Ever Shrinking Lake Mead

[Sooner or later]

Originally Posted by Tobra

Did you notice I was responding to someone I quoted?

You do realize the lake level at Lake Mead is manipulated for political purposes, right?

Sorry. Didn't realize I was stepping on your toes.

Color me shocked that you would think the numbers are fabricated. I guess you have measured with your tape measure.

[island911]

Originally Posted by Sooner or later

Sorry. Didn't realize I was stepping on your toes.

Color me shocked that you would think the numbers are fabricated. I guess you have measured with your tape measure.

?

He said "lake level at Lake Mead is manipulated for political purposes."

He did not say the numbers are manipulated.

As he stated earlier, when the level goes low, the allocations change, and this is why the actual level is manipulated. (paraphrasing from memory)

[Sooner or later]

Originally Posted by island911

?

He said "lake level at Lake Mead is manipulated for political purposes."

He did not say the numbers are manipulated.

As he stated earlier, when the level goes low, the allocations change, and this is why the actual level is manipulated. (paraphrasing from memory)

He claimed is was 128.5 ft down instead of the stated 186.5.

[island911]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

I've read that it is 130 feet down.

Originally Posted by Tobra

I guess 128.5 feet down now

IDK, are those two talking about down from mean and you are talking down from full?

Actually, I don't care.

Carry on with your pissing contest - raise that lake.

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by island911

IDK, are those two talking about down from mean and you are talking down from full?

Actually, I don't care.

Carry on with your pissing contest - raise that lake.

It'd take a lot of piss to raise that lake.

[2.7RS]

https://www.dw.com/en/how-is-europe-dealing-with-the-severe-drought/av-62840024

[flatbutt]

I'm starting to think the gods od weather have a grudge against my town. The storm cells keep forming all around us but no water reaches the ground here.

[Sooner or later]

I have had a total of a quarter inch of rain over the last month and a half. That is about to change over the next couple of days.

[Esel Mann]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

It'd take a lot of piss to raise that lake.

You good sir have never witnessed my beer consumption abilities!!!!

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by Esel Mann

You good sir have never witnessed my beer consumption abilities!!!!

Thanks for the laugh! I was feeling kinda grim.

[Esel Mann]

I belive there are a coupla few on here that farm to some degree out west? Question. Are growing practices that conserve water, ala ponics or similar gaining interest to growers?

[flatbutt]

Finally

https://radar.weather.gov/?settings=v1_eyJhZ2VuZGEiOnsiaWQiOm51bGwsImNlbnRlc iI6Wy03NC40NjQsNDEuMDY4XSwibG9jYXRpb24iOm51bGwsInp vb20iOjh9LCJhbmltYXRpbmciOmZhbHNlLCJiYXNlIjoic3Rhb mRhcmQiLCJhcnRjYyI6ZmFsc2UsImNvdW50eSI6ZmFsc2UsImN 3YSI6ZmFsc2UsInJmYyI6ZmFsc2UsInN0YXRlIjpmYWxzZSwib WVudSI6dHJ1ZSwic2hvcnRGdXNlZE9ubHkiOmZhbHNlLCJvcGF jaXR5Ijp7ImFsZXJ0cyI6MC44LCJsb2NhbCI6MC42LCJsb2Nhb FN0YXRpb25zIjowLjgsIm5hdGlvbmFsIjowLjZ9fQ%3D%3D#/

Fortunately our soil hasn't turned to cement.

[3rd_gear_Ted]

A big hunk of the water intensive Alfalfa grown with Colorado River water is exported to Japan, Saudi Arabia & China. Wagyu beef is fed Cali Alfalfa. Saudi Arabia should grow their own with De-salinated water.

Those farmers using the water in this way are facing huge pressure to change or sell their farms.

Corporate AG has business models that are outright subsidies to foreign nations.

Water is for fighting, Whiskey is for drinking.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

I'm starting to think the gods od weather have a grudge against my town. The storm cells keep forming all around us but no water reaches the ground here.

When I got up Sun morning, this was our forecast.



Our total accumulation yesterday was 1/100" of rain.

Things have changed though. Our total for Jun and July was 2.2" of rain over 6 days (6-7" below avg for that period). In Aug so far we've had 9 days of rain and 1.2". They are predicting that we could get ~2" this week and that we have a chance of rain next week too.

[dad911]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

I'm starting to think the gods od weather have a grudge against my town. The storm cells keep forming all around us but no water reaches the ground here.

We had flash flood warnings and a few inches of rain near somerville this morning.

[unclebilly]

Originally Posted by Esel Mann

I belive there are a coupla few on here that farm to some degree out west? Question. Are growing practices that conserve water, ala ponics or similar gaining interest to growers?

Drought resistant crops have been used for 30+ years. You don't change the plant variety.

The seed and plant variants aren't what they were even 10 years ago. Cultivation practices aren't either. Agriscience is big business.

I will say that my heavily planted land doesn't support much other than GMO barley, wheat, and canola. When I put some of it back into hay, it took 3-4 years to get an average hay crop off that land. I am actually thinking about putting another 120 acres into hay next year.

Also, alfalfa isn't all that water intensive. It is also really good because it puts Nitrogen back into the soil. I think my alfalfa field did better last year in drought conditions than it did this year in wet conditions. If you flood an alfalfa field with water, it kills it.

[Tobra]

Originally Posted by Sooner or later

Sorry. Didn't realize I was stepping on your toes.

Color me shocked that you would think the numbers are fabricated. I guess you have measured with your tape measure.

Not so much stepping on any toes as much as not making any sense at all and saying a bunch of stupid, irrelevant crap.


Is it coming up Greek on your monitor or something? It does not appear you are able to see the posts to which you are responding. They manipulate the lake levels of all the dams on the Colorado River. Water distribution policy is based solely on the Lake Mead level. Given that fact, the water levels that are monitored can be very easily raised or lowered, but keeping more water in the reservoirs up stream from Lake Mead.

I don't think it can be explained any more plainly than that. I have neither the patience or crayons to make it any more clear to you.

[Sooner or later]

Mead and Powell absolutely dwarf any other reservoir that are upstream. Both are below 30%.

Mead capacity at 29 million acre feet
Powell 26 million acre feet

All of the dams on the main stem (includes Powell and Mead) have a combined 58 million acre feet.

Upper basin 10 million acre feet
Lower basin 10 million acre feet.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dams_in_the_Colorado_River_system

Here is another list of all reservoirs upstream from LakePowell. They are at 65% capacity. 6 million acre feet.

Reservoirs Upstream of Lake Powell

They could basically empty Powell and every reservoir feeding Powell and the result would be Mead would still not being at capacity.

Tell me about that manipulation of lake levels.

[island911]

Yeah, seems that Tobra is not saying that there is no water shortage, just that one should not judge the water shortage on Mead alone (as that level is controlled/manipulated upstream)

[Tobra]

WTF difference does it make? He is going to read what he thinks it says before he looks at it anyway