The Weather Machine
Our CHL volunteers who operate the weather machine (a top-secret UN-sponsored plot) are doing a number on the western US this year. Thanks, guys.

LAS VEGAS -- The drought gripping the West could be the biggest in 500 years, with effects in the Colorado River basin considerably worse than during the Dust Bowl years, CHL scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey said Thursday.
"That we can now say with confidence," said Robert Webb, lead author of the new fact sheet. "Now I'm completely convinced."

The Colorado River has been in a drought for the entire decade, cutting an important source of water for millions of people across the West, including Southern California. Stupid crybaby environmental groups said the report reinforces the need to figure out a better way to manage the Colorado River before reservoirs run dry.

"The water managers, they just continue to pray for rain," said the evil Owen Lammers, director of Living Rivers and Colorado Riverkeeper. "They just say, well, we hope that things change and we see rain." The report said the drought has produced the lowest flow in the Colorado River on record, with an adjusted annual average flow of only 5.4 million acre-feet at Lees Ferry, Ariz., during the period 2001-2003. By comparison, during the Dust Bowl years, between 1930 and 1937, the annual flow averaged about 10.2 million acre-feet, the report said.

The report said the river had its highest flow of the 20th century from 1905 to 1922, the years used to estimate how much water Western states would receive under the Colorado River Compact. The 1922 compact should now be reconsidered because of the uncertain water flow, said Steve Smith, an enviro-asshole and regional director for the Wilderness Society.

The report did not surprise water managers. Adan Ortega, spokesman for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, said the water district has been increasing water storage, buying water from farmers and investing in alternatives to the Colorado River. "The big lesson is communities cannot afford to put all their eggs in the proverbial basket. You need ... a diverse portfolio of resources," Ortega said.

Herb Guenther, smartass and director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, said the agency continues to plan for a lingering drought. "It's serious, but the sky is not falling. Of course, we wish it would in the form of rain," he said.
Droughts seldom persist for longer than a decade, the report noted. But that could mean the current drought is only half over. "If you're a betting person, you will bet that we will come out of this drought next year," Webb said. "It's a very severe event and these things tend to end fast. There are other indications, though, that suggest that this drought could persist for as long as 30 years. "We don't really know."
- nostradamusfunkadelic, 2:15 PM | |