||| FROM L.A. TIMES |||
- New research based on satellite data shows the depletion of groundwater in the Colorado River Basin far exceeds losses from the river’s reservoirs.
- Scientists say overpumping is leading to alarmingly rapid declines in groundwater at a time when climate change is putting growing strains on the Southwest’s water supplies.
As the Colorado River’s giant reservoirs have declined during the last two decades, even larger amounts of water have been pumped and drained from underground, according to new research based on data from NASA satellites.
Scientists at Arizona State University examined more than two decades of satellite measurements and found that since 2003 the quantity of groundwater depleted in the Colorado River Basin is comparable to the total capacity of Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir.
The researchers estimated that pumping from wells has drained about 34 cubic kilometers, or 28 million acre-feet, of groundwater in the watershed since 2003 — more than twice the amount of water that has been depleted from the river’s reservoirs during that time.
“The Colorado River Basin is losing groundwater at an alarming rate,” said Karem Abdelmohsen, the lead author and a researcher at ASU’s School of Sustainability.
The losses are being driven largely by heavy pumping to supply agriculture, he said. At the same time, prolonged drought and rising temperatures have sapped river flows and decreased the amount of water percolating underground and recharging aquifers.
“As surface water becomes less dependable, the demand for groundwater is projected to rise significantly,” the researchers wrote in the study, which was published Tuesday in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. “Groundwater is a crucial buffer … but it is rapidly disappearing due to excessive extraction.”
**If you are reading theOrcasonian for free, thank your fellow islanders. If you would like to support theOrcasonian CLICK HERE to set your modestly-priced, voluntary subscription. Otherwise, no worries; we’re happy to share with you.**
