet.

Left to right: Govenor Spencer Cox; Senator Mitt Romney; Brian Steed Great Salt Lake Commissioner

Utah Is In A State Of Panic.

Utah is scrambling for a solution to this situation. Gov. Cox proposed $45 million to protect the Great Salt Lake[10]. The US Senate passed the Great Salt Lake Recovery Act, dedicating $25 million to study historic drought conditions and protect the long-term health of the Great Salt Lake[11]. A Great Salt Lake Advisory Council was created in 2010 to advise on the protection of the Great Salt Lake[12]. Utah lawmakers passed a bill requiring appointment of a Great Salt Lake Commissioner who would prepare a strategic plan to maintain and improve the long-term health of the Lake[14].  Gov. Spencer Cox named Brian Steed as the state’s Great Salt Lake Commissioner[13]. A group of news, education and media organizations collaborated to create The Great Salt Lake Collaborative: A Solutions Journalism Initiative which is intended to better inform and engage the public about the crisis facing the Great Salt Lake, and what can be done to make a difference before it is too late[15].

Move The Water! To The Rescue.

Active Climate Rescue Initiative proposes one infrastructure project which will solve the issue of the shrinking Great Salt Lake, but surprise, it does not take any direct action toward the Great Salt Lake. We posit that the problem of the evaporating Great Salt Lake is an unintended consequence of overdrawing water from the Colorado River. Active Climate Rescue Initiative believes that the primary cause of this diminished Colorado River flow is a direct result of the excessive extraction of water from the Colorado River, with much of that draw being exported outside of the watershed. We also have identified this single solution, which when implemented will restore historic flow to the Colorado River and subsequently bring a host of other benefits, one of which will be the refilling of the Great Salt Lake.

Colorado Utah near Moab UT

Colorado River 

Water has been siphoned off the Colorado River for human use for many years. As an example: California began extracting 1/3 of the river’s flow in 1939 and continues today. Under a 1948 agreement, Utah is entitled to 23% of the water used by the four states in the upper Colorado River Basin. This is around 1-million acre-feet of water from the Colorado annually[4]. Two-thirds of the Colorado River water in Utah is used for agriculture, mostly to irrigate alfalfa fields[1][3].

Everyone Feels The Pain

The issue with the Colorado River’s diminishing flow is shared among all users of the river water. Granted, some users of the river’s water are more concerned than Utah because the loss of that water means loss of drinking water and loss of electrical power for millions of people. Both problems seem much more important than alfalfa fields in Utah, but the problem still exists.  

Working Within A Watershed.

Water drawn from a river and used within the watershed will eventually return in a smaller quantity to the river. A farmer irrigating his fields adjacent to a river can use river water and after that water is deposited on his fields, some is used by the plants, and some is evaporated, but what is left flows through the ground back to the river. Water drawn from a river and removed from the watershed will detrimentally affect the river flow. This is the case with the extraction from the Colorado River. So much is removed and not returned that the river does an unnatural thing, it diminishes to nothing.

Rivers 101.

A normal river begins with rain and snow which accumulates into a creek, gathers into a stream, and eventually a flowing river, possibly joined by other rivers, until it empties into a large body of water, like a lake or ocean. This was the case for the Colorado River, back into time before recorded history.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about [the] Cadillac Desert in the past few weeks, as the rain fell and fell and kept falling over California, much of which, despite the pouring heavens, seems likely to remain in the grip of a severe drought. Reisner anticipated this moment. He worried that the West’s success with irrigation could be a mirage — that it took water for granted and didn’t appreciate the precariousness of our capacity to control it.” – Farhad Manjoo, The New York Times, January 20,2023

Manmade Ecological Disaster.

During the 1930’s the Colorado River water began to no longer reach its delta. The delta began to dwindle halfway through the 20th century as the Colorado River was increasingly diverted to farms and cities[9]. The construction of the Hoover Dam in the 1930s marked the beginning of the end for the Colorado River Delta. For six years, as Lake Mead filled behind the dam, virtually no freshwater reached the delta[9]. The Colorado River Delta is now a desert.

Who Cares If The Delta Is Now Dry?

At first thought, why is it important that the delta is dry? Consider that the Colorado River Delta was a verdant oasis in a parched Mexico, covering approximately 3,000 square miles. Today that delta is dead. The 3,000 square miles are a desert. No more fishing or bird habitat. No more farming, blooming flowers, or tall trees. This is an ecological disaster caused by the excessive water extraction from the Colorado River.

How Does This Affect Utah?

At second thought, why should Utah care about a desert in Mexico? This question is answered by the fact that they are concerned about the Great Salt Lake becoming dry. Which may make you wonder how that is an answer to the question.

Let’s Explain.

The Colorado River water comes from snow and rain, but where does the snow and rain come from? The rain and snow come from more than one hydrologic cycle. The root of the problem with the diminished Colorado River flow is that one of these hydrologic cycles is broken. This one hydrologic cycle feeds the Colorado River Watershed from the south (oversimplified: Colorado River Delta, MX > Laguna Salada, MX > Salton Sea, CA > Death Valley, NV > Great Salt Lake, UT > Colorado River > Laguna Salada, MX). Some wish to blame this broken water cycle on Climate Change, but it appears much more logical that this is a manmade broken water cycle which is contributing to Climate Change, not caused by it.

The Colorado River Aqueduct, a 242-mile-long channel completed in 1941 by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, carries water from the Colorado River out of its watershed to urban Southern California.

Here Is What Happened.

During the 1930s, California created the Colorado River Aqueduct which began operation in 1939, removing 1,200,000 acre-ft (1.5 cubic km3) annually from the watershed. Other people/cities/states also draw Colorado River water. Those which are within the watershed have less effect on the water cycle than those which are outside of the watershed. The net result is that all the water of the Colorado River is fully used before it passes Mexicali, MX. It no longer refills Laguna Salada, and it has left a desert wasteland where there used to be a fertile river delta. With the water no longer refilling Laguna Salada and no longer moisturizing the delta, there is no water to evaporate and continue the Hydrologic Cycle. This has broken the Hydrologic Cycle, which has created a drought, which has spurred domino droughts, which has led to the current mega-drought.

The Rain Shadow effect exists because as warm moist air rises up the windward side of a mountain, atmospheric pressure decreases with increasing altitude. The air expands and cools to the point that the air has reached its dew point. At the dew point, the moisture condenses, and it precipitates on the top and windward side of the mountain. The air descends on the leeward side but due to the previous precipitation it has lost much of its moisture. Typically, descending air also gets warmer because of compression down the leeward side of the mountain, which increases the amount of moisture that it can absorb and creates an arid region[22].

Great Basin Moisture Deficit.

The mega-drought exacerbates an existing natural issue in the Great Basin. The natural condition of the Great Basin is that of moisture deficit. This is because of the Rain Shadow Effect. The Great Basin has mountains all around it. The Rain Shadow Effect associated with these mountains allows more water to be blown-out than is allowed to be blown-in to the Great Basin, which creates a natural moisture deficit, which creates a natural desert. It has not always been this way. We see evidence of great amounts of water having been within the great basin. I will posit one explanation. Approximately 2,457 BC, at the end of Noah’s Flood, the great basin would have been full to the brim with water. Because of the natural moisture deficit, during the 4,480 subsequent years that water would have evaporated leaving the land dry, and large amounts of salt deposits left behind. Since the Great Basin receives its water from the west and south, and since the southern water-cycle has been broken, less moisture is entering the Great Basin, which is becoming evident with the diminished water level of the Great Salt Lake, and the Great Salt Lake achieving its lowest recorded level in 2022 (so far).

Can We Fix This?

So, what can be done? How can this be fixed? Like your personal family budget, when the income is exceeding the spending there are two things which can be done. The first is reduce spending and the second is increase the income. This is the same with the moisture problem in the SW-USA, and within Utah. To reduce the spending, conservation is the first action which should be encouraged so that there is time to enact the primary solution of increasing the moisture. To increase the income the water-cycle must be repaired. Is this possible without depriving millions of life-giving fresh water? The answer is: YES. There is one elegant solution which will repair the water-cycle. It is a multi-state infrastructure project. The focus for Utah must be repairing the water-cycle. The result will be a refilled Great Salt Lake.

One Infrastructure Project In Three Parts.
Part One.

Reverse the flow of the Coyote Canal so that ocean water from the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez) flows into Laguna Salada, MX. This would be gravity flow and it will begin to repair the water cycle. As the water passes through the now dry Colorado River Delta it will have beneficial effects on the delta. The return of water to Laguna Salada will also bring climate justice to the local indigenous people by restoring their fishing grounds.

The $45 million to protect the Great Salt Lake[10] and the $25 million to study historic drought conditions[11] would be better spent implementing this part of the plan in Mexico. Getting even one part of the plan done will lead to improvement for Utah. See the video below to for a tour of a proposed canal.

Video tour of a proposed canal from Sea of California > Laguna Salada, Baja, Mx > Salton Sea, CA, USA.
Part Two.

Extend the Coyote Canal so that the Laguna Salada water flows into the Salton Sea. Care must be taken to assure that the Salton Sea maintains its historical optimal level from the 1950s. This would be by gravity flow, and it will continue to repair the water cycle. The increased water level of the Salton Sea would return commerce to the area, bring recreation to the sea, increase the local moisture with benefit to local indigenous people groups and native Californians in Imperial Valley and up into the Central Valley. The flow through from Laguna Salada, MX to the Salton Sea would assure Laguna Salada, MX does not become hypersaline.

Is This Enough?

No. The above two parts should be enough to break the mega-drought, but more is needed if the full flow of the Colorado River is to be realized. The hard part is next.

Part Three.

The hard part is pumping Salton Sea water into the Great Basin; logically into Death Valley. The flowthrough from the Salton Sea to the Great Basin would assure the Salton Sea does not become hypersaline, and in time reduce the saline level to that of the ocean. The exact amount of water needed has not been calculated. This proposal suggests five 8-foot diameter pipes carrying the ocean water over the mountains and into the Great Basin at a rate of 0.5 acre-feet per second. These 5-pipes with the 0.5 acre-feet per second flow mimics the Colorado River flow at its delta in ages past. The project can be installed in pieces. The first stage would be two 8-foot diameter pipes. The minimum proposed flow is 1/5th of the freshwater annually extracted from the Colorado River, the flow of one of the pipes. The maximum proposed flow is equal to the amount of freshwater annually extracted from the Colorado River, 15 million acre-feet of Salton Sea water annually pumping from all 5-pipes. Depending on the ecological results, the full flow of all five 8-foot diameter pipes may not be needed. The water delivered into the Great Basin would end its water deficit and set it up for rehydration, which would be a boon on many levels.

That Is Expensive!

It may well be expensive, but what is the cost of doing nothing? The good news is that the cost of pumping the water over the mountain could come from a fee on water drawn from the Colorado River. Those who have drawn Colorado River water over the last century have done so without any charge for what they received, forgetting that nothing is free. The fee can be collected and administered by the Reclamation Bureau, along with operational control of the pipeline. The construction costs could be funded by the Federal Government as a Climate Change infrastructure project with the Corps of Engineers doing the work. Alternatively, the construction costs could be collected as part of the fees by the Reclamation Bureau. The proposed fee/tax would be on each gallon of water drawn from the Colorado River in an amount equal to the cost of pumping one gallon into the Great Basin.

The Benefits.

There are multiple benefits to the ‘Move the Water!’ plan. Seven are enumerated below.

1. Reversing Global Warming

This effort will combat Climate Change by cooling many very hot places. When working to reverse Global Warming, effort placed in the hottest places reaps the greatest direct benefit. All the target areas in this plan are very hot places and all will be cooler with the presence of the newly imported water. Increased water in deserts increases evaporation, which is a natural cooling process. The evaporated water returns as fresh clean water in form of mist/rain/snow, which is a natural cooling process. The fresh clean rainwater hydrates the land benefiting man/animals/plants. The hydration and increases plant growth. The increased plant growth cools the desert floor which will allow fresh rainwater to percolate into the ground and be stored for later use, which also keeps it from returning to the ocean. The plants cool the ground by their shade and release water as a byproduct of their transpiration, both of which are natural cooling processes. The increased plant growth increases the amount of CO2 extracted from the air by the now active plants, storing the carbon in their little plant bodies, and ultimately in the ground. All of these benefits are reaped from natural processes, green processes, leaving a net-positive green footprint.

The North American monsoon is a complex weather process that brings moisture from the Gulf of California over northwestern Mexico and southwestern US resulting in summer thunderstorms, especially at higher elevations[23].

2. Increase the North American Monsoon.

There is a lot of research still needed to fully understand the North American Monsoon, but there is some evidence which points to the desertification of the Colorado River Delta in Mexico as a cause of a temperature inversion which limits the North American Monsoon[16]. Restoring Laguna Salada should break this blockage.

3. Laguna Salada, Baja, MX

Refilling Laguna Salada, MX, in addition to providing local climate change benefits as described above, will provide some climate justice for the local indigenous people who lost their historic native fishing ground because of the over-drawn river.

4. Salton Sea, CA, USA

Refilling the Salton Sea to its historic 1950’s level will return that area to its 1950’s popularity, which will be a financial boon for many which will also grow California’s tax revenue. There will be a moisture benefit for Imperial Valley which will naturally flow up into California’s Central Valley.

5. The Great Basin

Rehydration of The Great Basin will have many benefits. The increased moisture will increase mist/rain/snow. This freshwater will provide climate justice to the indigenous peoples living in remote desert reservations. The increased moisture allows for increased farming. In this case the Great Basin could become a new breadbasket for the USA. As the moisture circulates within The Great Basin multiple freshwater streams, rivers, and lakes will occur. With the increased moisture the Great Salt Lake will naturally have an increased surface level.

Southern Idaho is hand-to-mouth with their water supply. “Every drop of water we can get, every snow flurry is beneficial, but overall, across the state, we’re expecting the drought to continue. It’s great, but it’s not going to pull us out. We really want to see a kind-of long-term pattern develop; a pattern change develop.” hydrologist David Hoekema[24]

6. Rehydration Of Southern Idaho.

There is correlative data which links the level of the Snake River Aquifer to the level of The Great Salt Lake. Looking at the geology of the area it is easy to postulate that a rehydrated Great Basin would lead to a moister Southern Idaho.

Stock image of Lake Mead, the largest reservoir by volume in the United States.© bloodua/Getty

7. Colorado River.

Not to be forgotten, all the previous benefits will work to restore the hydrologic cycle, which will push freshwater (rain/snow) into the headwaters of the Colorado and Snake Rivers.

Perceived Problems.

Looking at the grand design this can be viewed as a terraforming project, but there are several suggested problems with a project of this scope. The good news is that all are manageable.

A terminal lake which has no surface outlet (rivers flowing from it) will become a lake with a very high saline level[21].

1. Salt.

The biggest concern is creating a hypersaline sea and/or leaving salt behind after evaporation. Be aware that all the areas where ocean water importation is proposed are areas which are already saline with brackish water aquifers. So, bringing in salt water is not an environmental catastrophe. Rather the resulting rain will work to overlay the salt water with fresh because salt water is heavier than fresh water. Aquifers being filled with rainwater will have fresh water on top of the brackish water. Decades from now the brackish water in aquifers will be of little concern. The salt left behind will be deposited in the terminal pool, which will be Death Valley, which is already a saltpan. It is likely that Death Valley will turn into an inland salt sea, and it will become hypersaline, but that is natural and cannot be avoided, however industrious individuals may find a way to profit from the minerals being delivered, including the salt.

At first it was a novelty as a wall of water an inch high began flowing down the wash a few feet below me. Soon there was several feet of rushing water sweeping away anything in its path and there was no place to go[20].

2. Flash Floods.

Rain in deserts can cause flash floods. This is normal and unpleasant. Expecting this allows for the situation to be worked around. Flash floods come when water is rained onto desert ground which is dry and devoid of plants. Consistent rainfall will allow plants to grow, which will slow the water flow. To alleviate this some geographic modifications can be accomplished to slow the flow of the rainwater, which will encourage better usage of the water along its path. This needs to be accomplished at the local level foresighted individuals and communities.

USA, California, Death Valley Salt Pan photographed by Gary Weathers.

3. Death Valley National Park.

The dry saltpan at the floor of Death Valley National Park will change from a dry lakebed to an inland salt sea. It is expected that this inland sea will become hypersaline. It can remain a National Park, but its features will be slightly changed, and it will likely see heavier use because of the new features. It still will be the lowest place in USA, but likely not the hottest as the increased moisture will cool the area.

Desert ecosystems receive less than 10 in (250 mm) of annual precipitation. Far from desolate, the deserts support high levels of biodiversity including iconic species such as Joshua trees, Mexican free-tailed bats, desert pupfishes, cutthroat trout, pronghorn antelope, desert tortoises, Gila monsters, sage grouse, bighorn sheep, desert iguanas, bristlecone pines, cuckoos, ocotillo, desert poppies, saguaro cactus, kangaroo rats and pigmy rabbits.   Desert biodiversity is the result of evolutionary divergence[19].

4. Existing Ecosystems.

Some have complained that the increased moisture would harm the existing ecosystems within the SW-USA, The Great Basin, Death Valley and in all the deserts which are rehydrated. When viewed with a different eye one can consider that the local critters are those who have not died out and would like a bit more rain. Yes, some of the critters who used to live there, but left when the water left, will return. That is only the natural ebb and flow of critters and ecosystems as a whole.

The West Desert Pumping Station is a series of three pumps designed to reduce the water level of the Great Salt Lake in case it should rise to threaten the shoreline industries, Salt Lake City International Airport, railroads, and even I-80 with flooding. The pumping plan is a system to pump water from the lake to the adjacent Newfoundland Basin, located to the west. The south end of Hogup Ridge, a few miles further down the causeway northwest of Lakeside, was selected as the pump site, and six and a half miles of canals were dug to and from the pumps. Completed rapidly in less than a year, at a cost of nearly $60 million in state funds, the pumps went online in April 1987. At the same time, a drought began, causing the lake level to subside naturally. The pumps were mothballed in 1989[18].

5. Overfilling The Great Salt Lake.

Yes, there can be too much of a good thing. It is possible that the hydrology of The Great Basin will be improved to the point that the Great Salt Lake could exceed its historical maximum, which could flood the communities built along its shore. Fortunately, there is a plan already installed, but mothballed in 1989: The Great Salt Lake Pumping Station[17][18]. But even this may not be enough, and a plan for a canal should be made to direct excess water far enough from the Great Salt Lake so that it flows by gravity back toward Death Valey.

Conclusion.

The overdrawing of freshwater from Colorado River has been and is detrimental to the environment, creating a desert where once was a fertile river delta, and breaking a hydrologic cycle. This has and is making itself known by the shrinking size of the Great Salt Lake. To make that wrong right the drawing of water from the Colorado River water should stop. We all know that is not even thinkable. The people using the Colorado River water will not give up their water without a huge fight. Move the Water! provides a workaround which allows no change in the use of the Colorado River water yet repairs our ecosystem and makes the landscape greener in the process. This proposed infrastructure project should be undertaken with all haste to repair our environment and return water indirectly and by natural processes to The Great Salt Lake. There is no real downside to doing this project. If an unforeseen consequence occurs, the project can be moderated by reducing the volume of water moved into Death Valley.

Proponent.

Move the Water! is the proposed initiative of Active Climate Rescue Initiative. Active Climate Rescue Initiative is founded to actively rescue our climate by encouraging positive climate change through water relocation into earth’s water deficit areas. Anyplace in the world where there is a dry depression is a place where there is a moisture deficit. These places are the key to reversing climate change. By infusing these places with water from an open flow inlet, moisture can be reintroduced into the local environment through hydrologic processes. Active Climate Rescue Initiative is a Michigan Non-Profit Corporation approved by the USA IRS as a 501.c.3 Public Charity.

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Your small donation to Active Climate Rescue Initiative will help reverse Global Warming. Reversing Global Warming and stopping Climate Change is our only goal, and we know how to do it. Your support will allow us to broadcast our message and save the world. Someone must do it. Be part of the someone. Donate today.

Sources:
  1. https://dailyutahchronicle.com/2023/02/06/utah-colorado-river/
  2. https://naturalresources.utah.gov/dnr-newsfeed/the-colorado-river-is-a-reliable-source-of-water-for-utah
  3. https://cra.utah.gov/colorado-fact-sheet/
  4. https://www.kuer.org/health-science-environment/2022-09-16/utahs-share-of-the-colorado-river-is-what-helps-it-flourish-in-the-desert
  5. https://www.usgs.gov/media/before-after/great-salt-lake-comparison-1986-and-2022
  6. https://www.usgs.gov/news/state-news-release/great-salt-lake-level-falls-below-historic-low-measured-october-2021
  7. https://water.utah.gov/great-salt-lake/
  8. https://pws.byu.edu/GSL%20report%202023
  9. https://www.nrdc.org/stories/colorado-river-delta-proof-natures-resiliency
  10. https://www.upr.org/utah-news/2021-12-08/gov-cox-proposes-45-million-to-protect-great-salt-lake
  11. https://www.romney.senate.gov/senate-passes-romney-stewart-owens-curtis-bill-to-save-utahs-great-salt-lake/
  12. https://deq.utah.gov/great-salt-lake-advisory-council/great-salt-lake-advisory-council
  13. https://governor.utah.gov/2023/05/15/gov-cox-appoints-brian-steed-as-new-great-salt-lake-commissioner/
  14. https://www.abc4.com/news/local-news/gov-cox-appoints-first-great-salt-lake-commissioner/
  15. https://greatsaltlakenews.org/ 
  16. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351891927_Mechanical_forcing_of_the_North_American_monsoon_by_orography
  17. https://utahhumanities.org/stories/items/show/395
  18. https://clui.org/ludb/site/great-salt-lake-pumping-station
  19. https://www.usgs.gov/programs/land-management-research-program/science/ecosystems-we-study-deserts#overview
  20. https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/communities/north-county/story/2019-07-26/column-desert-travelers-should-be-wary-of-potential-flash-floods
  21. https://justfunfacts.com/interesting-facts-about-the-great-salt-lake/
  22. Whiteman, C. David (2000). Mountain Meteorology: Fundamentals and Applications. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-513271-8.
  23.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_monsoon
  24. https://www.kivitv.com/news/wet-weather-patterns-help-drought-but-water-deficits-persist-in-southern-idaho#:~:text=Current%20drought%20levels%20range%20from%20moderate%20to%20extreme,portions%20of%20Idaho%20remain%20in%20a%20drought%20emergency.